Iowa

Geographical location

Iowa is located in the Midwest of the USA. The state borders Minnesota to the north, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, Missouri to the south, and Wisconsin and Illinois to the east.

The Mississippi River forms the eastern border of the state. In the west, river courses also form the state border - south of Sioux City it is the Missouri River, north of it the Big Sioux River. The topography of the state is characterized by rolling plains. Loess uplands are found along the western border, some several hundred feet thick. Among the few naturally formed lakes are the so-called Iowa Great Lakes - namely Big Spirit Lake, East Okoboji Lake, and West Okoboji Lake, among others. They are located in the northwestern part of the state, close to the Minnesota border.

Iowa's annual rainfall decreases toward the northwest. The more forested areas of the south and east transition to the tallgrass prairie of the Great Plains to the north and west.

The lowest point is the Mississippi River at Keokuk in southeastern Iowa (175 m); the highest point is Hawkeye Point (509 m). In relation to the area, the differences in altitude are small.

With a total area of 145,743 km², Iowa ranks 26th in the middle of all US states by area size. 1,042 km² (0.71 percent) of the state are water areas.

Extension of the national territory

Iowa extends over a latitude of 320 km from 40°36'N to 43°30'N and has a longitude of 500 km from 89°5'W to 96°31'W.

Structure

• List of counties in Iowa

Iowa has a population of 3,156,145 (2018 estimate), of which 88.7 percent are white, 5.0 percent are Hispanic or Latino, 2.9 percent are black or African American, 1.7 percent are Asian American, and 0.4 percent are descendants of Native Americans.

Most Iowa residents have European ancestors. The ethnic Germans are by far the largest group with about 36 percent (2014). The Amana Colonies on the Iowa River still have a German influence today.

Religions

The largest religious community in Iowa is the Roman Catholic Church, to which about 23 percent of the population belong. The individual Protestant denominations are significantly less strongly represented. However, if the various Protestant groups are added together, Iowa is more Protestant. The religious denominations with the most members in 2000 were the Catholic Church with 558,092, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 268,543, and the United Methodist Church with 248,211 adherents.

Known became the building "Trinity Church" of the village of Manning. Because of the reduced congregation, it was laboriously transported on a flatbed truck to a place 10 km away.

When asked "What is your religion?" in 2001, Iowa residents answered:

• 23 % Catholics
• 16 % Lutherans
• 13 % Methodists
• 6 % other
• 5 % no answer
• 5 % Baptists
• 5 % Christians
• 3 % Presbyterian
• 2 % Protestants
• 2 % Pentecostalism
• 2 % Congregationalists/United Church of Christ
• 1 % Church of Christ

Largest cities