Kansas

According to ExistingCountries, Kansas (KS) gets its name from the Sioux word “kansa,” meaning “people of the south wind.” The state’s nickname is “The Sunflower State”. The economy is largely based on agriculture. What is special is that Kansas is almost rectangular in shape. Since Kansas is located roughly in the middle of the United States, it is also referred to as “The Heart of America”. The capital is Topeka. The city of Wichita has a small airport for domestic flights, but most air travelers arrive at Kansas City in the neighboring state of Missouri. Kansas is best reached by car: Interstate 70 and Interstate 35 are the two largest highways in the state. By renting a car you can explore all the attractions of Kansas. Kansas is world famous for the story of the Wizard of Oz. There are several ‘Oz’ tours: in Liberal you can for example visit Dorothy’s house, while in Wamego there is an Oz museum. Kansas is also known for its prairie country and cowboy culture. If you rent a car, you can head to the Tallgrass Prairie Reserve to walk around this unique, now endangered ecosystem on your own. Rodeos take place all over the state, but the most famous is Strong City rodeo. In prehistoric times, Kansas was part of an immense inland sea. The landscape still shows traces of this geological past in the form of interesting rock and chalk formations such as the Monument Rocks and the Niobrara Chalk. Many dinosaur fossils have also been found in Kansas.