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Rapid City, city (1990 pop. 54,523), seat of Pennington co., SW S.Dak., on Rapid Creek, in an irrigated farm region served by the Bureau of Reclamation's Rapid Valley project; founded 1876 after the discovery of gold nearby, inc. 1882. It is the trade and transportation center of an extensive lumbering, ranching, and mining (gold, silver, feldspar, bentonite, mica, and uranium) area. The growing city has flour mills, and firms that make jewelry, cement, and lumber. Nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base is a major source of employment. The city is also the tourist center of the Black Hills and the gateway to many attractions, including Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the Badlands National Monument, and Wind Cave National Park. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, two nursing schools, a business college, and a federal Sioux museum are in Rapid City. In June, 1972, the city was struck by a severe flash flood after heavy rains caused the collapse of two nearby earth dams. More than 200 lives were lost and property damage was estimated at $120 million.
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