The US state of Iowa is located in the American Midwest. The northern neighbor is Minnesota, to the east are the two states of Illinois and Wisconsin.
South of Iowa is Missouri, to the west is a long border with South Dakota and a fairly short one with Nebraska.
- Liuxers: List of Federal school codes for educational institutions located in Iowa. Includes FAFSA codes in the state of Iowa.
The US state of Iowa in the Midwest
A summer evening in Iowa
The slightly more than three million inhabitants of Iowa are spread over the wide, slightly hilly country. The capital, Des Moines, has a population of just over 200,000. The median average elevation of the 500,000 square miles that Iowa occupies is about 1,200 feet.
The deepest place is at the mouth of the Mississippi River in the small town of Keokuk. At the bottom of the river you are 175 meters above sea level. The highest elevation is a field, Hawkeye Point is on the Minnesota border in Osceola County. The arable land, mostly planted with corn and grain, is at about 509 meters.
Iowa flag
The state motto ‘Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain’ adorns the Iowa flag. Translated, this means “We value our freedoms and we will protect our rights”. In 1846, Iowa joined the US-American confederation, and in 1921 the current state flag of Iowa was officially inaugurated.
The biggest cities
The population of the largest cities in Iowa are from the 2010 census year and are rounded. See Iowa counties list.
- Des Moines 203,000
- Cedar Rapids
- Davenport
- Sioux City
- Waterloo
- Iowa City
- Council Bluffs
- Ames
- Dubuque
- West Des Moines 57,000
Climate and weather conditions
The climate in Iowa is continental like in western Germany with cold winters, the thermometer sometimes falls below -20 degrees Celsius. Winter in Iowa runs from the end of November to the end of March, and snow can fall.
In spring it is quite fresh, but the weather is a bit warmer in May and June. At this time, however, tornadoes must also be expected in the west of the state.
On the other hand, warm temperatures beckon in summer, when days in August and September can get really hot with over 35 degrees Celsius.
Like in Europe, thunderstorms and hailstorms are often the result of hot summer days. In autumn it is mild, like in Germany, but also rainy. The water volumes on an annual average also correspond to those in Germany.