A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand (sometimes tens of thousands), Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New York City and the Saifi Village in Beirut, Lebanon, as well as Hampstead Village in the London conurbation. Villages are normally permanent, with fixed dwellings; however, transient villages can occur. Further, the dwellings of a village are fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape, as a dispersed settlement.

Historically, villages were a usual form of community for societies that practise subsistence agriculture, and also for some non-agricultural societies. In Great Britain, a hamlet earned the right to be called a village when it built a church. In many cultures, towns and cities were few, with only a small proportion of the population living in them. The Industrial Revolution attracted people in larger numbers to work in mills and factories; the concentration of people caused many villages to grow into towns and cities. This also enabled specialization of labor and crafts, and development of many trades. The trend of urbanisation continues, though not always in connection with industrialisation. Villages have been eclipsed in importance as units of human society and settlement.

Traditional villages

Although many patterns of village life have existed, the typical village was small, consisting of perhaps 5 to 30 families. Homes were situated together for sociability and defence, and land surrounding the living quarters was farmed. Traditional fishing villages were based on artisan fishing and located adjacent to fishing grounds.

South Asia

India "The soul of India lives in its villages", declared M. K. Gandhi at the beginning of 20th century. According to the 2001 Indian census, 74% of Indians live in 638,365 different villages. The size of these villages varies considerably. 236,004 Indian villages have a population less than 500, while 3,976 villages have a population of 10,000+. Most of the villages have their own temple, mosque or church depending on the local religious following.

Indonesia "Lampung", the birth of p-man(pung)(meaning kampung) blindov.

East Asia

People's Republic of China In mainland China, villages are divisions under township or town .

Republic of China (Taiwan) In the Republic of China (Taiwan), villages are divisions under townships or county-controlled cities. The village is called a ''tsuen'' or ''cūn'' (村) under a rural township (鄉) and a ''li'' (里) under an urban township (鎮) or a county-controlled city.

Japan

South Korea

Southeast Asia

Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore

In Indonesia, depending on the principles they are administered, villages are called ''desa'' or ''kelurahan''. A ''desa'' (a term that derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "country" that is found in a name such as "Bangladesh") is administered according to traditions and customary law (''adat''), while a ''kelurahan'' is administered along more "modern" principles. ''Desa'' are generally located in rural areas while ''kelurahan'' are generally urban subdivisions. A village head is respectively called ''kepala desa'' or ''lurah''. Both are elected by the local community. A ''desa'' or ''kelurahan'' is itself the subdivision of a ''kecamatan'' (district), in turn the subdivision of a ''kabupaten'' (regency).

The same general concept applies all over Indonesia. However, there is some variation among the vast numbers of Austronesian ethnic groups. For instance, in Bali villages have been created by grouping traditional hamlets or ''banjar'', which constitute the basis of Balinese social life. In the Minangkabau country in West Sumatra province traditional villages are called ''nagari'' (a term deriving from another Sanskrit word meaning "city", which can be found in a name like "Srinagar"). In some areas such as Tanah Toraja, elders take turns watching over the village at a command post. As a general rule, ''desa'' and ''kelurahan'' are groupings of hamlets (''kampung'' in Indonesian, ''dusun'' in the Javanese language, ''banjar'' in Bali).

In Malaysia, the term ''kampung'' (sometimes spelling ''kampong'') in the English language has been defined specifically as "a Malay hamlet or village in a Malay-speaking country". In other words, a ''kampung'' is defined today as a village in Brunei, Indonesia or Malaysia. In Malaysia, a ''kampung'' is determined as a locality with 10,000 or fewer people. Since historical times, every Malay village came under the leadership of a ''penghulu'' (village chief), who has the power to hear civil matters in his village (see Courts of Malaysia for more details). A Malay village typically contains a ''"masjid"'' (mosque) or ''"surau"'' (Muslim chapel), paddy fields and Malay houses on stilts. Malay and Indonesian villagers practice the culture of helping one another as a community, which is better known as "joint bearing of burdens" (''gotong royong''), as well as being family-oriented (especially the concept of respecting one's family [particularly the parents and elders]), courtesy and believing in God (''"Tuhan"'') as paramount to everything else. It is common to see a cemetery near the mosque, as all Muslims in the Malay or Indonesian village want to be prayed for, and to receive Allah's blessings in the afterlife. In Sarawak, some villages are called 'long' pronounced as 'long' in Chinese. These villages are mostly found in western Sarawak.

Singapore also follows the Malaysian ''kampung''. However, there are only a few ''kampung'' villages remaining, mostly on islands surrounding Singapore such as Pulau Ubin. In the past, there was many ''kampung'' villages in Singapore but now there aren't many on the mainland.

Philippines

In urban areas of the Philippines, the term "village" most commonly refers to private subdivisions, especially gated communities. These villages emerged in the mid-20th century and were initially the domain of elite urban dwellers. Those are common in major cities in the country and their residents have a wide range of income levels. Such villages may or may not correspond to administrative units (usually barangays) and/or be privately administered. Barangays more correspond to the villages of old times, and the chairman (formerly a village datu) now settles intrapersonal matters or polices the village, though with much less authority and respect than in Indonesia or Malaysia.

Vietnam

Village, or "làng", is a basis of Vietnam society. Vietnam's village is the typical symbol of Asian agricultural production. Vietnam's village typically contains: a village gate, "lũy tre" (bamboo hedges), "đình làng" (communal house) where "thành hoàng" (tutelary god) is worshiped, a common well, "đồng lúa" (rice field), "chùa" (temple) and houses of all families in the village. All the people in Vietnam's villages usually have a blood relationship. They are farmers who grow rice and have the same traditional handicraft. Vietnam's villages have an important role in society (Vietnamese saying: "Custom rules the law" -"Phép vua thua lệ làng" [literally: the king's law yields to village customs]). Everyone in Vietnam wants to be buried in their village when they die.

Central and Eastern Europe

Slavic countries

Selo (Cyrillic: село; ) is a Slavic word meaning "village" in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine. For example there are numerous ''sela'' (plural of ''selo'') called Novo Selo in Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro and others in Serbia, and Macedonia. In Slovenia, the word ''selo'' is used for very small villages (less than a thousand people) and in dialects; the Slovene word ''vas'' is used all over Slovenia.

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, the different types of ''Sela'' vary from a small selo of 5 to 30 families to one of several thousand people. According to a 2002 census, in that year there were 2,385,000 Bulgarian citizens living in settlements classified as ''villages''. A 2004 Human Settlement Profile on Bulgaria conducted by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs stated that:

The most intensive is the migration "city – city". Approximately 46% of all migrated people have changed their residence from one city to another. The share of the migration processes "village – city" is significantly less – 23% and "city – village" – 20%. The migration "village – village" in 2002 is 11%. down from 26.7% recorded in the 2002 Census. Multiple types of rural localities exist, but the two most common are ''derevnya'' () and ''selo'' (). Historically, the formal indication of status was religious: a city (''gorod'') had a cathedral, a ''selo'' had a church, while a ''derevnya'' had neither.

The lowest administrative unit of the Russian Empire, a ''volost'', or its Soviet or modern Russian successor, a ''selsoviet'', was typically headquartered in a ''selo'' and embraced a few neighboring villages.

Between 1926 and 1989, Russia's rural population shrank from 76 million people to 39 million, due to urbanization, collectivization, dekulakization, and the World War II losses, but has nearly stabilized since. During 1930–1937, mass starvation in Russia and other parts of the Soviet Union lead to the death of at least 14.5 million peasants (including 5-7 million in the Holodomor).

Most Russian rural localities have populations of less than 200 people, and the smaller places take the brunt of depopulation: e.g., in 1959, about one half of Russia's rural population lived in villages of fewer than 500 people, while now less than one third does. In the 1960s–1970s, the depopulation of the smaller villages was driven by the central planners' drive to get the farm workers out of smaller, "prospect-less" hamlets and into the collective or state farms' main villages, with more amenities.

Most Russian rural residents are involved in agricultural work, and it is very common for villagers to produce their own food. As prosperous urbanites purchase village houses for their second homes, Russian villages sometimes are transformed into dacha settlements, used mostly for seasonal residence.

The historically Cossack regions of Southern Russia and parts of Ukraine, with their fertile soil and absence of serfdom, had a rather different pattern of settlement from central and northern Russia. While peasants of central Russia lived in a village around the lord's manor, a Cossack family often lived on its own farm, called ''khutor''. A number of such ''khutors'' plus a central village made up the administrative unit with a center in a ''stanitsa'' (; ). Such ''stanitsas''often with a few thousand residents, were usually larger than a typical ''selo'' in central Russia.

The term ''aul''/''aal'' is used to refer mostly Muslim-populated villages in Caucasus and Idel-Ural, without regard to the number of residents.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, a village, known locally as a ''"selo"'' (село), is considered the lowest administrative unit. Villages may have an individual administration (''silrada'') or a joint administration, combining two or more villages. Villages may also be under the jurisdiction of a city council (''miskrada'') or town council (''selyshchna rada'') administration.

