Missouri, home to 6.1 million people, is located in the American Midwest. The name comes from the Missouri River and the indigenous people of the same name.
According to Acronymmonster, Missouri is located in the American Midwest. It is home to around 6.1 million residents on an area of around 180,000 km². Neighboring states of Missouri are Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. “Those with the wooden canoes”. This is the meaning behind the word Missouri, which characterizes both the native Native American tribe and the local river by name. Missouri’s best-known synonym is “Show me State” (a term that goes back to the politician Willard Duncan Vandiver), and the term “Mother of the West” is also common. Jefferson City acts as the capital of the US state, about 43,000 people live in the settlement founded in 1821 in the heart of Missouri.
Missouri – History of the Show me State
Before the European settlement, the prehistoric Clovis culture and the Mississippi culture existed in Missouri. In the centuries before the settlers, the Osage, the Quapaw and the Missouri lived here. In 1821 Missouri received the rank of a US state as part of the Missouri Compromise. Historically, Missouri played a central role in the expansion of settlement efforts to the west, as is now a reminder of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Important infrastructural connections such as the famous Oregon Trail, the Pony Express, the Santa Fe Trail and the California Trail began in what is now Missouri. It’s not for nothing that Missouri is nicknamed Mother of the West. At the time of the American Civil War, Missouri had a special position: the state was part of the Union, but slavery remained legal for a long time.
Missouri – the largest cities of the Mother of the West
With Kansas City (approx. 460,000 residents) and St. Louis (approx. 320,000 residents) Missouri has two major cities that are nationwide. This is followed by Springfield (160,000 residents) and Columbia (108,000 residents).
Largest Counties in Missouri by Area
According to Countryaah, the biggest counties in Missouri are listed as below:
| Ranking | County | Area |
| 1 | Texas County | 3,054 km2 |
| 2 | Shannon County | 2,600 km2 |
| 3 | Howell County | 2,404 km2 |
| 4 | Franklin County | 2,388 km2 |
| 5 | Nodaway County | 2,271 km2 |
| 6 | Bates County | 2,196 km2 |
| 7 | Callaway County | 2,173 km2 |
| 8 | Vernon County | 2,160 km2 |
| 9 | Johnson County | 2,152 km2 |
| 10 | Stoddard County | 2,142 km2 |
| 11 | Douglas County | 2,111 km2 |
| 12 | Reynolds County | 2,100 km2 |
| 13 | Macon County | 2,082 km2 |
| 14 | Oregon County | 2,051 km2 |
| 15 | Barry County | 2,018 km2 |
| 16 | Laclede County | 1,984 km2 |
| 17 | Wayne County | 1,971 km2 |
| 18 | Washington County | 1,968 km2 |
| 19 | Chariton County | 1,958 km2 |
| 20 | Saline County | 1,958 km2 |
| 21 | Dent County | 1,953 km2 |
| 22 | Ozark County | 1,935 km2 |
| 23 | Crawford County | 1,924 km2 |
| 24 | Harrison County | 1,878 km2 |
| 25 | Benton County | 1,829 km2 |
| 26 | Henry County | 1,818 km2 |
| 27 | Cass County | 1,810 km2 |
| 28 | Butler County | 1,808 km2 |
