There are a large number of lakes and ponds, mostly in the east and north. Devil's Lake, the water of which is brackish, is forty miles long and from four to twelve miles wide. Other important lakes are Albert, Poinsett, Tchanchicaha, Traverse, Whitewood and Big Stone. In the north the winters are severe and much snow falls, but the climate of the south is mild and pleasant. The atmosphere is clear and dry, and owing to the elevation, malarial diseases are unknown, while pulmonary complaints are rare.
Spring opens earlier than in Eastern States in the same latitude.
The annual rainfall averages twenty inches and occurs at the best time for agriculture. Several important changes were made in the boundaries when Idaho, Wyoming and Montana were organized. The earliest settlements were made at Pembina in 1812, by Lord Selkirk, who supposed it to be British territory. The first permanent settlements were made in 1859, between Sioux City and Yankton, on the banks of the Missouri, but Indian troubles and the Civil war checked immigration until 1866. In 1883 the capital was changed to Bismarck, where a State house is in process of erection.