Center

History

Center was founded in 1902. The city was named from its location near the geographical center of Oliver County. Coincidentally, it has also been calculated to be the geographical center of North America. The town is somewhat notable for the blizzard-related death of Hazel Miner, who would go on to be the subject of a song and memorials.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Southwest of Center, there is a large open air coal mine. Southeast of Center, at Nelson Lake there is a large power plant. West of Nelson Lake is situated the Square Butte high-voltage direct current transmission line's static inverter. Peter Rogerson, a professor of geography at the University at Buffalo in New York, used new scientific methods and the azimuthal equidistant projection to calculate the "geographic center" of the North American continent. By some extraordinary coincidence, he found that Center, North Dakota, is the continent's geographical center. This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Center has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  124
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  114
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  111
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  108
• Ring-necked Pheasant

  Phasianus colchicus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  98
• Common Grackle

  Quiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  90
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  87
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  82

Largest nearby schools

• CENTER-STANTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · Center · 130 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• CENTER-STANTON HIGH SCHOOL
  High · Center · 115 students · 10.5:1 ratio