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St.
Louis is an independent city in the
U.S. state of Missouri. It is bordered by the Mississippi
River on the east and by St. Louis County on the north,
south, and west. St. Louis is the largest metropolitan
area in Missouri. Sometimes written as Saint Louis, the
city is named for King Louis IX of France. St. Louis
is famous for its multiple French and German influences
as well as having a Victorian past. Two events at the
beginning of the 20th century, the 1904 World's Fair
and 1904 Olympic Games (the first ever held in the United
States) are of particular pride to St. Louisans. In the
21st century, St. Louis has transformed from a manufacturing
and industrial economy into a globally known focus for
research in medicine, biotechnology, and other sciences.
The city has many nicknames, the
most popular being "Gateway
City", as it is seen as the Eastern/Western US dividing
mark. St. Louis is also called "Gateway to the West" on
behalf the many people who migrated west through St.
Louis via the Missouri River (first leg of the Oregon
Trail) and other wagon trails. St. Louis is also called "Mound
City". This term originated with the Native American
burial mounds that once were common in the city. These
were largely destroyed to level the ground as the urban
area grew. The most popular abbreviation for St. Louis
is "STL" in reference to the airport code for
the city and the long-standing use of an interlocked
S, T, and L by the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team
(the St. Louis Browns also used an interlocked STL).
The City of St. Louis lies at the heart of Greater St.
Louis, a sprawling region of nearly three million people
in both Missouri and Illinois. The Illinois portion is
commonly known as the Metro-East. The Greater St. Louis
area was the 18th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area
(MSA) area in the U.S. as of the July 2006 US Census
estimate, with more than 2,800,000 people.
Climate
St. Louis has been known to be a humid continental climate
as well as a humid
subtropical climate , falling within the boundaries
of the two climates, and has neither large mountains nor large bodies of
water to moderate its temperature. Both cold Canadian
Arctic air and hot, humid tropical air from the Gulf
of Mexico affect the region. The city has four distinct
seasons. The average annual temperature for the years
1970-2000, recorded at nearby Lambert-Saint Louis International
Airport, is 56.3 °F (13.5 °C), and average
precipitation is 37.15 inches (942 mm). The normal
high temperature in July is 89 °F (32 °C),
and the normal low temperature in January is 21 °F
(−6 °C), although these values have been
known to vary at times. Temperatures of 100 °F
(38 °C) or more occur no more than five days a
year and temperatures of 0 °F (-17.8 °C) or
below occur 2 or 3 days a year on average. The official
record low is -23 °F (-30.6 °C) on January
29, 1873, and the record high is 115 °F (46.1 °C)
on July 14, 1954.[14]
Winter (December through February) is the driest season,
averaging about 6.7 inches of total precipitation. Average
annual snowfall is 19.8 inches (500 mm) per year. Spring
(March through May), is typically the wettest season,
with approximately 10.8 inches (270 mm) of precipitation.
Dry spells lasting one or two weeks are common during
the growing seasons.
St. Louis usually experiences thunderstorms
on the average 48 days a year. Especially in the
spring, these storms can often be severe, with high winds,
large hail and tornadoes. St. Louis has been affected
on more than one occasion by particularly damaging tornadoes.
A period of warm weather late in
autumn known as Indian summer can occur – roses
will still be in bloom as late as November or early
December in some years.
Demographics
Like other large American cities, St.
Louis experienced a large population shift to the suburbs
in the twentieth century; first because of increased
demand for new housing following the Second World War,
and later in response to demographic changes, namely
white flight, whether real or perceived, in existing
neighborhoods. The long standing population decline
of the city has begun to reverse itself in recent years.
Although recent census reports show population growth,
St. Louis has had a long history of population decline.
Between 1950 and 2000, the city has lost people at a
rate faster than any other major American city, losing
more than half its population: in 1950, it had a population
of 856,796; in 2000, the population was 348,189. As of
2006, the population of St. Louis has shown a small increase
to 353,837
As of the census of 2000, there
were 348,189 people, 147,076 households, and 76,920
families residing in the city. The population density
was 5,622.9 people per square mile (2,171.2/km²).
There were 176,354 housing units at an average density
of 2,847.9/sq mi (1,099.7/km²).
The racial makeup of the city of St. Louis (as separate
and distinct from St. Louis County and the rest of the
MSA) was 51.20% African American, 43.85% White, 1.98%
Asian, 0.27% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander,
0.80% from other ethnic groups, and 1.88% of two or more
ethnicities. Hispanic or Latino of any ethnic group were
2.02% of the population. Historically, North St. Louis
City has been primarily African American and South St.
Louis City has been primarily European American. Since
the mid-1990s, an estimated 35,000 - 45,000 Bosnian immigrants
have settled in the St. Louis metropolitan area,
primarily concentrated in the Bevo neighborhood of south
St. Louis and adjacent parts of St. Louis County.
There are 147,076 households, out of which 25.4% have
children younger than 18 living with them, 26.2% were
married couples living together, 21.3% had a female householder
with no husband present, and 47.7% were non-families.
40.3% of all households were made up of individuals and
12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age
or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the
average family size was 3.19.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.7%
younger than 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to
44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years
of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every
100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females
age 18 and older, there were 84.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,156,
and the median income for a family was $32,585. Males
had a median income of $31,106 versus $26,987 for females.
The per capita income for the city was $18,108.
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