Iowa Land for Sale

Iowa is located in the Midwestern United States and is bordered by the Mississippi River, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, the Missouri River, the Big Sioux River, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, Minnesota to the north, and Missouri to the south. It is the 30th most populated state and 26th in land area in the United States. The state's nickname, the "Hawkeye State," is thought to have originated from Chief Black Hawk, the Sauk Native American leader in the Black Hawk War. The capital and largest city by population is Des Moines. Other large cities include Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City, Iowa City, Waterloo, Council Bluffs, West Des Moines, Ames and Dubuque.

Iowa is the only state with its eastern and western borders formed entirely by rivers. The state's terrain consists of some bedrock and most of the state is generally not flat; it has rolling hills. The area in Northeast Iowa along the Mississippi River, part of the Driftless Zone, consist of steep hills and valleys which look almost mountainous. There are a number of natural lakes, most notably the three lakes that are part of the Iowa Great Lakes in northwest Iowa, which includes Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake. Clear Lake is a larger lake in the east. Most of Iowa's land is used for agriculture, with crops covering around 60 percent of the state, grasslands covering 30 percent, forests covering 7 percent and urban areas and water covering 1 percent each. Iowa has 85 state parks, six state forests, two state fish hatcheries, 24 state wildlife areas, 20 state wildlife management areas, two state wildlife refuges, one national historic site, and three national wildlife refuges. Some of the best are Effigy Mounds National Monument, Ledges State Park, Stone State Park, Gull Point State Park, Maquoketa Caves State Park, and Preparation Canyon State Park.

While agriculture contributes to Iowa's economy, it is relatively a small portion of it. Main agricultural products include hogs, corn, soybeans, oats, cattle, eggs, and dairy products. Iowa is the largest producer of ethanol and corn in the country. There are also several agricultural product processing companies. Primary industries include manufacturing, biotechnology, finance, insurance services, and government services. Iowa has three public universities, Iowa State University, University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa, and there are more than 30 other colleges and universities.