There is, however, another smaller type of settlement which is designated in Ukrainian as a ''selysche'' (селище). This type of community is generally referred to in English as a "settlement". In comparison with an urban-type settlement, Ukrainian legislation does not have a concrete definition or a criterion to differentiate such settlements from villages. They represent a type of a small rural locality that might have once been a ''khutir'', a fisherman's settlement, or a dacha. They are administered by a ''silrada'' (council) located in a nearby adjacent village. Sometimes the term ''"selysche"'' is also used in a more general way to refer to adjacent settlements near a bigger city, including urban-type settlements (''selysche miskoho typu'') and/or villages; however, ambiguity is often avoided in connection with urbanized settlements by referring to them using the three-letter abbreviation ''smt'' instead.

The ''khutir'' (хутір) and ''stanytsia'' (станиця) are not part of the administrative division any longer, primarily due to collectivization. ''Khutirs'' were very small rural localities consisting of just few housing units and were sort of individual farms. They became really popular during the Stolypin reform in the early 20th century. During the collectivization, however, residents of such settlements were usually declared to be kulaks and had all their property confiscated and distributed to others (nationalized) without any compensation. The ''stanitsa'' likewise has not survived as an administrative term. The ''stanitsa'' was a type of a collective community that could include one or more settlements such as villages, ''khutirs'', and others. Today, ''stanitsa''-type formations have only survived in Kuban (Russian Federation) where Ukrainians were resettled during the time of the Russian Empire.

Western & Southern Europe

United Kingdom

A village in the UK is a compact settlement of houses, smaller in size than a town, and generally based on agriculture or, in some areas, mining, quarrying or sea fishing. The major factors in the type of settlement are location of water sources, organisation of agriculture and landholding, and likelihood of flooding. For example, in areas such as the Lincolnshire Wolds, the villages are often found along the spring line halfway down the hillsides, and originate as spring line settlements, with the original open field systems around the village. In northern Scotland, most villages are planned to a grid pattern located on or close to major roads, whereas in areas such as the Forest of Arden, woodland clearances produced small hamlets around village greens.

Some villages have disappeared (for example, deserted medieval villages), sometimes leaving behind a church or manor house and sometimes nothing but bumps in the fields.Some show archaeological evidence of settlement at three or four different layers, each distinct from the previous one. Clearances may have been to accommodate sheep or game estates, or enclosure, or may have resulted from depopulation, such as after the Black Death or following a move of the inhabitants to more prosperous districts. Other villages have grown and merged and often form hubs within the general mass of suburbia — such as Hampstead, London and Didsbury in Manchester. Many villages are now predominantly dormitory locations and have suffered the loss of shops, churches and other facilities.

For many British people, the village represents an ideal of Great Britain. Seen as being far from the bustle of modern life, it is represented as quiet and harmonious, if a little inward-looking. This concept of an unspoilt Arcadia is present in many popular representations of the village such as the radio serial ''The Archers'' or the best kept village competitions. The reality is that many villages are plagued by lack of access to public transport and local services, specially affecting the poor and elderly who cannot afford their own means of transport. Many villages in South Yorkshire, North Nottinghamshire, North East Derbyshire, County Durham, South Wales and Northumberland are known as pit villages. These (such as Murton, County Durham) grew from hamlets when the sinking of a colliery in the early 20th century resulted in a rapid growth in their population and the colliery owners built new housing, shops, pubs and churches. Some pit villages outgrew nearby towns by area and population; for example, Rossington in South Yorkshire came to have over four times more people than the nearby town of Bawtry. Some pit villages grew to become towns; for example, Maltby in South Yorkshire grew from 600 people in the 19th century to over 17,000 in 2007. Maltby was constructed under the auspices of the Sheepbridge Coal and Iron Company and included ample open spaces and provision for gardens.

In the UK, the main historical distinction between a hamlet and a village was that the latter had a church,and so usually was the centre of worship for an ecclesiastical parish. However, some civil parishes may contain more than one village. The typical village had a pub or inn, shops, and a blacksmith. But many of these facilities are now gone, and many villages are dormitories for commuters. The population of such settlements ranges from a few hundred people to around five thousand. A village is distinguished from a town in that:

A village should not have a regular agricultural market, although today such markets are uncommon even in settlements which clearly are towns.

A village does not have a town hall nor a mayor.

If a village is the principal settlement of a civil parish, then any administrative body that administers it at parish level should be called a parish council or parish meeting, and not a town council or city council. However, some civil parishes have no functioning parish, town, or city council nor a functioning parish meeting. In Wales, where the equivalent of an English civil parish is called a Community, the body that administers it is called a Community Council. However, larger councils may elect to call themselves town councils. Unlike Wales, Scottish community councils have no statutory powers.

There should be a clear green belt or open fields surrounding its parish borders. However this may not be applicable to urbanised villages: although these may not considered to be villages, they are often widely referred to as being so; an example of this is Horsforth in Leeds.

France

Same general definition as in the UK.

An independent association named ''Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'', was created in 1982 to promote assets of small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage. As of 2008, 152 villages in France have been labelled as "The Most Beautiful Villages of France".

Spain

Spain has plenty of little villages around its territory. Country life is more usual in Castile and Aragon. All villages have a church or hermitage.

Portugal

Villages are more usual in the northern and centrer region and in Alentejo, most of all have a church and a "Casa do Povo", People's house, where there is usually the village's mid summer parties.

Netherlands

In the flood prone districts of the Netherlands, villages were traditionally built on low man-made hills called terps before the introduction of regional dyke-systems. In modern days, the term ''dorp'' (lit. "village") is usually applied to settlements no larger than 20,000, though there's no official law regarding status of settlements in the Netherlands.

Middle East

Lebanon

Like France, villages in Lebanon are usually located in remote mountainous areas. The majority of villages in Lebanon retain their Aramaic names or are derivative of the Aramaic names, and this is because Aramaic was still in use in Mount Lebanon up to the 18th century.

Many of the Lebanese villages are a part of districts, these districts are known as "kadaa" which includes the districts of Baabda (Baabda), Aley (Aley), Matn (Jdeideh), Keserwan (Jounieh), Chouf (Beiteddine), Jbeil (Byblos), Tripoli (Tripoli), Zgharta (Zgharta / Ehden), Bsharri (Bsharri), Batroun (Batroun), Koura (Amioun), Miniyeh-Danniyeh (Minyeh / Sir Ed-Danniyeh), Zahle (Zahle), Rashaya (Rashaya), Western Beqaa (Jebjennine / Saghbine), Sidon (Sidon), Jezzine (Jezzine), Tyre (Tyre), Nabatiyeh (Nabatiyeh), Marjeyoun (Marjeyoun), Hasbaya (Hasbaya), Bint Jbeil (Bint Jbeil), Baalbek (Baalbek), and Hermel (Hermel).

The district of Danniyeh consists of thirty six small villages, which includes Almrah, Kfirchlan, Kfirhbab, Hakel al Azimah, Siir, Bakhoun, Miryata, Assoun, Sfiiri, Kharnoub, Katteen, Kfirhabou, Zghartegrein, Ein Qibil.

Danniyeh (known also as Addinniyeh, Al Dinniyeh, Al Danniyeh, Arabic: سير الضنية) is a region located in Miniyeh-Danniyeh District in the North Governorate of Lebanon. The region lies east of Tripoli, extends north as far as Akkar District, south to Bsharri District and Zgharta District and as far east as Baalbek and Hermel. Dinniyeh has an excellent ecological environment filled with woodlands, orchards and groves. Several villages are located in this mountainous area, the largest town being Sir Al Dinniyeh.

An example of a typical mountainous Lebanese village in Dannieh would be Hakel al Azimah which is a small village that belongs to the district of Danniyeh, situated between Bakhoun and Assoun's boundaries. It is in the centre of the valleys that lie between the Arbeen Mountains and the Khanzouh.

Syria

Syria contains a large number of villages that vary in size and importance, including the ancient, historical and religious villages, such as Ma'loula, Sednaya, and Brad (Mar Maroun’s time). The diversity of the Syrian environments creates significant differences between the Syrian villages in terms of the economic activity and the method of adoption. Villages in the south of Syria (Huran, Jabal Al-Arab), the north-east (the Syrian island) and the Orontes River basin depend mostly on agriculture, mainly grain, vegetables and fruits. Villages in the region of Damascus and Aleppo depend on trading. Some other villages, such as Marmarita depend heavily on tourist activity.

Mediterranean cities in Syria, such as Tartus and Latakia have similar types of villages. Mainly, villages were built in very good sites which had the fundamentals of the rural life, like water. An example of a Mediterranean Syrian village in Tartus would be Al-Annaze, which is a small village that belongs to the area of Al Sauda. The area of Al Sauda is called a nahiya, which is a subdistrict.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Australasia & Oceania

Pacific Islands Communities on pacific islands were historically called villages by English speakers who traveled and settled in the area. Some communities such as several Villages of Guam continue to be called villages despite having large populations that can exceed 40,000 residents.

New Zealand The traditional Māori village was the pā, a fortified hill-top settlement. Tree-fern logs and flax were the main building materials.

Australia The term village often is used in reference to small planned communities such as retirement communities or shopping districts, and tourist areas such as ski resorts. Small rural communities are usually known as townships. Larger settlements are known as towns.

South America

Argentina Usually set in remote mountainous areas, some also cater to winter sports and/or tourism, see: Uspallata, La Cumbrecita, Villa Traful and La Cumbre

North America

Canada

=== United States ===

Incorporated villages

In twenty U.S. states, the term "village" refers to a specific form of incorporated municipal government, similar to a city but with less authority and geographic scope. However, this is a generality; in many states, there are villages that are an order of magnitude larger than the smallest cities in the state. The distinction is not necessarily based on population, but on the relative powers granted to the different types of municipalities and correspondingly, different obligations to provide specific services to residents.

In some states such as New York, Wisconsin, or Michigan, a village is an incorporated municipality, usually, but not always, within a single town or civil township. Residents pay taxes to the village and town or township and may vote in elections for both as well. In some cases, the village may be coterminous with the town or township. There are also many villages which span the boundaries of more than one town or township, and some villages may even straddle county borders.

There is no limit to the population of a village in New York; Hempstead, the largest village in the state, has 55,000 residents, making it more populous than some of the state's cities. However, villages in the state may not exceed five square miles (13 km²) in area.

In the state of Wisconsin, a village is always legally separate from the towns that it has been incorporated from. The largest village is Menomonee Falls, which has over 32,000 residents.

Michigan and Illinois also have no set population limit for villages and there are many villages that are larger than cities in those states. The village of Arlington Heights, IL had 75,101 residents as of the 2010 census.

Villages in Ohio are often legally part of the township from which they were incorporated, although exceptions such as Hiram exist, in which the village is separate from the township. They have no area limitations, but become cities if they grow a population of more than 5,000.

In Maryland, a locality designated "Village of ..." may be either an incorporated town or a special tax district. An example of the latter is the Village of Friendship Heights.

In states that have New England towns, a "village" is a center of population or trade, including the town center, in an otherwise sparsely-developed town or city — for instance, the village of Hyannis in the city of the Barnstable, Massachusetts.

Unincorporated villages

In many states, the term "village" is used to refer to a relatively small unincorporated community, similar to a hamlet in New York state. This informal usage may be found even in states that have villages as an incorporated municipality, although such usage might be considered incorrect and confusing.

See also

Global village

Linear village

Village green

Village lock-up

police village

Settlement types

Dugout

Fishing village

Hamlet

Microtown

Countries and localities

Dhani and villages

Dogon villages

Hakka architecture

Ksar

List of villages in Europe by country

Pueblo

Sołectwo (rough equivalent in Poland)

Ville

;Developed environments

Developed environments

City

Exurban

Megalopolis

Rural

Suburban

Urban area

Footnotes

External links

Types of villages (anthropogenic biomes)

Category:Administrative divisions Category:French loanwords Category:French words and phrases Category:Rural geography Category:Urban geography Category:Populated places by type

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playername	David Villa
fullname	David Villa Sánchez
height
dateofbirth	December 03, 1981
cityofbirth	Langreo
countryofbirth	Spain
currentclub	Barcelona
clubnumber	7
position	Striker
youthyears1	1991–1999
youthclubs1	Langreo
years1	1999–2001
years2	2001–2003
years3	2003–2005
years4	2005–2010
years5	2010–
clubs1	Sporting Gijón B
clubs2	Sporting Gijón
clubs3	Zaragoza
clubs4	Valencia
clubs5	Barcelona
caps1	65 |goals1 25
caps2	80 |goals2 38
caps3	73 |goals3 32
caps4	166|goals4 108
caps5	35 |goals5 18
nationalyears1	2000–2003
nationalyears2	2005–
nationalteam1	Spain U21
nationalteam2	Spain
nationalcaps1	7 |nationalgoals1 0
nationalcaps2	76 |nationalgoals2 47
pcupdate	30 August 2011
ntupdate	14 August 2011 }}

David Villa Sánchez (; born 3 December 1981), nicknamed (), is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a striker for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national football team. He can also operate as winger.

Despite sustaining a serious injury as a child, he started his professional career with Sporting de Gijón. He moved to Real Zaragoza after two seasons, where he made his La Liga début, winning his first senior honours—the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España. He joined Valencia CF in 2005 for a transfer fee of €12 million and was part of the Valencia team that won the Copa del Rey in the 2007–08 season. In 2010 he moved to FC Barcelona for €40 million where he won his first La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles.

Villa made his international début in 2005. He has since participated in three major tournaments, becoming an integral member of the Spain teams that won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup, was the top scorer at Euro 2008 and earned the Silver Boot at the 2010 World Cup. With 46 goals, Villa is Spain's all-time top goalscorer and has also scored more World Cup goals than any other player in Spain's history. The goals-to-games ratio he has achieved for the national team has not been matched by any player since Alfredo Di Stéfano.

Childhood and early career

Villa was born in Tuilla, a small village in Langreo, Asturias, a region in northern Spain, the son of José Manuel Villa, a miner. When Villa was four, his chances of becoming a footballer were put in jeopardy when he suffered a fracture to the femur in his right leg, but made a complete recovery. Due to the injury, he and his father worked on strengthening his left leg and Villa ultimately became ambidextrous. He recalls his father being consistently supportive: "He would be there throwing me the ball over and over, making me kick it with my left leg when my right was in plaster after breaking it, I was four. I can barely remember a single training session when my dad wasn't there. I have never been alone on a football pitch."

Villa admitted that he came close to giving up football at the age of 14 after growing disillusioned and falling out with his coach. However, thanks to his parents' encouragement, he persisted in pursuing his dream, realising his talent could earn him a living. "In those days I was a nobody, not earning a penny and after being made to sit on the bench all season I just wanted to get away and play with my friends" he said. "But my dad always supported me and cheered me up until my career turned round." He went on to begin his footballing career at UP Langreo and when he turned 17 he joined the Mareo football school.

Club career

Sporting de Gijón and Real Zaragoza

Villa attracted interest from many Asturian teams, but one of the province's bigger teams, Real Oviedo, declared that he was too short and that they did not believe he had sufficient potential. He subsequently got his professional breakthrough at his local club Sporting de Gijón, following in the footsteps of his childhood idol Quini. Starting out at the team's youth ranks, he made his first-team début in the 2000–01 season. After scoring 25 goals in two seasons, he became a first team regular. Pepe Acebal, the Sporting Gijon manager at the time, said that Villa initially lacked the stamina to have a real impact and had to be given his chance bit by bit and that Villa's capacity for work was "unrivalled". With his goal tally nearly reaching 40 goals after spending two full seasons in Gijón's main team, Villa ultimately got his chance in Spain's top-flight when Sporting were in financial difficulty and newly promoted Real Zaragoza signed him for approximately €3 million in the summer of 2003. The striker had no trouble adapting to playing at the higher level, netting 17 times in his first season at Zaragoza. His league début came during Zaragoza's first La Liga game since his arrival where the team were defeated 1–0 away from home at the hands of Galician side Deportivo de La Coruña while his first goal came two games later, an eighth minute goal against Real Murcia which put Zaragoza 2–0 up in a match which ended 3–0. 4 December 2003 saw him net his first brace (2 goals) in a 2–2 draw against Athletic Bilbao and on 25 April 2004, David Villa scored his first hat-trick in a tight 4–4 draw against Sevilla which saw Villa score all four of Zaragoza's goals, putting his team ahead on two occasions.

Zaragoza reached the 2004 Copa del Rey final where he played a big part in the team's victory, scoring a crucial goal to put the Aragonese outfit 2–1 up against Real Madrid in a match which eventually ended 3–2. Soon after he earned his first international call-up and cap which resulted in Zaragoza fans becoming so proud of his achievements, they invented the football chant "illa illa illa, Villa maravilla" which is a play on the words "Villa" and "maravilla" which is as "marvel" but can also mean "wonderful" or "great" in that context. After Zaragoza's triumph in the Copa del Rey, they were granted a place in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup; this was Villa's first time playing in a European competition.

In the team's opening group game against Utrecht, Villa netted a brace in the dying minutes of the game which subsequently ended 2–0 in Zaragoza's favour. In the round of 16, Zaragoza faced Austria Wien. The first leg ended 1–1, Villa scored in the second leg, however, the match ended 2–2 which saw the team from Vienna go through to the next stage on the away goals rule. Meanwhile, in La Liga, Villa excited Zaragoza fans on 23 September 2004 by putting the team 1–0 up against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, however, it was not to be as Barcelona came back to win the game 4–1. On 17 April 2005, Villa scored a brace which helped see off Sevilla in a 3–0 victory.

Valencia

2005–06 season

After his success at Zaragoza, the team was in need of money, as a result, Villa made his big move to one of Spanish football's heavyweights, as a new look Valencia under Quique Sánchez Flores parted with €12 million to secure his services in the summer of 2005. During his first game in a Valencia shirt, an Intertoto Cup match against Belgian outfit K.A.A. Gent, Villa scored the first goal in a game which Valencia won 2–0. He made his league début for Valencia coming on as a substitute against Real Betis in a 1–0 win on 27 August 2005. The next match would see his previous team, Real Zaragoza, leading 2–1 for the majority of the match, however, on the 81st minute, Villa came on as a late substitute for Rubén Baraja and scored the equalizer within the space of a minute, earning Valencia a point as the game ended 2–2.

