Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. With more than six million residents, it is the 19th-most populous state of the country. The largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia; the capital is Jefferson City. Missouri is bordered by eight states: Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee (via the Mississippi River) to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska to the west. In the south are the Ozarks, a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. The Missouri River, after which the state is named, flows through the center of the state into the Mississippi River, which makes up Missouri’s eastern border.
Humans have inhabited the land now known as Missouri for at least 12,000 years. The Mississippian culture-built cities and mounds, before declining in the 14th century. When European explorers arrived in the 17th century, they encountered the Osage and Missouria nations. The French established Louisiana, a part of New France, founding Ste. Genevieve in 1735 and St. Louis in 1764. After a brief period of Spanish rule, the United States acquired the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
Missouri has been called the “Mother of the West” and the “Cave State”, but its most famous nickname is the “Show Me State”.

Resource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri