text: North Dakota (; locally ) is a state in the midwestern and northern regions of the United States. It is the 19th most extensive, but the 4th least populous, and the 4th most sparsely populated of the 50 U.S. states. North Dakota was admitted as the 39th state to the Union on November 2, 1889. The state capital is Bismarck, and the largest city is Fargo. 
  
  North Dakota weathered the Great Recession of the early 21st century with a boom in natural resources, particularly a boom in oil extraction from the Bakken formation, which lies beneath the northwestern part of the state. The development drove strong job and population growth, and low unemployment. However, falling oil prices have put pressure on state finances, leading to questions about the lack of diversity in the North Dakota economy and its vulnerability to commodity price swings. 
  
  North Dakota is in the U.S. region known as the Great Plains. The state shares the Red River of the North with Minnesota to the east. South Dakota is to the south, Montana is to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are to the north. North Dakota is situated near the middle of North America with a stone marker in Rugby, North Dakota marking the "Geographic Center of the North American Continent". With an area of , North Dakota is the 19th largest state.