Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota

Shannon County is a located in the  of. As of the, the population was 12,466. Its largest community is.

The county is entirely within the and contains part of. The county's makes it the second. It also has the interesting distinction of having the highest percentage of Democratic votes for President in the 2004 election of any county in the US (85%). It is an alcohol prohibition or ; taxes on alcohol consumed within the county go to other counties.

Shannon County is one of two counties in South Dakota that does not have its own ( is the other). in neighboring serves as its administrative center. It is also one of five South Dakota counties that are entirely on an. (The others are, , , and .)

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 5,430 (2,097 ). 5,423 km² (2,094 sq mi) of it is land and 7 km² (3 sq mi) of it is water. The total area is 0.13% water.

The county includes the s of the.

Townships
The county is divided into two areas of unorganized territory: East Shannon and West Shannon.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 18.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:SD 40.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:SD 391.svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:SD 407.svg|23px]]

Adjacent counties

 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - west
 * - northwest

Demographics
As of the of, there are 12,466 people in the county, organized into 2,785 households, and 2,353 families. The is 2/km² (6/sq mi). There are 3,123 housing units at an average density of 1/km² (2/sq mi).

Shannon County has the highest percentage of population and the lowest percentage White population of any county in the United States. The racial makeup of the county is 94.20%, 4.51% , 0.08% or , 0.02% , 0.05% , 0.22% from , and 0.91% from two or more races. 1.42% of the population are or  of any race.

There are 2,785 households out of which 51.70% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.40% are living together, 36.40% have a female householder with no husband present, and 15.50% are non-families. 13.20% of all households are made up of individuals and 3.00% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 4.36 and the average family size is 4.72.

The age distribution is 45.30% under the age of 18, 10.60% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 13.80% from 45 to 64, and 4.80% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 21 years. For every 100 females there are 99.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.60 males.