Rapid City, Pennington County, South Dakota, USA

Rapid City is the second-largest city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County, located on the eastern edge of the Black Hills in western South Dakota. The city lies where Rapid Creek emerges from the forested granite hills onto the Great Plains, making it a historic gateway between the prairie and the Black Hills. Interstate 90 passes along the city’s northern edge, connecting Rapid City with eastern South Dakota and Wyoming, while U.S. Highways 16, 44 and 385 provide access to Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Badlands National Park and other destinations. Rapid City serves as the economic, healthcare, education, tourism and military center for much of western South Dakota, with Ellsworth Air Force Base located just east of the city. It covers approximately 55.6 square miles of land and had 74,703 residents at the 2020 census, with continued growth making it one of the fastest-growing cities in the state.