North Dakota is a fairly large state (17th among the states in total land area) but a sparsely populated one (45th). Most of the people live in rural areas, because there are few cities of any size; even these are, for the most part, widely scattered. The largest urban area (the tri-city area of Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead, Minnesota) has a combined population of under 120,000.
Most people visit North Dakota on their way to someplace else. They rush through because of the lack of big cities and scenic areas. Although it is true that much of the state is anything but scenic, there is great beauty awaiting those who explore the prairie, the rolling, wooded hills of the Turtle Mountains, or the rugged badlands along the Little Missouri River.
Over the years some of the greatest names in ornithology have visited North Dakota on birding expeditions. At the head of the list is John James Audubon, who made one of his last painting-and-collecting expeditions here in 1843. The most celebrated birder ever to visit the state, though, has to be our twenty-sixth president, Theodore Roosevelt.
Roosevelt established a large cattle-ranching enterprise in the Little Missouri badlands in 1883. In doing so he established two ranches: the Maltese Cross Ranch (about seven miles south of Medora) and the Elkhorn Ranch (about thirty-five miles north of Medora). Although not an ornithologist in the strictest sense of the word, Roosevelt kept written records of his bird sightings in the badlands. These records represent some of his most colorful and interesting writings.
Much of the topography of North Dakota can be traced to the effects of Wisconsin-age glaciation, particularly in the north and east. Large portions of these glaciated areas are peppered by countless ponds and lakes. A frightening number have been drained; nevertheless, these wetlands constitute one of the most important waterfowl production areas in the country.
Although North Dakota cannot boast of large mountain ranges like the states farther west, it is anything but a flat, monotonous state. Much of the state is characterized by gently rolling prairie. More noticeable hills and escarpments may be found in the Turtle Mountains, Pembina Hills, on the south side of Devils Lake, and along stretches of several rivers (notably the Missouri). Further, beach lines and sandhills left over from the last ice age provide a somewhat local variation to the level topography of some areas. The most rugged terrain occurs in the Little Missouri badlands, which are characterized by numerous steep slopes, severely eroded buttes, and arroyos.