Continue to Select of the Counties or Major Cities below located in Iowa to find Summer Camps in that County or City:
The first Europeans to visit the area were the French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet in 1673. The U.S. obtained control of the area in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase, and during the first half of the 19th century, there was heavy fighting between white settlers and Indians. Lands were taken from the Indians after the Black Hawk War in 1832 and again in 1836 and 1837.
Capital: Des Moines
Motto: Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain
State symbols: flower wild rose (1897), bird eastern goldfinch (1933), colors red, white, and blue (in state flag), song “Song of Iowa”
Nickname: Hawkeye State
Origin of name: From the Iowa River which was named after the Ioway Indian tribe
10 largest cities (2005 est.): Des Moines, 194,163; Cedar Rapids, 123,119; Davenport, 98,845; Sioux City, 83,148; Waterloo, 66,483; Iowa City, 62,887; Council Bluffs, 59,568; Dubuque, 57,798; West Des Moines, 52,768; Ames, 52,263. Land area: 55,869 sq mi. (144,701 sq km). Geographic center: In Story Co., 5 mi. NE of Ames. Number of counties: 99. Largest county by population and area: Polk, 401,006 (2005); Kossuth, 973 sq mi. Residents: Iowan. 2005 resident population est.: 2,966,334