Missouri is a state rich in history, culture, and opportunity, from the Great Plains to the Ozark mountains; from urban hustle and bustle to the beauty and serenity of limestone bluffs and winding rivers, golden grain and rolling hills of green grass; from a country fiddle square dance to jazz and blues. This leading farm and industrial state lies about midway between the Rockies and Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered on the east by the Mississippi River, separating Missouri from Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee; Arkansas lies to the south; Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska to the west; Iowa to the north. The state is named after the Algonquin people who named the Missouri River, one of the nation's major waterways to the west. It gets its nickname, The Show Me State, from the phrase "I'm from Missouri, and you've got to show me," dating back to 1899. Estimated population is more than 5.4 million. Famous Missourians include President Harry S. Truman, Mark Twain, Nobel Prize poet T.S. Eliot, jazz musician Scott Joplin, Father of the Blues W.S. Handy, General John Pershing of World War I fame, African American scientist George Washington Carver, famous journalist Joseph Pulitzer, novelist Fannie Hurst, and painter Thomas Hart Benson.

Missouri has four main land regions. The Dissected Till Plains is north of the Missouri River. The Osage Plains is in western Missouri. The Ozark Plateau, the largest region, is dominated by forested hills and low mountains, with a patch of excellent farmland in the southwest corner; it also is one of the nation's major tourist attractions because of its many caverns, large springs, lakes, and streams. The Mississippi Alluvial Plain is flat bottom land that covers the southeast corner of Missouri. Lake of the Ozarks, about 129 miles long, is one of the largest artificial lakes in North America. Big Spring is the largest of the state's 10,000 bubbling fresh water springs and its 30 mineral springs. Marvel Cave is one of the largest of more than 240 caves in Missouri. Natural resources include minerals, wildlife, fertile soil, and abundant water. Principal rivers are the Missouri, Mississippi, Current, Black, St. Francis, James, Meramec, Gasconade, and Little Piney. Notable cities are Jefferson City (the capital), Kansas City (the largest), St. Louis, Joplin, Springfield, Columbia, Hannibal, Independence, St. Joseph, Carthage, and Sedalia.

Missouri is a leading agricultural center and one of the most important manufacturing states in the Midwest, thanks to access to the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. It is home to the largest dairy-processing plants in the world, and its the nation's leading producer of lead. Key farm products include corn, hay, and strawberries. It is a major livestock and meat-packing center. Manufactures include aircraft and missiles, automobiles and trucks, railroad cars, footwear, processed foods, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum and coal products, glass and wood products, bricks, flour, clothing, and machinery. The area is served by the St. Louis International and the Kansas City Municipal airports, an extensive system of railroads and highways, and the major waterways.

Missouri is a state of natural beauty, exciting nightlife, and many, many attractions, including its award-winning wine country, American Jazz Museum, Art Gallery of Hog Hollow, Center for Contemporary Arts, Black Archives of Mid-America, Dance St. Louis, Mountain View Murals in the Ozarks, the St. Louis Symphony and Kansas City Philharmonic, Sawyer's Creek in Mark Twain country, riverboat and Las Vegas style casinos, Museum of Art and Archeology, Amish Country Bus Tours, Harry S. Truman National Historic Site, Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, home of Scott Joplin, home of Jesse James, Onyx Mountain Caverns, Negro League Baseball Museum, home of J. C. Penney, Lewis and Clark Center, Comanche Acres Iris Gardens, Council Bluff Lake, and Grand Falls. The state has a full menu of professional sports: Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams NFL football, Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball, Kansas City Wizards soccer, St. Louis Blues NHL hockey, Joplin 66 Speedway.

Missouri's history has been shaped by the likes of the Mound Builders, Daniel Boone who explored the unmapped wilds, Thomas Jefferson who acquired Missouri in the Louisiana Purchase and also commissioned the Lewis and Clark expedition along the Missouri River in search of a Northwest Passage to the Pacific, the Pony Express which delivered mail and news from St. Joseph to San Francisco, Jesse James who robbed its banks; Mark Twain who gave international fame to the riverboat port of Hannibal. When white settlers arrived in the 17th century the area was already occupied by the Missouri, Osage, Fox, Sauk, and other Indians. French explorers discovered the mouth of the Missouri River in 1673. Another Frenchman traveled down the Mississippi in 1682 and claimed the Mississippi Valley for France; he named the region Louisiana, which included present-day Missouri. Following the Louisiana Purchase, Congress made Missouri part of the Louisiana Territory. Missouri was admitted to the nation on August 10, 1821, as the 24th state.

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