Blank South Dakota map

What the outline shows

The map draws the state's boundary only. The north edge with North Dakota and the south edge with Nebraska are straight lines, except in the southeast, where the Missouri River takes over the Nebraska border from about Yankton eastward. The west edge with Montana and Wyoming is a straight meridian. The east edge with Minnesota is a straight line in the north, then the Big Sioux River in the south, and the state's southeast corner is where the Big Sioux meets the Missouri at Sioux City. Nothing inside is drawn: no Missouri River, no Black Hills, no counties. Press Capital to mark Pierre on the Missouri in the exact centre of the state, and Abbreviation for "SD". The part of the state west of the Missouri is largely on Mountain time.

Portrait or landscape

South Dakota is about 380 miles east to west and about 245 miles north to south. Print in landscape. The rectangle fills the page width, and the small river details in the southeast corner stay legible. Portrait shrinks the map by about a third and leaves the top and bottom of the page blank. Since the Missouri crosses the state from north to south through the centre, either orientation gives it plenty of length; landscape gives the Black Hills in the far west their own space.

Five classroom exercises

1. Draw the Missouri River entering from North Dakota, flowing south past Pierre, then southeast to form the Nebraska border from Yankton to Sioux City.
2. Shade the Black Hills in the southwest corner and mark Black Elk Peak, the highest point in the state, and Mount Rushmore.
3. Draw the Central/Mountain time zone line, which follows the Missouri in places and runs west of it in others, and shade the Mountain time side.
4. Place Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Aberdeen, Brookings and Pierre; note that the largest city is at the east edge and the second largest at the west edge.
5. Draw the Big Sioux River along the lower east edge, the James River flowing south through the east-central part of the state, and the Cheyenne River from the Black Hills to the Missouri.

How to recognise the South Dakota outline

• A wide rectangle with a straight top, left and most of the bottom edge.
• A right edge that is straight in the top half and wavy (the Big Sioux) in the bottom half.
• A bottom-right corner cut diagonally by the Missouri River.
• Sits directly below North Dakota, which has the same width but a river on the right instead of the bottom corner.

Answer key and related maps

• South Dakota map — the labeled version with capital, cities and borders; use it as the answer key.
• Printable South Dakota map — the same outline with cities, county lines and the capital printed on.
• South Dakota county map — all 66 counties with their seats.
• Pierre — the capital, one of the smallest state capitals.
• Neighbours: North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana.
• Missouri River, Great Plains, and the Central / Mountain time zones.
• All blank state maps and the printable US maps index.