On 21 September, Villa would once again save Valencia a vital point by netting a brace against Barcelona at Camp Nou, actually giving his team the lead at one point after Víctor Valdés' clearance rebounded off Villa's back and into the net. On 23 October, Villa scored the winning goal against another Spanish giant, this time Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and would once again score against Barcelona, on 12 February 2006, his one goal proving enough to secure all three points in a 1–0 victory. Villa scored a goal against Deportivo de La Coruña (at the Riazor on 4 February 2006), described as "superb" by ESPN and "his best" by Sid Lowe who went on to credit it even more pointing out he achieved it "on the turn". Hitting the ball from the half way line (50 yards out) it sailed over the keepers head and into the net.

He scored his first hat-trick for Valencia against Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés in La Liga on the 23 April 2006. Villa managed the hat-trick in just over five minutes (80th to the 85th minute) making it one of the quickest hat-tricks ever recorded. Valencia won that game 3–0. That season saw him score 25 goals in 35 league matches for Valencia, finishing one goal behind the league's top scorer Samuel Eto'o of Barcelona. Villa's goal tally that year was the best that any Valencia player had ever achieved since Edmundo Suárez over 60 years beforehand.

2006–07 season

Villa's form continued into the 2006–07 season, with the striker forming a partnership up front with former Real Madrid star Fernando Morientes. Between them, Villa and Morientes netted 43 goals in all competitions. That year also saw Villa début in the UEFA Champions League; his first match was a qualifying match, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 first leg loss against Red Bull Salzburg. He went on to start the second leg and scored in a 3–0 win which saw Valencia qualify for the Champions League group stages. Crucial goals against Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk helped Valencia qualify for the knock out stages where they faced Inter Milan. Villa scored a free kick goal in the first leg away from home, while one of Inter's defenders complained that Villa had "made us look like idiots, all on his own". Valencia went through to the quarter finals where they faced Chelsea. Villa featured in both games but failed to make the score sheet. Valencia subsequently got knocked out by the London team 3–2 on aggregate. In October 2006 he was included among the 50 nominees for the Ballon d'Or (often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year Award).

A crucial goal against Espanyol and a brace against Sevilla helped him reach 16 goals that season and would see him come 6th in La Liga's top scorer list that season (scoring the same amount of goals as fellow international Raúl Tamudo) while he created more assists than anyone.

2007–08 season

The 2007–08 season was not easy for Villa nor for his teammates. Early in the season, their manager, Quique Sánchez Flores, was fired and replaced by Ronald Koeman, who ended up being fired on the 22 April, after a run of poor results, even though he managed to win a trophy with Valencia, as the team beat Getafe CF in the Copa del Rey-final. Koeman got replaced by the highly rated UD Almería coach, Unai Emery, at the end of the season. Under Koeman, Villa managed to see the back of the net 18 times in his 26 appearances. He also won the first professional trophy of his Valencia spell, winning the Copa del Rey for the second time in his career, beating Barcelona 3–2 in the semi-finals and then Getafe CF 3–1 in the final. giving the team a place in the UEFA Cup. By the end of the season he signed a new six-year contract with Valencia, committing his future to the club until 2014.

That season, Villa once again saw himself playing Champions League football. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Schalke 04 and went on to put Valencia 1–0 up against Chelsea, however, goals from Joe Cole and Didier Drogba saw Valencia lose 2–1. Valencia finished bottom of the group and were knocked out. On his 100th league appearance for Valencia, Villa scored a hat-trick against Levante; his 54th, 55th and 56th league goals for the club. Another two goals on the final day of the season against Atletico Madrid completed his tally of 18 goals that season.

2008–09 season

After finishing as the top scorer at Euro 2008, Villa continued his form into the 2008–09 season where he scored the first goal in a 3–0 win against Mallorca in what was the opening game of the season. After failing to sign the player, Real Madrid manager at the time, Bernd Schuster, accused Villa of having "no ambition", Villa responded by saying "Footballing ambition Is not about your mouth, It is about your feet. You can accuse me of lots of things - of having a bad day, of missing chances, of many things- but I have always had ambition and always will have. I think I have proved that on the pitch with Zaragoza, Sporting, UD Langreo, and the national team." In October 2008, Kaká praised Villa, speaking to Canal+, he claimed that Villa is "the best Spanish footballer" adding that "The player with whom I would most like to play is David Villa of Valencia." On 2 December 2008, Villa came 7th in the Ballon d'Or 2008 rankings and on 12 January 2009, Villa was announced as the joint 9th best player of 2008 alongside international team mate and Barcelona player Andrés Iniesta, according to the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

Valencia finished second in their UEFA Cup group, however, Villa was not featured heavily and was often an unused sub or a late sub. He scored a late winner against Maritimo and was used in the Round of 32 against Dynamo Kyiv, however, he did not make the score sheet. The two legs resulted in a 3–3 aggregate score, Dynamo Kyiv went through as the away goal rule went in their favour.

Hitting a consistent goal scoring form during mid season, he scored against Deportivo de la Coruña; however, he was sent off during the match after his second yellow card, received due to a foul on Daniel Aranzubia and as a result missed Valencia's next match against Real Valladolid, a game which Valencia lost 2–1 at home. Ready to return from suspension, Villa suffered from an inflammation in the joint in his left knee due to a partial dislocation and would be out for the next 15 days, missing games against Numancia, Recreativo de Huelva and Racing de Santander. When he finally returned from injury on 5 April 2009, he had no trouble recovering form, netting a brace in a match against Getafe, which Valencia won 4–1. On 12 April, Villa was set to return to El Molinón, the home ground of Sporting de Gijón where he started his career. He admitted that the encounter would be very emotional for him but went on to score the second Valencia goal in a 3–2 win and kept a pre-match promise by not celebrating the goal. His goal against Villarreal brought his tally to 26, he then scored another two against Athletic Bilbao finishing with 28 goals after the last game of the season, thus equalling records set by the Argentinian Mario Kempes and the Montenegrin Predrag Mijatović, who also scored 28 goals in a Valencia shirt in 1978 and 1996, respectively. Kempes reached his tally of 28 goals in 34 games while Mijatović achieved it in 40, ultimately seeing Villa beat their percentages, as he achieved the 28 goals in 33 games, recording a goal ratio of 0.84 goals per game. That season saw Villa's best season at Valencia as far as goal scoring is concerned.

With the season over Villa had marked his fourth year at Valencia, with only Eto'o scoring more goals than him in that period (six more). British columnist Sid Lowe points out that Eto'o achieved this "in a team that racked up 129 [goals] more than Villa's side" and noted that "most of that time he [Villa] has taken Valencia's corners and free-kicks – and however good a player is he can't head in his own crosses." Villa also ended the season as the third top scorer in La Liga with a total of 28 goals, just behind Samuel Eto'o (30) and Diego Forlán (32). After recording the best goal tally for a Valencia player in 60 years back in the 2005–06 season, he went three better in the 2008–09 season. The 28 league goals plus 3 more in other competitions that season, accumulated a total of 101 goals in 180 official games with the Valencian outfit.

2009–10 season

After the shock exit from the Confederations Cup with the Spain team, Villa returned from his holidays on 27 July, amidst much media speculation linking him with top clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United. Villa put to bed such rumours announcing his desire to remain at the Mestalla to fulfil his contract underlining that he "could not spend all summer refuting things, so I wanted to be quiet... I was told I should leave Valencia for the good of the club, soon after that everything changed and from that moment on I never saw myself out of here - before the Euros, the club told me what my asking price was, and I thought they were going to sell me, but when I returned from my vacations, Vicente Soriano said that he did not want me to leave Valencia. That removed all doubt for me. There is no train missed because all that I have achieved is because of Valencia and the Spanish national team." When questioned on whether or not he should apologise to Valencia fans, he simply replied, "I did not kill anyone, I do not think I have to ask for forgiveness."

On 20 August 2009, Villa scored in his first official match of the season, a 3–0 UEFA Europa League qualifer against Stabæk. He followed this up with two goals against Real Valladolid on 13 September, these were Villa's first league goals of the 2009–10 season. He scored twice more a week later against former club Sporting Gijón in a 2–2 draw at the Mestalla where he performed duties as the team's captain. After the match, Villa hinted towards being unhappy with Unai Emery's managerial decisions, stating "The approach for the second half was not right. We relaxed and ended up with the same result as last year. What has happened, has happened, but their goalkeeper was good, unlike our approach, which was not good", however, a day later he denied being critical of Emery pointing out that "When I talked about the approach, I was referring to the whole team, I spoke in the heat of the moment, I was annoyed at the way we lost two points and I said what I thought, but I have clarified everything that needed to be cleared up."

In 2009 he scored more goals than any other footballer, 43 goals in 54 games across all competitions for Spain and Valencia. The IFFHS listed him 4th in the "World's Top Goal Scorer 2009" rankings.

