: Minnesota Image:Flag of Minnesota.
Minnesota (IPA: [ˌmɪnəˈsoʊtə]) (Audio (US) (help·info)) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest state in the U.S., and the 21st most populous, with over five million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the 32nd state in 1858. While the state's residents have been primarily white, Northern European, and Lutheran, substantial influxes of African, Asian, and Hispanic immigrants have joined the descendants of European immigrants and Native American descendants of its original inhabitants.
Nearly three out of five Minnesota residents live in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, which is the center of transportation, business, and industry, and home to an internationally known arts community. The remainder of the state, often referred to as Greater Minnesota, consists of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture; eastern deciduous forests, also heavily farmed and settled; and the less-populated northern boreal forest. The state is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", and those lakes and the other waters for which the state is named, together with state and national forests and parks, offer residents and tourists a vigorous outdoor lifestyle.
The extremes of the climate contrast with the moderation of Minnesota’s people. The state is known for its moderate-to-progressive politics and social policies, its civic involvement, and high voter turnout. It ranks among the healthiest states by a number of measures, and has one of the most highly educated and literate populations.
Origin of the name
The word Minnesota comes from the Dakota name for the Minnesota River, mnisota. Mni (sometimes mini, or minne) can be translated as "water". Mnisota is then translated as sky-tinted water or somewhat clouded water.[Minnesota State. Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved on 2006-06-29.][Minnesota definition. Dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-06.] Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it mnisota.[
Minnehaha Creek. Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.]
Geography
 Minnesota, showing roads and major bodies of water Minnesota is the northernmost state except for Alaska; its Northwest Angle is the only part of the 48 contiguous states lying north of the 49th Parallel. Minnesota is in the U.S. region known as the Upper Midwest. The state shares a Lake Superior water border with Michigan on the northeast; the remainder of the eastern border is with Wisconsin. Iowa is to the south, North Dakota and South Dakota are west, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba are north. With 87,014 square miles (225,365 km²), or approximately 2.25% of the United States,[
Facts and figures. infoplease.com. Retrieved on 2006-06-22.] Minnesota is the 12th largest state, and is the second-largest of the Midwestern states.[Land and Water Area of States, 2000. Information Please (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-22.]
Geology and terrain
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Minnesota contains some of the oldest rocks on earth, granitic gneisses some 3.6 billion years old, or 80% as old as the planet.[Ojakangas, Richard W., Charles L. Matsch (1982). Minnesota's Geology, Illus. Dan Breedy, Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-0953-5.] About 2.7 billion years ago, basaltic lava poured out of cracks in the floor of the primordial ocean; the remains of this volcanic rock formed the Canadian Shield in northeast Minnesota.[Breining, Greg (December 2005). Compass American Guides: Minnesota, 3rd Edition, 3rd, Compass American Guides. ISBN 1-4000-1484-0.] Following a period of volcanism 1.1 billion years ago, Minnesota's geological activity has been relatively quiet, with no volcanism, no mountain formation, and little earthquake activity.[Natural history - Minnesota's geology. Minnesota DNR. Retrieved on 2006-10-17.] and is characterized by rolling hills and streams that cut into the bedrock. The glaciers left their remains across the entire state as they retreated, with most areas having 50 feet (15 m) or more of glacial till. As the last glaciers retreated, gigantic Lake Agassiz formed in the northwest; the lake's outflow carved the valley of the Minnesota River, and its bottom created the fertile lands of the Red River valley.[Table Showing Minnesota Earthquakes. University of Minnesota, Morris. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.]
The state's high point is Eagle Mountain at 2,301 ft (701 m), which is only 13 miles away from the low of 602 ft (183 m) at the shore of Lake Superior.[Minnesota Map Collection - State, City, Road, County, River, Lake. geology.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.] Two continental divides meet in the northeastern part of Minnesota, forming three watersheds. Precipitation can follow the Mississippi River south to the Gulf of Mexico; the St. Lawrence Seaway east to the Atlantic Ocean; or the Hudson Bay watershed to the Arctic Ocean.[Continental Divides in North Dakota and North America. National Atlas. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.]
