Kansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses 318 square miles (820 km2) in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. The city also serves as the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, second largest in Missouri, and largest with territory in Kansas (Wichita is the largest metropolitan area anchored in Kansas). As of February 6, 2009, it was revealed that the US census had underestimated Kansas City’s population, and re-released it to be 475,830, with a metro area of over two million. Kansas City was founded in 1838 as the “Town of Kansas” at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers and was incorporated in its present form in 1850. Situated opposite Kansas City, Kansas, the city was the location of several battles during the Civil War, including the Battle of Westport. The city is well known for its contributions to the musical styles of jazz and blues as well as to cuisine (Kansas City-style barbecue). Sources:
Kansas has many things to appreciate, even to brag about. While Kansas may not have the Rocky Mountains, it has the Flint Hills and the Smoky Hills; while it does not have the Great Lakes, it has 232 lakes and reservoirs sprinkled across the state; while it does not have George Washington or Mount Vernon, it does have President Dwight Eisenhower and his home and library in Abilene; while it does not have Gettysburg or Fredericksburg, it does have the Civil War battlefield at Mine Creek; while it does not have President Abraham Lincoln, it does have Charles Curtis, the first Native American to hold the second highest office in the land; while it does not have the prime meridian located at Greenwich, England, it does have the primary datum for North America and the geodetic center of the United States; while it does not have Yellowstone Park, it does have prairie parks like the Konza in Riley County and the Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve in Chase County. Markers erected by the Kans