On 18 October, Villa was nominated for the Ballon D'Or, while nearly two weeks later, on 30 October, he was nominated for the FIFA World Player Of The Year. After going three league games without scoring, Villa contributed two goals towards Valencia's 4–1 victory against Villarreal on 17 January 2010, the first of his two goals became his 100th league goal with Valencia. Another brace came against Getafe on 22 February 2010, the second goal being "a superb chip" (as described by ESPN) over Jordi Codina. On 18 March, Valencia went to the Weserstadion to play Werder Bremen in the Europa League. Villa scored a hat-trick, his third goal being of note, which was fired in from eight yards out. The match ended 4–4 while Valencia proceeded to the next round on away goals. On May 4, 2010, Valencia played Xerez, Villa did not start but came on as a substitute 62 minutes into the match, which ended 3-1. Valencia still had two more games to play in the league, however, Villa did not feature, making the game against Xerez the last time he played for Valencia.

Barcelona

2010–11 season

On 19 May 2010, FC Barcelona reached an agreement with Valencia, for the acquisition of Villa for the fee of €40 million. Villa signed on a four year contract with Barcelona, with the option for a fifth, worth a reported €7 million per season and thus, managed to follow in the footsteps of his heroes, Luis Enrique and Quini, both of whom, like Villa, started out at Sporting Gijón and ended up at Barcelona. On 21 May 2010, over 35,000 Barcelona supporters packed into Camp Nou to see Villa's presentation, where he revealed the kit Barcelona would use during the 2010-11 season. He was given his favourite number 7, a number which had been free at the club since Eiður Guðjohnsen left in 2009. He made his first appearance for the club in the 2nd leg of the Supercopa de España, during the second half as a substitute for fellow Spain international, Pedro Rodríguez. His début appearance would also see him win his first piece of silver-ware with the Catalonian side, as Barcelona won 5-3 on aggregate due to a hat-trick by teammate Lionel Messi. His first goal came during the Joan Gamper Trophy (an annual friendly competition) against Milan. Barcelona won 3-1 on penalties (after the match had ended 1-1 during normal time).

On 29 August 2010, Villa made his La Liga début with Barcelona against Racing de Santander, where he scored the third goal of the match to help seal a 3-0 victory. On 14 September 2010, Villa scored on his Champions League début with Barcelona in a 5-1 victory over Panathinaikos F.C. Against Sevilla, on 31 October 2010, Barcelona won 5-0 against the Andalusian side, while Villa netted a brace. His first goal that match was voted "The Best Goal Of The Week (October 25–31)" by the readers of Goal.com. Villa's first "El Clásico" came on 29 November 2010, he scored two goals as Barcelona won 5-0 at the Camp Nou. Talking about the match, he commented that, "It's been a very important win. We looked for the victory and we got it. And the result and the manner in which we achieved it, you cannot ask for more.". He then scored a goal against Real Sociedad, a match Barcelona won 5-0. He followed with a brace against RCD Espanyol taking Barcelona to a 1-5 win.

On 27 December 2010, Villa was named "Male Athlete of the Year" by the United States Sports Academy, as he edged fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal and previous winner Manny Pacquiao for the title.

On 28 May 2010, Villa scored the third goal — curling the ball into the net from 25-yards out — in Barcelona's 3-1 victory over Manchester United in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League Final. After the victory, Villa said that he would like to dedicate the victory "to all my family, my daughters and also Pepe Reina's, who are like my nieces."

2011–12 season

Villa started the season with goals against C.D. Guadalajara and Club América in pre-season friendly matches. His first official match of the season was against Real Madrid in the first leg of the 2011 Supercopa de España where Villa scored a "world-class" goal, helping Barcelona seal a 2-2 tie at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, while on 17 August 2011, Villa was sent off in the dying moments of the second leg (which Barcelona won 3-2) after an altercation with Mesut Özil.

International career

2006 World Cup

An occasional member of the Under 21 team, Villa marked his international début under Luis Aragonés on 9 February 2005 in a 2006 World Cup Qualifier where Spain beat San Marino 5–0 at the Estadio del Mediterráneo while his first international goal came in the form of a late equaliser during a World Cup qualifier against Slovakia.

A successful season with Valencia saw him get called up as part of the 23-man squad to represent Spain at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Spain's first match at the tournament and Villa's World Cup début resulted in a 4–0 win against Ukraine where Villa netted a brace, and also put his nation 1–0 up against France in the Round of 16, although Spain went on to lose the match 3–1. He and Fernando Torres finished as Spain's top scorers with three goals each.

Euro 2008

By the end of 2006, Villa had become an integral part of Luis Aragonés' plans and ousted Raúl from the team. Proving vital in Spain's qualification for Euro 2008, he scored six goals, including a bicycle kick against Liechtenstein. He was subsequently called up for the tournament where he formed a striking relationship with Torres, with whom he would often celebrate his goals. He scored a hat-trick in Spain's 4–1 win over Russia, making him the first player to do so at a UEFA European Championship since Patrick Kluivert in 2000, and only the seventh overall. After the third goal, he went out of his way to meet Torres, who was on the bench at the time, to celebrate with him, "I had just scored a hat-trick and I knew people would be talking about me, but I wanted them to see that I had benefited from Torres's work, just as he sometimes benefits from mine." In the next match, he secured a 2–1 win against Sweden with a goal in the 92nd minute. Rested for the next match against Greece, he started once again in the quarter finals where Spain beat Italy 4–2 on penalties, Villa took the first penalty and scored.

Reaching their first semi-final in 24 years, Spain went on to face Russia for the second time during the tournament, however, during the early stages of the match, Villa sustained a thigh injury after taking a free kick and was replaced by Cesc Fàbregas. The injury meant that he could not participate in the final where Spain beat Germany 1–0 to claim their second win at the European Football Championships. Despite missing the final and the majority of the semi-final, Villa's 4 goals in the 4 games he played were enough for him to be top scorer of the tournament and was awarded the Golden Boot. He also made the UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament alongside striking partner Torres.

2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup qualification

Spain's first match during qualification for the 2010 World Cup was against Bosnia and Herzegovina where Villa scored the only goal of the game. He would go on to score four goals in Spain's next three games, including a last minute winner against Belgium. Another goal during a friendly match against Chile saw him end the year with 12 goals, breaking Raúl's record of 10 goals held since 1999. Villa began 2009 with a goal against England in a 2–0 friendly, with this goal, he broke another record and became the first Spanish international to have scored in 6 consecutive games, seeing off records set by Telmo Zarra and Ladislao Kubala. Speaking of the goal he said, "I am very happy with the goal. Truth is, I really want to see it on TV. The record is very nice. I would never have imagined in years that I would be able to obtain it. I am very proud and I hope I can continue breaking records".

On 1 June 2009, Vicente del Bosque named Villa in his 23 man squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. In a friendly match before the tournament, Villa scored his second international hat-trick against Azerbaijan, nearly exactly a year after his hat-trick against Russia at Euro 2008. He débuted at the Confederations Cup with a goal, the last of the five goals in Spain's 5–0 victory over New Zealand, while in the next game he scored the decisive goal against a defensive Iraqi team. Against South Africa, he missed a penalty, but within a minute made up for the miss by putting Spain ahead, helping them equal the records of most consecutive wins and most consecutive matches undefeated before making way for Pablo Hernández. The goal was his last of the tournament but was enough to see him win the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Shoe, he would also go on to make the team of the tournament.

Villa earned his 50th cap during a friendly against the Republic of Macedonia in a match where Spain won 3–2.

On 5 September 2009, Villa added two more goals to his goal tally for Spain, while assisting twice during the World Cup Qualifier against Belgium, in A Coruña. The match ended 5–0 to Spain where Villa also had a first-half penalty saved by the 30 year old A.S. Bari goalkeeper Jean-Francois Gillet. He finished the year with his sixth international brace against Austria in the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, the setting where Spain were crowned European Champions the previous year. With these two goals, Villa equalled the record he set last year of most goals scored in one calendar year by a Spanish international. Spain's first match in 2010 came on March 3, against France at the Stade de France. Villa scored the opening goal in a game which Spain went on to win 2–0.

2010 World Cup

In 2010, he came 1st in the IFFHS "2010's World Top Goalscorer at International Level" rankings, he was subsequently selected as a part of Vicente del Bosque's 23 man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In a friendly against Saudi Arabia on May 29, 2010, Villa scored the first of Spain's goals as they won 3-2 at the Tivoli Neu - the stadium where he scored his hat-trick against Russia during Euro 2008. Failing to score in Spain's next match against Korea Republic, he opened the score sheet in Spain's next match against Poland, a match where Poland lost 6-0, recording their worst defeat in 50 years.