The state's nickname, The Land of 10,000 Lakes, is not an exaggeration; there are 11,842 lakes over 10 acres in size.[Lakes Lakes, rivers & wetlands. MN Facts. Minnesota DNR (2003). Retrieved on 2006-09-16.] The Minnesota portion of Lake Superior is the largest (at 962,700 acres) and deepest (at 1,290 feet) body of water in the state.
- See also: List of lakes in Minnesota and List of Minnesota rivers
Flora and fauna
 A groundhog seen in Minneapolis [Biomes of Minnesota. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.] The northern coniferous forests are a vast wilderness of pine and spruce trees mixed with patchy stands of birch and poplar. Much of Minnesota's northern forest has been logged, leaving only a few patches of old growth forest today in areas such as in the Chippewa National Forest and the Superior National Forest where the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has some 400,000 acres of unlogged land.[Heinselman, Miron (1996). The Boundary Waters Wilderness Ecosystem. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-2805-X.] Although logging continues, regrowth keeps about one third of the state forested.[Bewer, Tim (2004). Moon Handbooks Minnesota, First edition, Avalon Travel Publishing. ISBN 1-5669-1482-5.] While loss of habitat has affected native animals such as the pine marten, elk, buffalo, cougar, woodland caribou, and bobcat, other natives thrive; the state contains the nation's largest population of timber wolves outside Alaska, and supports healthy populations of black bear, moose and whitetail deer. Located on the Mississippi Flyway, the state hosts migratory waterfowl such as geese and ducks, and game birds such as grouse, pheasants, and turkeys. The state is home to birds of prey including the bald eagle, red-tailed hawk, and snowy owl. Its lakes teem with the sport fish of the region: walleye, bass, muskellunge, and northern pike. The streams in the southeast are populated by brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout.
- See also: Category:Fauna of Minnesota and Category:Flora of Minnesota
Climate
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Minnesota endures temperature extremes characteristic of its continental climate; with cold winters and hot summers, the record high and low span 174 degrees.[Minnesota climate extremes. University of Minnesota. Retrieved on 2006-11-10.] Meteorological events include rain, snow, hail, blizzards, polar fronts, tornadoes, thunderstorms, and high-velocity straight-line winds. The growing season varies from 90 days per year in the Iron Range to 160 days in southeast Minnesota near the Mississippi River, and mean average temperatures range from 36°F to 49°F.[Climate of Minnesota. National Weather Service Forecast Office. Retrieved on 2006-11-05.] Dewpoints range from about 6°F to 70°F.[ Depending on location, average annual precipitation ranges from 19 inches to 35 inches, and droughts occur every 10 to 50 years.][
] Protected lands
Minnesota is home to a wide variety of open, public spaces and park lands. Minnesota's first state park, Itasca State Park, was established in 1891, and is the official source of the Mississippi River.[Itasca State Park. Minnesota Depertment of Natural Resources. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.] Today Minnesota has 71 state parks. The state has two national forests, the Chippewa National Forest and the Superior National Forest. Inside the Superior National Forest, on the northeastern border of the state, lies the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which encompasses over a million acres and 1000 lakes. There are 53 state forests and numerous other wildlife preserves and regional parks. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources manages these lands.
- See also: Category:Parks in Minnesota
History
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Before European settlement, Minnesota was populated by the Anishinaabe, the Sioux, and other Native Americans. The first Europeans were French fur traders who arrived in the 1600s. Late in the century, the Ojibwe Indians migrated westward to Minnesota, causing tensions with the Sioux.[TimePieces. Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved on 2006-09-19.] Explorers such as Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, Father Louis Hennepin, Jonathan Carver, Henry Schoolcraft, and Joseph Nicollet, among others, mapped out the state.
In 1805, Zebulon Pike acquired land at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. The construction of Fort Snelling followed, between 1819 and 1825.[Gilman, Rhoda R. (1991-7-01). The Story of Minnesota's Past. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-8735-1267-7.]
