Minnesota is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest state in the U.S., with an area of 87,014 square miles (225,365 km˛). Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the 32nd state in 1858.
Albany Albert Lea Albertville Alexandria Annandale Apple Valley Austin Baudette Baxter Becker Belle Plaine Bemidji Benson Biwabik Blaine Bloomington Brainerd Brooklyn Center Brooklyn Park Buffalo Burnsville Cambridge Cannon Falls Carlton Chanhassen Chaska Chisago City Cloquet Cohasset Coon Rapids Cottage Grove Detroit Lakes Duluth Eagan East Grand Forks Eden Prairie Edina Elk River Ely Eveleth Fairmont Faribault Fergus Falls Finlayson Forest Lake Fosston Fridley Glencoe Golden Valley Grand Marais Grand Rapids Granite Falls Hastings Hermantown Hibbing Hinckley Hutchinson International Falls Inver Grove Heights Jackson Kasson Lake City Lakeville Lino Lakes Litchfield Little Falls Lutsen Luverne Madelia Mankato Maple Grove Maplewood Marshall Mendota Heights Milaca Minneapolis Minnetonka Montevideo Monticello Moorhead Moose Lake Mora Morris Motley Mounds View New Prague New Ulm Nisswa North Branch North Mankato Northfield Oakdale Onamia Orr Owatonna Park Rapids Pequot Lakes Perham Pipestone Plymouth Preston Princeton Prior Lake Proctor Ramsey Red Wing Redwood Falls Richfield Rochester Rogers Roseau Roseville Sauk Centre Savage Shakopee Shoreview Silver Bay Stillwater Thief River Falls Tofte Two Harbors Virginia Wabasha Waconia Wadena Walker Warroad Waseca Welch White Bear Lake Willmar Windom Winona Woodbury Worthington Zumbrota
Its population of over five million is primarily of northern European descent, with the principal minorities being Native Americans descended from the original inhabitants, Hispanics, African Americans, and recent immigrant communities of Somalis and Hmongs.
Sixty percent of those people live in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, the center of transport, 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 and its civic involvement and voter turnout. It ranks among the healthiest states by a number of measures, and has one of the most highly-educated and literate populations.
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. The state borders Wisconsin on the east and also shares a water border in Lake Superior with Michigan; 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 km˛), or approximately 2.25% of the United States, Minnesota is the 12th largest state, and second largest among the Midwestern states. Minnesota is in the sub-region known as the Upper Midwest.
The state's average elevation is 1,200 feet (366 m), with a high point at Eagle Mountain (2,301 ft or 701 m) and a low at the surface of Lake Superior (602 ft or 183 m). Minnesota is one of the most geologically stable regions in the country. It experiences very few earthquakes, most of which are minor; the strongest earthquake in the last century occurred near Morris in 1975 and rated between 4.6 and 4.8 in magnitude.
Two continental divides meet in the northwestern part of Minnesota, creating three watersheds. Rain falling in the state 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.
Much of the state is relatively flat, but pockmarked with lakes, having been eroded by glaciers periods during the Ice Age. The extreme southeastern portion of the state is part of the Driftless Zone, which was not covered by the recent Wisconsin glaciation. It is here that Lake Pepin and the rugged high bluffs of the Mississippi River are found. The northeastern portion of the state is on the Canadian Shield and is covered by rugged ranges of hills, notably the Mesabi Range, rich in iron ore, the Sawtooth Mountains along the shore of Lake Superior, the Misquah Hills and the Laurentian Highlands in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
Ground Transportation
Land transportation in Minnesota is primarily centered on the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Almost all north-south through railroads and long-distance four-lane expressways go to or through the Twin Cities. Most east-west through routes do also, the exceptions being a corridor from the North Dakota border to the port of Duluth/Superior comprised of two BNSF rail routes and U.S. Route 2, and a corridor across southern Minnesota from South Dakota to the Mississippi River and Wisconsin with I-90, Minnesota State Highway 60 and U.S. Route 14, and the DM&E Railroad.
