Iowa is famous for rolling hills and some of the richest and deepest topsoil in the United States. Ancient glaciers created this soil as they slowly moved across Iowa thousands of years ago. The glaciers gathered rich minerals, which were left behind when they melted. Lakes formed from the melted ice. These lakes later drained away, and the empty lakebeds are now the gentle hills covering almost all of Iowa today. However, the landscape is different in the northeast. There, Iowa's rivers flow into the wide Mississippi River. The rivers wear away the riverbanks as they move closer to the Mississippi, creating bluffs between 300 and 400 feet (90–120 m) high. Iowa is the 26th largest state in the United States, with an area of 56,276 square miles (145,754 sq km).
Iowa has more than 90,000 farms. Except for California, no state exports more agricultural products to other countries than Iowa. Iowa raises about one-fifth of the nation's corn and produces one-quarter of its pork. Oats, hay, soybeans, cattle, and dairy products are also important parts of Iowa's agriculture. Farm-related industries, like food processing and farm machinery production, are its largest enterprises. In the past, Iowa's economy was strong only if crop prices were high. Iowa has recently created other industries so that crop prices won't have such a large effect on the state. These include computer and electrical equipment manufacturing, chemical production, and printing and publishing.
2,988,046
Capital:
State Abbreviation: IA
Governor: Chet Culver (Democrat)
U.S. Senators: 2
Chuck Grassley (Republican)
Tom Harkin (Democrat)
U.S. Representatives: 5
Republicans: 2
Democrats 3
State Senators: 50
State Representatives: 100
Counties: 99