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Missouri: Images of the Show Me State (30 photos)

Another nickname for Missouri is “Mother of the West,” the historic starting point for westward expansion along the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, and other routes. More than half of the state’s 6.1 million residents now live in its two biggest metropolitan areas around Kansas City and St. Louis. Below are a few glimpses of the landscape of Missouri and some of the wildlife and people calling it home.

This photo story is part of Fifty, a collection of images from each of the United States.