Highway system
Minnesota's major Interstate highways are I-35, I-90, and I-94. I-535 is a spur route from Duluth to Superior, Wisconsin. In the Twin Cities I-35 splits into I-35W through Minneapolis and I-35E through St. Paul. I-94 has one spur, Interstate 394 from Minneapolis to the western suburbs, and two loop routes, Interstate 494 and Interstate 694, which form a beltway around the Twin Cities.
The interstates are part of a class of routes know as interregional corridors, which also includes U.S. Routes 2, 8, 10, 14, 52, 53, 61, 63, 169, and 212 and Minnesota State Highways 23, 34, 36, 60, 210, and 371. Interregional corridors represent two percent of the state's highways but account for one-third of all vehicle miles traveled. Less heavily travelled regional corridors include U.S. Routes 12, 59, 71, and 75, and a number of state highways.
Railroads
Major freight railroads in Minnesota include BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railroad, Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian National Railroad, and the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad. Principal ladings include coal from the Powder River Basin to ports and eastern power plants, grain and other agricultural products from farm to processors and ports, taconite (a form of iron ore) from northeastern Minnesota to Lake Superior ports or on all-rail routes to steel mills, timber and forest products, and intermodal traffic.
The state is served by one intercity passenger rail line, Amtrak's Empire Builder, which stops daily in each direction at Winona, Red Wing, St. Paul, St. Cloud, Staples, and Detroit Lakes.
Bus transit systems exist in Rochester, Winona, Duluth, St. Cloud, Mankato, Moorhead and the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The latter is served by the Metro Transit system, which has an extensive system with over 200 routes. Some metro areas have opted to create their own bus systems, such as Southwest Metro Transit and the Minnesota Valley Transportation Authority.
There are no heavy-rail commuter rail systems extant in the state, but one is in the development stages. The 82-mile Northstar Corridor line is envisioned to connect Minneapolis with St. Cloud along the BNSF Railroad. A bonding bill was signed in 2006 to build 40 miles of this route to Big Lake by 2009.
Light Rail
Metro Transit also operates one light rail line, the Hiawatha Line. Completed in 2004, this line runs from downtown Minneapolis to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America. The line has been very successful, receiving a 65% higher ridership than expected in its first year of service. Another line, the Central Corridor, which would connect downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul, is in the planning stages.
Water transportation
Much of Minnesota's early transportation followed the numerous rivers and lakes. Early European explorers and settlers followed the routes used by the Voyageurs in the fur trading days, and later on steamboat services operated on the principal rivers. Commercial water transportation now is limited to the shipment of bulk commodities on two routes.
Barges haul grain and other products down the Mississippi River system from the ports of Minneapolis (the head of navigation), Savage (on the Minnesota River), St. Paul, Red Wing and Winona to downstream river ports, and to ports on the Gulf of Mexico for transhipment to ocean-going cargo ships. Cargo vessels known as lakers haul grain, coal, and iron ore from the Lake Superior ports of Duluth-Superior, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, and Taconite Harbor through Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes, while ocean-going ships referred to as salties operate from the Twin Ports out the St. Lawrence Seaway to the ocean.
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Air transportation Minnesota’s principal airport is Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), the headquarters and a major passenger and freight hub for Northwest Airlines. MSP is also a hub for Sun Country Airlines, and is served by most other domestic carriers. Large commercial jet service is also provided to and from airports at Duluth and Rochester. Scheduled commuter service also is available at Bemidji, Brainerd, Hibbing, International Falls, St. Cloud, and Thief River Falls.
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Prior to European colonization, the Minnesota region was primarily inhabited by the Native American tribes of Ojibwa (Sometimes called Chippewa, or Anishinaabe) and Dakota, with some Winnebago presence in the southeastern part of the region. The Cheyenne and Gros Ventre tribes were present in the region prior to the arrival of the Ojibwa and Dakota tribes. The economy was chiefly based on hunter-gatherer activities.