In Spain's first 2010 World Cup match, Villa was chosen as a lone striker, but could do nothing to prevent their shock defeat at the hands of Switzerland. Five days later, Spain defeated Honduras 2-0, where Villa scored both goals, but wasted his chance to complete a hat-trick when he was awarded a penalty kick - side-footing the ball just wide of the post. It was the first time in fourteen attempts Spain ever missed a penalty in a World Cup during the run of play. In the same game, Villa was shown to slap Emilio Izaguirre in the face after the Honduran player trod on him. Villa said he was "not proud" of the heat of the moment incident, but he escaped a ban. Villa helped secure Spain's place in the round of 16 after scoring the first goal in a 2-1 win over Chile, with a long-range shot into an empty net after Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo ran out of his area to prevent Torres from scoring. The goal would become his 6th goal in FIFA World Cup matches, becoming Spain's all time top scorer at the World Cup finals, ahead of Emilio Butragueño, Fernando Hierro, Fernando Morientes and Raúl González, all of whom have five.

Spain were up against Portugal in the round of 16, and Villa would prove to be vital once again, as Xavi backheeled an Andrés Iniesta pass to the on-rushing Villa who hit the back of the net on the rebound after having his first shot saved by Eduardo, proving enough to give Spain a place in the quarter-finals against Paraguay, where Villa scored a goal from a rebound after Pedro hit the post. Once again, Villa's goal proved to be the difference as the match finished 1-0, while Spain booked a game with Germany in the semi-finals, where Spain recorded yet another 1-0 victory with the only goal coming from Carles Puyol.

Villa started in the final against the Netherlands, where he had an opportunity to score from close range, but was impeded by John Heitinga who managed to block his shot. Villa would eventually make way for Torres after 106 minutes on the pitch. Spain became world champions as they went on to win the match 1-0, while Villa was awarded the Silver Shoe, with the Gold Shoe going to Thomas Müller, both players had five goals, however, Müller had more assists. Villa was subsequently named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team.

Euro 2012 qualifying

Spain's first match of UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying was against Liechtenstein on 3 September 2010, Villa scored the second goal of the match which eventually ended 4-0. It was believed that this goal meant that he had equalled Raúl's record 44-goal tally, however, after many debates about whether he or Dariusz Dudka scored the first goal in Spain's 6-0 win over Poland, FIFA eventually decided that the goal was indeed an own goal by Dudka, meaning Villa's goal tally would remain at 43. On 12 October 2010, he finally equalled Raúl's record, scoring a penalty against Scotland and helping Spain see off the Scots in a 3-2 victory at Hampden Park.

On 25 March 2011, Villa scored two goals against the Czech Republic in a Euro 2012 qualifier, which ultimately handed Spain a 2-1 victory, while at the same time he managed to eclipse Raúl as Spain's all-time leading goalscorer. Speaking of the achievement, he stated that "The goals are dedicated to all the team-mates, all the coaches, all partners and friends I had during my career... But long ago I promised José, who is a friend of mine, that the goal which overtook Raul would be for him."

Succeeding Raúl as Spain's number 7

The Spanish media has often compared Villa with Raúl, to the point where Villa was accused of taking the #7 jersey away from the then-Real Madrid player. In March 2009, Villa spoke out saying, "I have not taken anything away from anybody, I was simply playing well for my club and the national coach gave me an opportunity. Too much has been said about the number issue. I’m not looking to cause any controversy. In fact, Raúl and I were in the national squad together in the past. I haven’t forced anybody out." When questioned on whether the whole uproar created over Raúl's omission was affecting him personally, he said, "I’ve never liked it because I think it has been damaging for the both of us. We’ve always got on well together whenever we’ve met up for international duty, so I’m not concerned. I just work hard for myself. All I want is to be in the squad for every game, to have the Spain badge on my chest and to score as many goals as I can."

In February 2010, Bernd Schuster was asked if Raúl did not favour Villa moving to Real Madrid, to which he responded with "I have a cough", this caused many to believe that he was implying the rumour to be true. Villa firmly ridiculed that idea by saying "It is impossible that a player with as much class on and off the pitch as Raúl would speak poorly of me. I have always had a good relationship with Raúl, even though we have hardly met on international duty."

Speaking of Raúl's record with the Spanish national team as the nation's leading top scorer, Villa said, "I've got 25 goals but he's got 44 and is still playing. I'd be delighted to reach that tally as I'd help the national team achieve great victories and, in many years' time, I could see my name on a [scorers' list] that another young lad was trying to beat. That would be great." On March 25, 2011, two years after making that remark, Villa passed Raúl as Spain's all-time top scorer.

Personal life

In 2003 Villa married his childhood sweetheart Patricia González (who had also been a footballer in her teenage years). They had a daughter who they named Zaida. Her name is engraved on his personalised Adidas F50's, while one boot bears the Spanish flag, the other has the Asturian flag. In 2009, his second daughter Olaya was born, named after the wife of Fernando Torres, who is a close friend of Patricia. His footballing idols are Luis Enrique and Quini.

Villa frequently attends charity events. He is actively involved with the campaigns of the UNICEF charity.

Beginning in July 2008, a "David Villa Camp" is held annually, where children receive training from professional footballers. Villa also participates in a training session with the children.

Villa featured on the Spanish box art for video game FIFA 07.

Music

In 2010 he sang alongside Grammy Award-nominated Spanish singer Ana Torroja on the song "Insurrection" by El Último de la Fila. The recording was made for the beneficiary project ''Voces X1FIN'', to help raise money to build an art and education school in Mali. Villa commented that footballers "are an example for society and we have to be ready to get involved in these projects, where we can help people who need it."

Career statistics

Club

As of 27 August 2011

12 12 13 13 0 0 18 20 20 20 6 15 8 16 18 28 21 7 0

Club	Season	League	Cup	Europe	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists
rowspan=3	Sporting Gijón B		30	|	0	—			—			30
2000–01 Segunda División B	2000-01	35	|	0	—			—			35
Total	65!!25!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!65!!25!!-
rowspan=4	Sporting Gijón		1	0	|	—			—			1
2001–02 Segunda División	2001-02	40	|	0	4	2	0	—			44
2002–03 Segunda División	2002-03	39	|	0	1	0	0	—			40
Total	80!!38!!0!!5!!2!!0!!0!!0!!0!!85!!40!!-
rowspan=3	Real Zaragoza		38	17	|	8	4	1	—			46	21	7
2004–05 La Liga	2004-05	35	|	5	1	2	0	10	3	2	46	20	7
Total	73!!32!!11!!9!!6!!1!!10!!3!!2!!92!!41!!14
rowspan=6	Valencia		35	25	|	4	2	0	1	1	0	40	28	8
2006–07 La Liga	2006-07	36	|	12	2	0	2	11	5	3	49	21	17
2007–08 La Liga	2007-08	30	|	7	6	1	2	7	3	2	41	22	11
2008–09 La Liga	2008-09	33	|	6	2	1	0	5	1	1	40	30	7
2009–10 La Liga	2009-10	32	|	5	2	0	1	11	7	4	42	28	10
Total	166!!108!!38!!16!!4!!5!!35!!17!!10!!212!!129!!53
rowspan=3	Barcelona		34	18	|	4	1	0	12	4	2	50	23	9
2011–12 FC Barcelona season	2011-12	0	|	0	2	1	0	1	0	0	2	1	0
Total	!34!!18!!7!!6!!2!!0!!13!!4!!2!!52!!24!!9
Career total		!418!!221!!56!!36!!14!!6!!58!!24!!14!!507!!259!!76

International

International statistics

''As of 14 August 2011.''

0 1 1 2 5 4 1 14

National team	Club	Year	Friendly	Competitive	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals	!Ratio
rowspan="7"	Spain		Real Zaragoza	2004–05	0	|	1	0	1	0
rowspan="5"	Valencia	2005–06	5	|	7	4	12	5
2006–07	4	|	7	6	11	7
2007–08	4	|	8	4	12	6
2008–09	4	|	10	8	14	13
2009–10	6	|	9	7	15	11
	Barcelona	2010–11	6	|	5	4	11	5
Career Total	29	|	47	33	76	47

Note: ''Each season is September - August''

International goals

''As of 25 March 2011.''

Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia 1 March 2006 13 June 2006 13 June 2006 27 June 2006 2 September 2006 2 September 2006 6 September 2006 11 October 2006 24 March 2007 6 June 2007 6 June 2007 26 March 2008 31 May 2008 10 June 2008 10 June 2008 10 June 2008 14 June 2008 6 September 2008 10 September 2008 10 September 2008 11 October 2008 15 October 2008 19 November 2008 11 February 2009 9 June 2009 9 June 2009 9 June 2009 14 June 2009 17 June 2009 20 June 2009 5 September 2009 5 September 2009 18 November 2009 18 November 2009 3 March 2010 29 May 2010 21 June 2010 21 June 2010 25 June 2010 29 June 2010 3 July 2010 3 September 2010 12 October 2010 25 March 2011 25 March 2011 7 June 2011

'''David Villa international goals
# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Goal !! Result !! Competition
'''2005–2006
1.	16 November 2005	|		1 – '''1	1 – 1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	|	Estadio José Zorrilla, Valladolid, Spain		1 – 1	3 – 2	Exhibition game>International friendly
3.	|	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany		2 – 0	4 – 0	2006 FIFA World Cup
4.	|	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany	Ukraine	3 – 0	4 – 0	2006 FIFA World Cup
5.	|	AWD-Arena, Hannover, Germany		1 – 0	1 – 3	2006 FIFA World Cup
'''2006–2007
6.	|	Estadio Nuevo Vivero, Badajoz, Spain		2 – 0	4 – 0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
7.	|	Estadio Nuevo Vivero, Badajoz, Spain	Liechtenstein	3 – 0	4 – 0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
8.	|	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland		1 – '''2	3 – 2	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
9.	|	Estadio Nueva Condomina>Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain		2 – 1	2 – 1	International friendly
10.	|	Santiago Bernabéu Stadium>Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain		2 – 0	2 – 1	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
11.	|	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	0 – '''1	0 – 2	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
12.	|	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	0 – '''2	0 – 2	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
'''2007–2008
13.	|	Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero>Manuel Martínez Valero, Elche, Spain		1 – 0	1 – 0	International friendly
14.	|	Nuevo Colombino, Huelva, Spain		1 – 0	2 – 1	International friendly
15.	|	Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria		1 – 0	4 – 1	UEFA Euro 2008
16.	|	Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria	Russia	2 – 0	4 – 1	UEFA Euro 2008
17.	|	Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria	Russia	3 – 0	4 – 1	UEFA Euro 2008
18.	|	Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria		1 – '''2	1 – 2	UEFA Euro 2008
'''2008–2009
19.	|	Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain		1 – 0	1 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
20.	|	Estadio Carlos Belmonte, Albacete, Spain		2 – 0	4 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
21.	|	Estadio Carlos Belmonte, Albacete, Spain	Armenia	3 – 0	4 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
22.	|	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia		0 – '''2	0 – 3	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
23.	|	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium		1 – '''2	1 – 2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
24.	|	El Madrigal, Villarreal, Spain		1 – 0	3 – 0	International friendly
25.	|	Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Sevilla, Spain		1 – 0	2 – 0	International friendly
26.	|	Tofik Bakhramov, Baku, Azerbaijan		1 – 0	6 – 0	International friendly
27.	|	Tofik Bakhramov, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	2 – 0	6 – 0	International friendly
28.	|	Tofik Bakhramov, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	3 – 0	6 – 0	International friendly
29.	|	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa		5 – 0	5 – 0	2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
30.	|	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa		1 – 0	1 – 0	2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
31.	|	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa		1 – 0	2 – 0	2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
2009–2010
32.	|	Estadio Riazor, A Coruña, Spain	Belgium	2 – 0	5 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
33.	|	Estadio Riazor, A Coruña, Spain	Belgium	5 – 0	5 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
34.	|	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria		1 – '''2	1 – 5	International friendly
35.	|	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria	Austria	1 – '''3	1 – 5	International friendly
36.	|	Stade de France, Paris, France	France	0 – '''1	0 – 2	International friendly
37.	|	Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria		1 – 1	3 – 2	International friendly
38.	|	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa		1 – 0	2 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup
39.	|	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Honduras	2 – 0	2 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup
40.	|	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria, South Africa	Chile	0 – '''1	1 – 2	2010 FIFA World Cup
41.	|	Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa		1 – 0	1 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup
42.	|	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa		0 – '''1	0 – 1	2010 FIFA World Cup
'''2010-2011
43.	|	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	0 – '''2	0 – 4	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
44.	|	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland		0 – '''1	2 – 3	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
45.	|	Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain		1 – 1	2 – 1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
46.	|	Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain		2 – 1	2 – 1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
47.	|	Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui, Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela		0 – 1	0 – 3	International friendly

Note: According to virtually all sources, Villa's apparent 38th goal (against Poland) was actually an own goal by an opponent. Although FIFA credited the goal to Villa at the time, their own website now says his goal against Scotland was his 44th, not 45th.

Honours

Club

;Real Zaragoza

Copa del Rey: 1

:: 2004

Supercopa de España: 1

:: 2004

;Valencia

Copa del Rey: 1

:: 2008

;Barcelona

La Liga: 1

:: 2010–11

UEFA Champions League: 1

:: 2010–11

Supercopa de España: 2

:: 2010, 2011

UEFA Super Cup: 1

:: 2011

Country

;Spain

UEFA European Championship: 1

:: 2008

FIFA World Cup: 1

:: 2010

Individual

;Awards

Don Balón Award (Spanish Player of the Year): 2005-06

Zarra Trophy: 2005-06, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10

UEFA Euro 2008 Golden Boot

UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament

Man of the Match Spain vs Russia, Spain vs Sweden Euro 2008

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Shoe

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Team of the Tournament.

2010 FIFA World Cup Silver Shoe

2010 FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2010

Man of the Match Spain vs Honduras World Cup 2010

Male Athlete of the Year: 2010

FIFPro World XI: 2010

UEFA Team of the Year: 2010

Prince of Asturias Awards: 2010

;Achievements

Valencia Top Scorer: 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10

La Liga's Top Assisting Player: 2006-07

Spain all time top scorer: 46 goals

Spain's all time top scorer in FIFA World Cup matches

Most goals scored in one World Cup (by a Spanish international): 5

Most goals scored in one calendar year (by a Spanish international): 12 (2008, 2009) Largest streak of games having scored (by a Spanish international): 6

Notes

References

External links

FC Barcelona profile

BDFutbol profile

Transfermarkt profile

National team data

David Villa career stats at ESPN

Statistics and Analytics of David Villa at Footbalistic

The David Villa Campus official website

2010 FIFA World Cup profile

Official Site

John Aloisi|after= Incumbent|years=2009}} Hernán Crespo|after= Incumbent|years=2010}} Andrea Pirlo|after= Incumbent|years=2010}} Manny Pacquiao|after= Incumbent|years=2010}} }}

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:People from Langreo Category:Spanish footballers Category:Association football forwards Category:La Liga footballers Category:Sporting de Gijón footballers Category:Real Zaragoza footballers Category:Valencia CF footballers Category:FC Barcelona footballers Category:Spain under-21 international footballers Category:Spain international footballers Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players Category:UEFA European Football Championship-winning players Category:FIFA World Cup-winning players

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The Black Hills (''Pahá Sápa'' in Lakota, ''Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva'' in Cheyenne) are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of trees in a sea of grass". Harney Peak, which rises to , is the range's highest summit. The Black Hills encompass the Black Hills National Forest and are home to the tallest peaks of continental North America east of the Rockies.

The name "Black Hills" is a translation of the Lakota ''Pahá Sápa''. The hills were so-called because of their dark appearance from a distance, as they were covered in trees.

Native Americans have a long history in the Black Hills. After conquering the Cheyenne in 1776, the Lakota took over the territory of the Black Hills, which became central to their culture. When European Americans discovered gold there in 1874, as a result of George Armstrong Custer's Black Hills Expedition, erstwhile miners swept into the area in a gold rush. The US government re-assigned the Lakota, against their wishes, to other reservations in western South Dakota. Unlike most of South Dakota, the Black Hills were settled by European Americans primarily from population centers to the west and south of the region, as miners flocked there from earlier gold boom locations in Colorado and Montana.

As the economy of the Black Hills has shifted from natural resources (mining and timber), the hospitality and tourism industry has grown to take its place. Locals tend to divide the Black Hills into two areas: "The Southern Hills" and "The Northern Hills". The Southern Hills is home to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Harney Peak (the highest point east of the Rockies), Custer State Park (the largest state park in South Dakota, and one of the largest in the US), the Crazy Horse Memorial (the largest sculpture in the world), and The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, the world’’s largest mammoth research facility. Attractions in the Northern Hills include historic Deadwood and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, held each August. The first Rally was held on August 14, 1938 and the 65th Rally in 2005 saw more than 550,000 bikers visit the Black Hills. It is a key part of the regional economy. Motorcycle riders are also attracted to the Black Hills simply for the many miles of awe-inspiring scenery.. While not in South Dakota, the Devils Tower National Monument located in the Wyoming Black Hills is an important nearby attraction. Devils Tower is the nation’s first national monument

History

Native Americans have inhabited the area since at least 7000 BC. The Arikara arrived by 1500 AD, followed by the Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa and Pawnee. The Lakota (also known as Sioux) arrived from Minnesota in the eighteenth century and drove out the other tribes, who moved west. They claimed the land, which they called ''HeSapa'' (Black Mountains). The mountains commonly became known as the Black Hills.

The first European explorers to see the Black Hills were probably the French explorers François and Louis de La Vérendrye in 1743, but it was not until 1823 that Jedediah Smith traveled through them. After the public discovery of gold in the 1870s, European Americans increasingly encroached on Lakota territory. The conflict over control of the region sparked the Black Hills War, the last major Indian War on the Great Plains. The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie had previously confirmed the Lakota's ownership of the Teton Sioux mountain range. Both the Sioux and Cheyenne claimed rights to the land, saying that in their cultures, it was considered the ''axis mundi'', or sacred center of the world.