| 29 | Carroll County | 1,800 km2 |
| 30 | Audrain County | 1,795 km2 |
| 31 | Boone County | 1,774 km2 |
| 32 | Pettis County | 1,774 km2 |
| 33 | Wright County | 1,766 km2 |
| 34 | New Madrid County | 1,756 km2 |
| 35 | Saint Clair County | 1,753 km2 |
| 36 | Greene County | 1,748 km2 |
| 37 | Phelps County | 1,743 km2 |
| 38 | Pike County | 1,743 km2 |
| 39 | Jefferson County | 1,702 km2 |
| 40 | Camden County | 1,696 km2 |
| 41 | Sullivan County | 1,686 km2 |
| 42 | Monroe County | 1,673 km2 |
| 43 | Jasper County | 1,658 km2 |
| 44 | Polk County | 1,650 km2 |
| 45 | Taney County | 1,637 km2 |
| 46 | Lincoln County | 1,632 km2 |
| 47 | Ripley County | 1,632 km2 |
| 48 | Lafayette County | 1,629 km2 |
| 49 | Newton County | 1,621 km2 |
| 50 | Bollinger County | 1,608 km2 |
| 51 | Linn County | 1,606 km2 |
| 52 | Lawrence County | 1,588 km2 |
| 53 | Osage County | 1,570 km2 |
| 54 | Jackson County | 1,567 km2 |
| 55 | Morgan County | 1,549 km2 |
| 56 | Barton County | 1,538 km2 |
| 57 | Webster County | 1,536 km2 |
| 58 | Miller County | 1,533 km2 |
| 59 | Cape Girardeau County | 1,500 km2 |
| 60 | Ray County | 1,476 km2 |
| 61 | Adair County | 1,471 km2 |
| 62 | Daviess County | 1,469 km2 |
| 63 | Cooper County | 1,463 km2 |
| 64 | Christian County | 1,458 km2 |
| 65 | Saint Charles County | 1,453 km2 |
| 66 | Iron County | 1,427 km2 |
| 67 | Pulaski County | 1,417 km2 |
| 68 | Dunklin County | 1,414 km2 |
| 69 | Atchison County | 1,412 km2 |
| 70 | Dallas County | 1,404 km2 |
| 71 | McDonald County | 1,399 km2 |
| 72 | Montgomery County | 1,396 km2 |
| 73 | Livingston County | 1,386 km2 |
| 74 | Maries County | 1,368 km2 |
| 75 | Gasconade County | 1,347 km2 |
| 76 | Putnam County | 1,342 km2 |
| 77 | Carter County | 1,316 km2 |
| 78 | Saint Louis County | 1,316 km2 |
| 79 | Clark County | 1,313 km2 |
| 80 | Knox County | 1,311 km2 |
| 81 | Lewis County | 1,308 km2 |
| 82 | Ste. Genevieve County | 1,300 km2 |
| 83 | Shelby County | 1,298 km2 |
| 84 | Madison County | 1,287 km2 |
| 85 | Pemiscot County | 1,277 km2 |
| 86 | Gentry County | 1,274 km2 |
| 87 | Dade County | 1,269 km2 |
| 88 | Randolph County | 1,248 km2 |
| 89 | Cedar County | 1,233 km2 |
| 90 | Perry County | 1,230 km2 |
| 91 | Ralls County | 1,220 km2 |
| 92 | Howard County | 1,207 km2 |
| 93 | Stone County | 1,199 km2 |
| 94 | Holt County | 1,197 km2 |
| 95 | Mercer County | 1,176 km2 |
| 96 | Saint Francois County | 1,165 km2 |
| 97 | Marion County | 1,134 km2 |
| 98 | Scotland County | 1,134 km2 |
| 99 | Grundy County | 1,129 km2 |
| 100 | Andrew County | 1,127 km2 |
| 101 | Warren County | 1,119 km2 |
| 102 | Caldwell County | 1,111 km2 |
| 103 | DeKalb County | 1,098 km2 |
| 104 | Scott County | 1,090 km2 |
| 105 | Platte County | 1,088 km2 |
| 106 | Clinton County | 1,085 km2 |
| 107 | Moniteau County | 1,080 km2 |
| 108 | Mississippi County | 1,070 km2 |
| 109 | Buchanan County | 1,062 km2 |
| 110 | Hickory County | 1,033 km2 |
| 111 | Clay County | 1,026 km2 |
| 112 | Cole County | 1,015 km2 |
| 113 | Schuyler County | 798 km2 |
| 114 | Worth County | 689 km2 |
| 115 | Saint Louis City | 160 km2 |