Nebraska (pronounced /nəˈbræskə/ ( listen)) is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha. Nebraska probably gets its name from the archaic Otoe words Ñí Brásge, pronounced [ˌɲĩˈbɾaskɛ] (contemporary Otoe Ñí Bráhge), or the Omaha Ní Btháska, pronounced [ˌnĩˈbɫᶞaska], meaning "flat water," after the Platte River that flows through the state.[3] American Indian tribes in Nebraska have included the Iowas, Omahas, Missourias, Poncas, Pawnees, Otoes, and various branches of the Sioux. Once considered part of the Great American Desert (actually highly biodiverse prairie land), it is now a leading farming and ranching state, with the nation's largest population of domesticated llamas . On May 30, 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act created the Kansas Territory and the Nebraska Territory, divided by the Parallel 40° North.[4] The territorial capital of Nebraska was Omaha. In the 1860s, the first great wave of homesteaders poured into Nebraska to claim free land granted by the federal government. Many of the first farm settlers built their homes out of sod because they found so few trees on the grassy land. Nebraska became the 37th state in 1867, shortly after the American Civil War. At that time, the capital was moved from Omaha to Lancaster, later renamed Lincoln after the recently assassinated President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The Arbor Day holiday began in Nebraska, and the National Arbor Day Foundation is still headquartered in Nebraska City with some offices also located in Lincoln. Nebraska has a long history of civil rights activism, starting in 1912 with the founding of Omaha's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter. The state is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwest; and Wyoming to the west. The state has 93 counties; it occupies the central portion of the Frontier Strip. Nebraska is split into two time zones. The Central Time zone comprises the eastern half of the state, while the western half observes Mountain Time. Three rivers cross the state from west to east. The Platte River runs through the heart, the Niobrara River flows through the northern part of the state's region, and the Republican River traverses through the southern part of the state. Nebraska is composed of two major land regions: the Dissected Till Plains and the Great Plains. The easternmost portion of the state was scoured by Ice Age glaciers; the Dissected Till Plains were left behind after the glaciers retreated. The Dissected Till Plains is a region of gently rolling hills; Omaha and Lincoln are located within this region. The Great Plains occupy the majority of western Nebraska. The Great Plains itself consists of several smaller, diverse land regions, including the Sandhills, the Pine Ridge, the Rainwater Basin, the High Plains and the Wildcat Hills. Panorama Point, at 5,424 feet (1,653 m), is the highest point in Nebraska; despite its name and elevation, it is merely a low rise near the Colorado and Wyoming borders. A past Nebraska tourism slogan was "Where the West Begins"; locations given for the beginning of the "West" include the Missouri River, the intersection of 13th and O Streets in Lincoln (where it is marked by a red brick star), the 100th meridian, and Chimney Rock. Nebraska is in fact a triply landlocked state, as it does not border the ocean, nor do any of the states it borders, nor any that they border on.[5] Areas under the management of the National Park Service include: Areas under the management of the National Forest Service include: Two major climates are represented in Nebraska: the eastern half of the state has a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfa), and the western half of the state has a semi-arid continental steppe climate (Koppen BSk). The entire state experiences wide seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation. Average temperatures are fairly uniform across Nebraska with hot summers and generally cold winters, while average annual precipitation decreases east to west from about 31.5 inches (800 mm) in the southeast corner of the state to about 13.8 inches (350 mm) in the Panhandle. Humidity also decreases significantly from east to west. Snowfall across the state is fairly even, with most of Nebraska receiving between 25 and 35 inches (650 to 900 mm) of snow annually.[6] Nebraska is located in Tornado Alley; thunderstorms are common in the spring and summer months, and violent thunderstorms and tornadoes happen primarily during the spring and summer, though can also happen in the autumn. The chinook winds from the Rocky Mountains provide a temporary moderating effect on temperatures in western Nebraska during the winter months.[7][8] As of 2008, Nebraska has an estimated population of 1,783,432, which is an increase of 8,891, or 0.5%, from the prior year and an increase of 72,169, or 4.2%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 77,995 people (that is 187,564 births minus 109,569 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 9,319 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 27,398 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 36,717 people.