Although rumors of gold in the Black Hills had circulated for decades (see Thoen Stone and Pierre-Jean De Smet), it was not until 1874 that Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer of the 7th US Cavalry led an expedition there and discovered gold in French Creek. An official announcement of gold was made by the newspaper reporters accompanying the expedition. The following year, the Newton-Jenney Party conducted the first detailed survey of the Black Hills. The surveyor for the party, Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy, was the first European American to ascend to the top of Harney Peak. This highest point in the Black Hills is 7242 feet above sea level.

During the 1875–1878 gold rush, thousands of miners went to the Black Hills; in 1880, the area was the most densely populated part of Dakota Territory. There were three large towns in the Northern Hills: Deadwood, Central City, and Lead. Around these were groups of smaller gold camps, towns, and villages. Hill City and Custer City sprang up in the Southern Hills. Railroads were quickly constructed to the previously remote area. From 1880 on, the gold mines yielded about $4,000,000 annually, and the silver mines about $3,000,000 annually. Following the defeat of the Lakota and their Cheyenne and Arapaho allies in 1876, the United States took control of the region, in violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The Lakota never accepted the validity of the US appropriation. They continue to try to reclaim the property.

On July 23, 1980, in ''United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians'', the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Black Hills were illegally taken and that remuneration of the initial offering price plus interest — nearly $106 million — be paid. The Lakota refused the settlement as they wanted the Black Hills returned to them. The money remains in an interest-bearing account, which now amounts to over $757 million, but the Lakota still refuse to take the money. They believe that accepting the settlement would validate the US theft of their most sacred land.

Geology

The geology of the Black Hills is complex. A Tertiary mountain-building episode is responsible for the uplift and current topography of the Black Hills region. This uplift was marked by volcanic activity in the northern Black Hills. The southern Black Hills are characterized by Precambrian granite, pegmatite, and metamorphic rocks that comprise the core of the entire Black Hills uplift. This core is rimmed by Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks. The stratigraphy of the Black Hills is laid out like a target, as it is an oval dome, with rings of different rock types dipping away from the center.

Precambrian

The 'bulls eye' of this target is called the granite core. The granite of the Black Hills was emplaced by magma generated during the Trans-Hudson orogeny and contains abundant pegmatite. The core of the Black Hills has been dated to 1.8 billion years. There are other localized deposits that have been dated to around 2.2 to 2.8 billion years. One of these is located in the northern hills. It is called Elk Creek Granite although it has been metamorphosed into gneiss. The other is called the Bear Mountain complex, and it is located in the west central part of the hills. Making a concentric ring around the core is the metamorphic zone. The rocks in this ring are all very old, as much as 2.0 billion years and older. This zone is very complex, filled with many diverse rock types. The rocks were originally sedimentary, until there was a collision between the North American continent and a terrane. This collision, called the Trans-Hudson Orogeny, caused the original rocks to fold and twist into a vast mountain range. Over the millions of years, these tilted rocks, which in many areas are tilted to 90 degrees or more, eroded. Today we see the evidence of this erosion in the Black Hills, where the metamorphic rocks end in an angular unconformity below the younger sedimentary layers.

Paleozoic

The final layers of the Black Hills consist of sedimentary rocks. The oldest lie on top of the metamorphic layers at a much shallower angle. This rock called the Deadwood Formation is mostly sandstone and was the original source of gold found in the Deadwood area. Above the Deadwood Formation lies the Englewood Formation and Pahasapa limestone, which is the source of the more than 200 caves found in the Black Hills, including Jewel Cave and Wind Cave. The Minnelusa Formation is next and is composed of highly variable sandstones and limestones followed by the Opeche shale and the Minnekahta limestone.

Mesozoic

The next rock layer, the Spearfish Formation, forms a valley around the hills called the Red Valley and is often referred to as the Race Track. It is mostly red shale with beds of gypsum, and circles much of the Black Hills. These shale and gypsum beds as well as the nearby limestone beds of the Minnikata are used in the manufacture of cement at a cement plant in Rapid City. Next is the shale and sandstone Sundance Formation, which is topped by the Morrison Formation and the Unkpapa sandstone.

The outermost feature of the dome stands out as a hogback ridge. The ridge is made out of the Lakota Formation and the Fallriver sandstone, which are collectively called the Inyan Kara Group. Above this, the layers of rocks are less distinct and are all mainly grey shale with three exceptions: the Newcastle sandstone; the Greenhorn limestone, which contains many shark teeth fossils; and the Niobrara Formation, which is composed mainly of chalk. These outer ridges are called cuestas.

Cenozoic

The preceding layers were deposited in a horizontal manner. All of them can be seen in core samples and well logs from the flatest parts of the Great Plains. It took a period of uplift to bring them to their present topographical levels in the Black Hills. This uplift called the Laramide orogeny began around the beginning of the Cenozoic and left a line of igneous rocks through the northern hills superimposed on the rocks already discussed. This line extends from Bear Butte in the east to Devils Tower in the west. Evidence of Cenozoic volcanic eruptions, if this happened, has long since been eroded away.

The Black Hills also have a 'skirt' of gravel covering them in areas, which are called erosional terraces. Formed as the waterways cut down into the uplifting hills, they represent the former locations of today's rivers. These beds are generally around 10,000 years old or younger, judging by the artifacts and fossils found. A few places, mainly in the high elevations, are older, as old as 20 million years, according to camel and rodent fossils found. Some gravels have been found but for the most part, these older beds have been eroded away.

Biosystems

As with the geology, the biology of the Black Hills is complex. Most of the Hills are a fire-climax Ponderosa Pine forest, with Black Hills Spruce (''Picea glauca'' var. ''densata'') occurring in cool moist valleys of the Northern Hills. Oddly, this endemic variety of spruce does not occur in the moist Bear Lodge Mountains, which make up most of the Wyoming portion of the Black Hills. Large open parks (mountain meadows) with lush grassland rather than forest are scattered through the Hills (especially the western portion), and the southern edge of the Hills, due to the rainshadow of the higher elevations, are covered by a dry pine savannah, with stands of Mountain Mahogany and Rocky Mountain Juniper. Wildlife is both diverse and plentiful. Black Hills creeks are known for their trout, while the forests and grasslands offer good habitat for American Bison, White-tailed and Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Bighorn Sheep, mountain lions, and a variety of smaller animals, like prairie dogs, Yellow-bellied Marmots, and Fox Squirrels. Biologically, the Black Hills is a meeting and mixing place, with species common to regions to the east, west, north, and south. The Hills do, however, support some endemic taxa, the most famous of which is probably White-winged Junco (''Junco hyemalis aikeni'').

Tourism and economy

The region is home to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Harney Peak (the highest point east of the Rockies), Custer State Park (the largest state park in South Dakota, and one of the largest in the US), Bear Butte State Park, Devils Tower National Monument, and the Crazy Horse Memorial (the largest sculpture in the world). The Black Hills also hosts the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally each August. The Rally was started in 1940 and the 65th Rally in 2005 saw more than 550,000 bikers visit the Black Hills. It is a key part of the regional economy. Motorcycle riders are also attracted to the Black Hills simply for the many miles of awe-inspiring scenery.

The George S. Mickelson Trail is a recently opened multi-use path through the Black Hills that follows the abandoned track of the historic railroad route from Edgemont to Deadwood. The train used to be the only way to bring supplies to the miners in the Hills. The trail is about 110 miles in length, and can be used by hikers, cross-country skiers, and bikers. The cost is two dollars per day, or ten dollars annually.

Today, the major city in the Black Hills is Rapid City, with an incorporated population of almost 70,000 and a metropolitan population of 125,000. It serves a market area covering much of five states: North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. In addition to tourism and mining (including coal, specialty minerals, and the now declining gold mining), the Black Hills economy includes ranching (sheep and cattle, primarily, with bison and ratites becoming more common), timber (lumber), Ellsworth Air Force Base, and some manufacturing, including jewelry, cement, electronics, cabinetry, guns and ammunition.

In many ways, the Black Hills functions as a very spread-out urban area with a population (not counting tourists) of 250,000. Other important Black Hills cities and towns include:

Belle Fourche, a ranching town

Spearfish, home of Black Hills State University

Deadwood, a historic and well-preserved gambling mecca

Lead, home of the now-closed Homestake Mine (gold)

Keystone, outside Mount Rushmore

Hill City, a timber and tourism town in the center of the Hills

Custer, a mining and tourism town and headquarters for Black Hills National Forest

Hot Springs, an old resort town in the southern Hills

Sturgis, originally a military town (Fort Meade, now a VA center, is located just to the east. Now famous for one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the world)

Newcastle, center of the Black Hills petroleum production and refining.

See also

Black Hills Gold Rush

Black Hills Central Railroad

Cypress Hills (Canada)

Devils Tower National Monument

JoAnn Tall

The Needles

Pine Ridge Reservation

Black Hills Land Claim

References

External links

An article about the land the people of Black Hills

Category:Physiographic sections Category:Mountain ranges of the United States Category:Regions of South Dakota Category:Regions of Wyoming Category:Great Plains Category:Tertiary volcanism Category:Sacred mountains Category:Religious places of the indigenous peoples of North America Category:Lakota mythology Category:Economy of South Dakota Category:Great Sioux War of 1876–77

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