The soldiers built a grist mill and a sawmill at Saint Anthony Falls, and as industry later sprung up around the falls, the city of Minneapolis grew up around it. Meanwhile, squatters, government officials, and tourists had settled in the vicinity of the fort. In 1839, the Army forced them to move downriver, and they settled in the area that became St. Paul.[Historic Fort Snelling. Minnesota Historical Society Press. Retrieved on 2006-07-06.] Minnesota Territory was formed on March 3, 1849. By 1858, thousands of people had come to build farms and cut timber, and Minnesota became the 32nd U.S. state on May 11, 1858.
Treaties between whites and the Sioux and Ojibwe gradually forced the natives off their lands and onto smaller reservations. As conditions deteriorated for the Sioux, tensions rose, leading to the Sioux Uprising of 1862. The result of the six-week war was the execution of 38 Indians—the largest mass execution in United States history—and the exile of most of the rest of the Sioux to the Crow Creek Reservation in Nebraska.[Lass, William E. [1977] (1998). Minnesota: A History, 2nd, New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-3930-4628-1.]
Logging and farming were mainstays of Minnesota's early economy. The sawmills at Saint Anthony Falls, and logging centers like Marine on St. Croix, Stillwater, and Winona, processed high volumes of lumber. These cities were situated on rivers that were ideal for transportation.[Danbom, David B. (Spring 2003). "Flour Power: The Significance of Flour Milling at the Falls". Minnesota History 58 (5): 271-285.]
The state's iron-mining industry was established with the discovery of iron in the Vermilion Range and the Mesabi Range in the 1880s, then in the Cuyuna Range in the early 1900s. The iron was shipped by rail to Two Harbors and Duluth, then loaded onto ships and transported eastward over the Great Lakes. Industrial development and the rise of manufacturing caused the population to shift gradually from rural areas to cities during the early 1900s. Nevertheless, farming remained prevalent throughout the state. During the Great Depression, Minnesota's economy was hard-hit, resulting in lower prices for farmers, layoffs among iron miners, and labor unrest. Compounding the adversity, western Minnesota and the Dakotas were hit by drought from 1931 to 1935. New Deal programs provided some economic turnaround. The Civilian Conservation Corps and other programs around the state established jobs for Indians on their reservations. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 provided a mechanism of self-government for the Indian tribes. This provided natives a greater voice within the state, and promoted more respect for tribal customs because religious ceremonies and native languages were no longer suppressed. After World War II, industrial development quickened. New technology increased productivity on farms, through automation of feedlots for hogs and cattle, machine milking at dairy farms, and raising chickens in large buildings. Planting became more specialized with hybridization of corn and wheat, and the use of farm machinery such as tractors and combines became the norm. University of Minnesota professor Norman Borlaug contributed to these developments as part of the Green Revolution. Minnesota became a center of technology after the war. Engineering Research Associates was formed in 1946 to develop computers for the United States Navy. It later merged with Remington Rand, and then became Sperry Rand. William Norris left Sperry in 1957 to form Control Data Corporation (CDC).[Engineering Research Associates Records 1946-1959. Hagley Museum and Library. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.] Cray Research was formed when Seymour Cray left CDC to form his own company. Medical device maker Medtronic also started business in the Twin Cities in 1949.
Cities and towns
The capital city of Minnesota is Saint Paul, located in the east-central part of the state along the banks of the Mississippi River. Saint Paul is adjacent to Minnesota's most populous city, Minneapolis; they and their suburbs are known collectively as the Twin Cities metropolitan area, the 16th largest metropolitan area in the United States and home to about 60% of the state's population (as of April 2005).[Population in Metropolitan Statistical Areas Ranked by 2000 Census (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2006-08-16.][Population Estimates. Minnesota Demographic Center. Retrieved on 2006-09-07.] The remainder of the state is known as Greater Minnesota or Outstate Minnesota.
Minnesota has 16 cities with populations above fifty thousand (based on 2005 estimates). In descending order by population, they are Minneapolis, Saint Paul,
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