Iowa Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Boundaries=== {{See also|List of counties in Iowa}} [[File:Iowa topography.jpg|thumb|Topography of Iowa, with counties and major streams]] Iowa is bordered by the [[Mississippi River]] on the east along with the [[Missouri River]] and the [[Big Sioux River]] on the west. The northern boundary is a line along 43 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude.<ref>{{cite book|title=Preamble to the 1857 Constitution of the State of Iowa |url=http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Constitution.html#pre1 |access-date=August 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802085648/http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Constitution.html |archive-date=August 2, 2009 }}</ref>{{efn|The Missouri and Mississippi river boundaries are as they were mapped in the 19th century, which can vary from their modern courses.}} The southern border is the [[Des Moines River]] and a not-quite-straight line along approximately 40 degrees 35 minutes north, as decided by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in ''[[State of Missouri v. State of Iowa (1849)|Missouri v. Iowa]]'' (1849) after a standoff between [[Missouri]] and Iowa known as the [[Honey War]].<ref>[[Case citation|48 U.S. (7 How.) 660 (1849).]]</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Jeff |last=Morrison |title=Forty-Thirty-five or fight? Sullivan's Line, the Honey War, and latitudinal estimations |url=http://homepage.mac.com/jeffmorrison/maps/sullivanline.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101232646/http://homepage.mac.com/jeffmorrison/maps/sullivanline.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 1, 2007 |date=January 13, 2005 |access-date=August 9, 2009 }}</ref> Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are formed almost entirely by rivers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.50states.com/facts/iowa.htm|title=Iowa Fast Facts and Trivia|publisher=50states.com|access-date=February 24, 2013|archive-date=January 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128111247/http://www.50states.com/facts/iowa.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Carter Lake, Iowa]], is the only city in the state located west of the Missouri River.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofcarterlake.com/about-carter-lake-|access-date=October 7, 2020|title=About Carter Lake|archive-date=October 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009210417/http://www.cityofcarterlake.com/about-carter-lake-|url-status=live}}</ref> Iowa has 99 [[County (United States)|counties]], but 100 [[county seat]]s because [[Lee County, Iowa|Lee County]] has two. The state capital, [[Des Moines]], is in [[Polk County, Iowa|Polk County]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/research/data/Pages/CountySeats.aspx |title=National Association of Counties |publisher=County Seats |access-date=December 24, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222131008/http://www.naco.org/research/data/Pages/CountySeats.aspx |archive-date=December 22, 2010 }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page