The Geographic Center of the Nation has changed several times over the years as additional states were admitted to the Union. Originally near Lebanon, KS, with the addition of the state of Alaska it shifted northwest to a point 11 miles northwest of Castle Rock, Butte County, South Dakota. Then when Hawaii was admitted to the Union, the geographic center changed again. The geographic center of the 50 states was then determined as being the circle connecting the geographic centers of the 49 states and Hawaii at a point where where the areas would 'balance'. This effect moved the center west-southwest to about 20 miles north of Belle Fourche, Butte County, South Dakota. The uncertainty of this determination is set at around 10 miles in any direction. The monument to the Geographic Center of the Nation was erected in the nearest town to the actual geographic center, Belle Fourche, South Dakota.
To log this cache, at the monument, look at the northeast arm of the compass rose (between the marked North and East arms) and tell me which state the northeast arm points to and that state's motto. The information is found on the plaque affixed to the flagpole.
Directions to the actual geographic center of the nation (50 states): drive 13 miles north from the intersection of Hwy 85 and 212. Turn left onto Old Hwy 85 (gravel) and drive 7.8 miles until you see a barn on your left side. On the right side you will see a flag flying freely in the pasture. At this location there is the survey marker in the ground marking the "Center of the Nation"
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.