Minnesota

I

Introduction

Minnesota, one of the Great Lakes states of the United States, bordered on the north by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario; on the east by Lake Superior and Wisconsin; on the south by Iowa; and on the west by South Dakota and North Dakota. The Red River forms much of the western border, and the Mississippi River forms part of the south-eastern border.

Minnesota entered the Union on May 11, 1858, as the 32nd state. Minnesota’s economy has long been dominated by the development of its varied natural resources. By the 1990s, although it remained a leading agricultural state, Minnesota had developed a diversified economy, dominated by services and manufacturing. The name of the state is taken from the Minnesota River and is a Sioux phrase meaning “cloudy water”. Minnesota is known as the “North Star State”.

II

Land and Resources

Minnesota has an area of 225,182 sq km (86,943 sq mi). The state’s dimensions are 653 km (406 mi) from north to south and 576 km (358 mi) from east to west. Minnesota’s shoreline on Lake Superior is about 300 km (about 185 mi) long.

A

Physical Geography

Minnesota is divided into four geographical regions: the Superior Upland, which is a southern extension of the Canadian Shield, the Western Great Lakes Lowland, the Dissected Till Plains, and the Driftless Region. The Superior Upland region of north-eastern Minnesota is composed of hard rocks that resisted levelling by glacial erosion and is thus the state’s most rugged area. The Western Great Lakes Lowland, a region of generally level plains, occupies most of the remainder of the state. Along the southern boundary lie two areas of Dissected Till Plains, a region of rolling hills formed by erosion of glacial deposits. In the south-eastern corner lies the Driftless Region, the only unglaciated part of Minnesota.

Major rivers are the Mississippi, Minnesota, Crow Wing, St Croix, Red, Rainy, St Louis, and Rock. Minnesota has more than 20,000 lakes. The largest lake lying entirely within the state is Red Lake (divided into upper and lower sections).

B

Climate

Minnesota has a humid continental climate, characterized by wide daily and seasonal temperature variations. Summers are warm in the south and cool in the north; winters are cold throughout the state. The average July temperature is about 22.2° C (72° F). The recorded temperature in the state has ranged from -50.6° C (-59° F) in 1903 to 45.6° C (114° F) in 1936.