Wichita

Sister cities

• Cancun
• Orléans
• Tlalnepantla
• Benito Juárez Municipality
• Tlalnepantla de Baz Municipality
• Kaifeng

History

Archaeological evidence indicates human habitation near the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers, the site of present-day Wichita, as early as 3000 BC. In 1541, a Spanish expedition led by explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado found the area populated by the Quivira, or Wichita, people. Conflict with the Osage in the 1750s drove the Wichita further south. Prior to European settlement of the region, the site was in the territory of the Kiowa. Claimed first by France as part of Louisiana and later acquired by the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, it became part of Kansas Territory in 1854 and then the state of Kansas in 1861. The Wichita people returned in 1863, driven from their land in Indian Territory by Confederate forces in the American Civil War, and established a settlement on the banks of the Little Arkansas. During this period, trader Jesse Chisholm established a trading post at the site, one of several along a trail extending south to Texas which became known as the Chisholm Trail. In 1867, after the war, the Wichita returned to Indian Territory. Business opportunities attracted area hunters and traders, and a new settlement began to form. That summer, Mead and others organized the Wichita Town Company, naming the settlement after the Wichita tribe. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway reached the city in 1872. As a result, Wichita became a railhead for the cattle drives, earning it the nickname "Cowtown". James Earp ran a brothel with his wife Nellie "Bessie" Ketchum. His brother Wyatt was likely a pimp, although historian Gary L. Roberts believes that he was an enforcer or bouncer. Local arrest records show that Nellie, and Earp's common-law wife Sally, managed a brothel there from early 1874 to the middle of…

Geography

Wichita is in south-central Kansas at the junction of Interstate 35 and U.S. Route 54. Part of the Midwestern United States, it is north of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; southwest of Kansas City, Missouri; and east-southeast of Denver, Colorado. The city lies on the Arkansas River near the western edge of the Flint Hills in the Wellington-McPherson Lowlands region of the Great Plains. The area's topography is characterized by the broad alluvial plain of the Arkansas River valley and the moderately rolling slopes that rise to the higher lands on either side. The Arkansas follows a winding course, south-southeast through Wichita, roughly bisecting the city. It is joined along its course by several tributaries, all of which flow generally south. The largest is the Little Arkansas River, which enters the city from the north and joins the Arkansas immediately west of downtown. Further east lies Chisholm Creek, which joins the Arkansas in the far southern part of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are covered by water. As the core of the Wichita metropolitan area, the city is surrounded by suburbs. Bordering Wichita on the north are, from west to east, Valley Center, Park City, Kechi, and Bel Aire. Enclosed within east-central Wichita is Eastborough. Adjacent to the city's east side is Andover. McConnell Air Force Base is in the extreme southeast corner of the city. To the south, from east to west, lie Derby and Haysville. Goddard and Maize border Wichita to the west and northwest, respectively. The National Weather Service has a local office in Wichita, supporting 20 counties in Kansas. Wichita lies within the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa), typically experiencing hot, humid summers and cold, dry…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,864
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  8,495
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,768
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,542
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,439
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,222
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  6,192
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,728

Largest nearby schools

• East High
  High · Wichita · 2,295 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Southeast High
  High · Wichita · 2,189 students · 17.9:1 ratio
• North High
  High · Wichita · 2,074 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Campus High Haysville
  High · Wichita · 1,893 students · 20.4:1 ratio
• South High
  High · Wichita · 1,632 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Northwest High
  High · Wichita · 1,416 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• West High
  High · Wichita · 1,370 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• Heights High
  High · Wichita · 1,292 students · 15.8:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2025-11-30
  5 km WSW of Danville, Kansas
• M 2.5 — 2025-08-23
  6 km SSE of Spivey, Kansas
• M 3.36 — 2025-06-26
  4 km SE of Braman, Oklahoma
• M 2.6 — 2025-04-21
  7 km ESE of Marion, Kansas
• M 2.6 — 2025-03-25
  5 km S of Milton, Kansas
• M 2.7 — 2024-09-25
  6 km NE of Cedar Point, Kansas