[9] The center of population of Nebraska is located in Polk County, in the city of Shelby.[10] As of 2004, the population of Nebraska included about 84,000 foreign-born residents (4.8% of the population). The five largest ancestry groups in Nebraska are German (38.6%), Irish (12.4%), English (9.6%), Swedish (4.9%), and Czech (4.9%). Nebraska has the largest Czech-American and non-Mormon Danish-American population (as a percentage of the total population) in the nation. German-Americans are the largest ancestry group in most of the state, particularly in the eastern counties. Thurston County (made up entirely of the Omaha and Winnebago reservations) has an American Indian majority, and Butler County is one of only two counties in the nation with a Czech-American plurality. Eighty-nine percent of the cities in Nebraska have fewer than 3,000 people. Nebraska shares this characteristic with five other Midwest and Southern states (Kansas, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, and Iowa). Hundreds of towns have a population of fewer than 1,000. Fifty-three of Nebraska's 93 counties reported declining populations between 1990 and 2000, ranging from a 0.06% loss (Frontier County) to a 17.04% loss (Hitchcock County). Other portions of the state have experienced substantial growth. In 2000, the city of Omaha had a population of 390,007; in 2005, the city's estimated population was 414,521(427,872 including the recently annexed city of Elkhorn), a 6.3% increase over five years. The city of Lincoln had a 2000 population of 225,581 and a 2005 estimated population of 239,213, a 6.0% change. Regional population declines have forced many rural schools to consolidate. The religious affiliations of the people of Nebraska are: The largest single denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Catholic Church (372,791), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (128,570), the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (117,419) and the United Methodist Church (117,277).[11] The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates of Nebraska's gross state product in 2004 was $68 billion. Per capita personal income in 2004 was $31,339, 25th in the nation. Nebraska has a large agriculture sector, and is an important producer of beef, pork, corn (maize), and soybeans.[12] Other important economic sectors include freight transport (by rail and truck), manufacturing, telecommunications, information technology, and insurance. Nebraska has four personal income tax brackets, ranging from 2.6% to 6.8%. Nebraska has a state sales tax of 5.5%. In addition to the state tax, some Nebraska cities assess a city sales and use tax, up to a maximum of 1.5%. One county in Nebraska, Dakota County, levies a sales tax. All real property located within the state of Nebraska is taxable unless specifically exempted by statute. Since 1992, only depreciable personal property is subject to tax and all other personal property is exempt from tax. Inheritance tax is collected at the county level. Kool-Aid was created in 1927 by Edwin Perkins in the city of Hastings, which celebrates the event the second weekend of every August with Kool-Aid Days. Kool-Aid is the official soft drink of Nebraska.[13] CliffsNotes were invented in Rising City, Nebraska by Clifton Hillegass. His pamphlets were based on the original Canadian idea, "Coles Notes." Omaha is home to Berkshire Hathaway, whose CEO Warren Buffett was ranked in March 2009 by Forbes magazine as the 2nd richest person in the world. This city is also home to ConAgra, InfoUSA, TD Ameritrade, West Corporation, Valmont Industries, Woodmen of the World, Kiewit Corporation,Union Pacific Railroad. UNIFI Companies. Sandhills Publishing Company and Duncan Aviation reside in Lincoln while The Buckle is based out of Kearney. Sidney is the national headquarters for Cabela's, a specialty retailer of outdoor goods. The world's largest train yard, Union Pacific's Bailey Yard, is located in North Platte. The Vise-Grip was invented by William Petersen in 1924, and was manufactured in De Witt until the plant closed in late 2008.[14] Memorial Stadium on the University of Nebraska campus in Lincoln holds 85,157 people. During football games, it holds almost twice the population of Bellevue (47,954) the third-most populous city in the state. The largest Powerball payout was on February 18, 2006. It was $365 million and was split 8 ways by workers from a Lincoln food plant operated by ConAgra. Lincoln's Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing is the only Kawasaki plant in the world to produce the Jet-Ski, ATV, and Mule lines of product. The facility employs more than 1200 people. Nebraska has a rich railroad history. The Union Pacific Railroad, headquartered in Omaha, was incorporated on July 1, 1862, in the wake of the Pacific Railway Act of 1862. Bailey Yard, located in North Platte, is the largest railroad classification yard in the world. The route of the original transcontinental railroad runs through the state. Other major railroads with operations in the state are: Amtrak; Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway; Canadian Pacific Railway; and Iowa Interstate Railroad.