Missouri see pronunciation is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. In the south are the Ozarks , a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. Francois Mountains are among the oldest in the world. The Missouri River , after which the state is named, flows through the center and into the Mississippi River , which makes up the eastern border.
With over six million residents, it is the 19th-most populous state of the country. The largest urban areas are St. Louis , Kansas City , Springfield , and Columbia. The capital is Jefferson City. Humans have inhabited present-day Missouri for at least 12, years.
The Mississippian culture , which emerged in the ninth century, built cities with pyramidal and other ceremonial mounds before declining in the 14th century. The Indigenous Osage and Missouria nations inhabited the area when European people arrived in the 17th century.
The French incorporated the territory into Louisiana , founding Ste. Genevieve in and St. Louis in Americans from the Upland South rushed into the new Missouri Territory , taking advantage of its productive agricultural plains; Missouri played a central role in the westward expansion of the United States.
As a border state , Missouri's role in the American Civil War was complex, and it was subject to rival governments, raids, and guerilla warfare. After the war, both Greater St. Louis and the Kansas City metropolitan area became large centers of industrialization and business. Today the state is divided into counties and the independent city of St.