One area of early economic development in Minnesota was the logging industry. Loggers found the white pine especially valuable, and it was plentiful in the northeastern section of the state and in the St. Croix River valley. In the days before railroads, lumbermen relied mostly on river transportation to bring logs to market, which made Minnesota's timber resources attractive. Towns like Marine on St. Croix and Stillwater became important lumber centers fed by the St. Croix River, while Winona was supplied by areas in southern Minnesota and along the Minnesota River. Meanwhile, St. Anthony, on the east bank of the Mississippi River in what became Minneapolis, became an important lumber milling center supplied by the Rum River. The unregulated logging practices of the time and a severe drought took their toll in 1894, when the Great Hinckley Fire ravaged 350,000 acres around Hinckley.
After the Civil War, Minnesota also became an attractive region for immigration and settlement as farmland. Minnesota's population in 1870 was 439,000, and this number tripled during the two subsequent decades. The Homestead Act made it easy for settlers to claim land, which was regarded as being cheap and fertile. The railroad industry, led by the Northern Pacific Railway and St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (a predecessor of the Great Northern Railway), advertised the many possibilities of the state and worked to get immigrants to settle in Minnesota. Other railroads, such as the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad and the Milwaukee Road, played an important role in the early days of Minnesota's statehood. Later railways, such as the Soo Line Railroad and Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway, served as outlets for Minneapolis grain and other products, although they were not as involved in attracting settlers.
Saint Anthony Falls also played an important part in the development of Minneapolis. The power of the waterfall fueled sawmills, but it was later tapped to serve grist mills. In 1870, only a small number of the state's flour mills were in the Minneapolis area. Advances in transportation and milling technology combined to give Minneapolis a dominance in the milling industry. Spring wheat could be sown in the spring and harvested in late summer, but it posed special problems for milling. To get around these problems, Minneapolis millers implemented innovative processes to remove the husks of the wheat kernels and to gradually pulverize the middlings. This strategy resulted in the production of Minnesota "patent" flour, widely regarded as the finest bread flour of its time. Pillsbury and the Washburn-Crosby Company (a forerunner of General Mills) became the leaders in the Minneapolis milling industry. By 1900, Minnesota mills were grinding 14.1 percent of the nation's grain. This leadership in milling declined as milling was no longer dependent on water power, but the dominance of the mills contributed greatly to the economy of Minneapolis and Minnesota as a whole.
Agriculture became more of an industry after World War II. Many technological developments increased productivity on farms, such as automation of feedlots for hogs and cattle, machine milking at dairy farms, and raising chickens in large buildings. Planting also became more specialized with hybridization of corn and wheat, and mechanical equipment such as tractors and combines became the norm. University of Minnesota professor Norman Borlaug contributed to this knowledge as part of the Green Revolution.
Suburban development intensified after the war, fueled by the demand for new housing. In 1957, the Legislature created a planning commission for the Twin Cities metropolitan area. This became the Metropolitan Council in 1967.
Minnesota also 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 later became Sperry Rand. William Norris left Sperry in 1957 to form Control Data Corporation. Cray Research was formed when Seymour Cray left CDC to form his own company. Medical device maker Medtronic also got its start in the Twin Cities in 1949.
* Minnesota has temperature extremes characteristic of its continental climate, with cold winters and warm summers. The state's climate is profoundly affected by the jet stream which can give the state winter temperatures lower than some parts of Alaska. As Minnesota is located far inland, its climate is unmoderated by large bodies of water except for highly localized effects near Lake Superior.
Minnesota is exposed to blizzards during its long winter, and thunderstorms the rest of the year. The latter can spawn tornadoes, especially during the peak months of May through July, and the state is located on the north edge of tornado alley.
Temperature extremes range from a low of -60 °F (-51 °C) measured at Tower in the north on February 2, 1996, to highs of 114 °F (45.5 °C) reached in both 1917 and 1936 in the western part of the state. The average temperature in January (the coldest month) is 11.2 °F (-11.5 °C), and the average in the warmest month, July, is 73.1 °F (22.8 °C); averages are cooler in the north and warmer in the south. The average annual precipitation is 28.32 inches (719 mm), with a snowfall figure of 49.6 inches (126 cm).
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* This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Source wikipedia.
