

The "Gateway" nickname is shared by neighboring Box Elder. A group of unsuccessful miners founded Rapid City in 1876, trying to create other chances they promoted their new city as the "Gateway to the Black Hills" it was originally known as Hay Camp. The public discovery of gold in 1874 by the Black Hills Expedition, led by George Armstrong Custer, brought a mass influx of European-American miners and settlers into Rapid City. JSTOR ( November 2016) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: "Rapid City, South Dakota" – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. This section needs additional citations for verification. To the city's east is Badlands National Park. In the neighboring Black Hills are the tourist attractions of Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, and the museum at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. The historic " Old West" town of Deadwood is nearby. Rapid City is home to such attractions as Art Alley, Dinosaur Park, the City of Presidents walking tour, Chapel in the Hills, Storybook Island, and Main Street Square. Camp Rapid, part of the South Dakota Army National Guard, is in the city's western part. Ellsworth Air Force Base is on the city's outskirts. Known as the "Gateway to the Black Hills" and the "City of Presidents" because of the life-size bronze president statues downtown, Rapid City is split by a low mountain ridge that divides the city's western and eastern parts. The population was 74,703 as of the 2020 Census. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western South Dakota, on the Black Hills' eastern slope.

Rapid City is the second most populous city in South Dakota after Sioux Falls and the county seat of Pennington County.
