Minnesota
Minnesota Facts Maps
Photo: Minnesota
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a paddler's paradise. Some 1,200 miles of motor-free water trails span the lakes and rivers of this million-acre wilderness.
Photograph by Raymond Gehman
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Minnesota Information and History

Northernmost of the lower 48 states, Minnesota holds a pivotal position. The Great Lakes waterway system gives access to the Atlantic Ocean; the Mississippi River, which rises here, provides a link to the Gulf of Mexico. Duluth is one of the world's largest inland ports, transshipping low-grade iron ore, much of it from the nearby Mesabi Range, source of more than three-quarters of U.S. output. Agriculture dominates the state's south; agribusiness clusters in metropolitan Minneapolis-St. Paul, also a magnet for high-tech growth and the cultural center of the upper Midwest. With 15,000 lakes, Minnesota attracts many summer visitors.

ECONOMY

Industry: health services, tourism, real estate, banking and insurance, industrial machinery, printing and publishing, food processing, scientific equipment.
Agriculture: corn, soybeans, dairy products, hogs, cattle, turkeys, wheat.

Text source: National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition, 2004
Minnesota Flag and Fast Facts
Flag of Minnesota
Area
225,171 square kilometers
(86,939 square miles)
Population
5,059,375
Capital
St. Paul; 284,037
Per Capita Income
U.S. $33,895
Date Statehood Achieved
May 11, 1858
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Map: Minnesota
State: Minnesota
Country: United States
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