Minnesota State Facts

People
Population (2000): 4,919,479; rank: 21.
Pop. density: per sq. mi. (2000): 61.8
Racial/ethnic distrib. (2000): 89.4% white; 3.5% black; 2.9% Hispanic; 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native; 2.9% Asian.
Net change (1990-2000): 12.4%

Geography

Except for Alaska, Minnesota is the most northerly of all the states (reaching lat. 49°23'55"N). The climate is humid continental. Winter locks the land in snow, spring is brief, and summers are hot. Prehistoric glaciers left marshes, boulder-strewn hills, and rich, gray drift soil stretching from the northern pine wilderness to the broad southern prairies. In the eastern part of the state are mountains, part of the Canadian Shield, from which iron ore is decreasingly extracted. The Vermilion and Cuyuna ranges (discovered in 1884 and 1911) are virtually depleted, and the once rich Mesabi range (1890) has also declined. South of the iron country, famous for its old-time boomtowns, lie rolling hills. In the south and the west are prairies, fertile farming country.

The state has more than 11,000 lakes and numerous streams and rivers. The rivers feed three great river systems: The Red River of the north and its tributaries in the west run north through Manitoba's lakes to Hudson Bay; streams in the east run into Lake Superior, and eventually into the St. Lawrence; and the Mississippi flows south from Minnesota headwaters above Lake Itasca, gathering volume from the waters of the St. Croix and Minnesota rivers before leaving the state.

The beauty of Minnesota's lakes and dense green forests, as seen in Voyageurs National Park, has long attracted vacationers, and there is excellent fishing in the state's many rivers, lakes, and streams. Also of interest to tourists are the Grand Portage and Pipestone national monuments (see National Parks and Monuments, table), Itasca State Park (at the headwaters of the Mississippi), and the world's largest open-pit iron mine at Hibbing.

Climate

Minnesota weather can be harsh. In the winter, temperatures in the region sometimes dip below -20°F (-29°C), with wind chills perhaps -60°F (-51°C) or lower. While Minnesota is known for having cold winters, hot summers also occur in the region, and weather varies on a daily basis.

Minnesota is one of the nation's largest producers of iron ore. Methods developed to use lower-grade ores such as taconite have kept production up in spite of the depletion of once rich high-grade deposits. Granite (from St. Cloud) and sand and gravel production are also among the largest in the country. Wheat, once paramount in agriculture, has been surpassed by corn, soybeans, and livestock. The state is also a leader in the production of creamery butter, dry milk, cheese, and sweet corn.

By the 1950s manufacturing rivaled agriculture as the major source of income in Minnesota. Major industries in the state produce processed foods, electronic equipment, machinery, paper products, chemicals, and stone, clay, and glass products. Minnesota pioneered the development of computers and other high-technology manufacturing. Printing and publishing are also important.

Reforestation and the use of relatively small trees for pulpwood have helped to keep timber one of Minnesota's assets, even though the “big woods” of the early 19th cent. have been to a large extent felled. The state is roughly 30% forestland and has two national forests. The high days of logging in Minnesota, immortalized in the legend of Paul Bunyan, were brief, but they helped build a number of large fortunes, such as that of Frederick Weyerhaeuser.

Also of great importance to Minnesota are its waterways, which have been extensively developed near industrial centers. Locks and other improvements enable Mississippi River barge traffic to pass around the Falls of St. Anthony at Minneapolis. Duluth, at the western tip of Lake Superior, has one of the busiest inland harbors in the United States; the completion of the Saint Lawrence Seaway (1959) made the city an important port for overseas trade.

Per Capita Personal Income (1999): $23,198
Persons Below Poverty (1999): 7.9%

Education

High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, (2000): 87.9%
Bachelor's degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+, (2000): 27.4%

State Data

Nickname: Gopher State. North Star State.
Motto: "L'Etoile du Nord" - The Star of the North
Flower: Pink and white lady's slipper
Bird: Common loon
Tree: Norway pine
Song: Hail Minnesota
Minnesota is from a Dakota Sioux Indian word that means "cloudy water" or "sky water" and refers to local rivers.

History

History prior to joining the United States

Before European colonization, the area now known as Minnesota was inhabited by Native Americans, in particular the Ojibwe (Chippewa, Anishinaabe) and Dakota, although the Winnebago also had a presence in the southeastern part of the state. In this time, the economy originally consisted of hunter-gatherer activities, which changed over time as Europeans settled in the area and further exploited the state's natural resources.

According to local tradition, the first European visitors were Swedish and Norwegian Vikings in the 14th century. The evidence for this is largely based on the controversial Kensington Runestone, which most historians consider to be an elaborate hoax. Some say that the earliest European settlement was in the area of the current city of Stillwater, on the St. Croix River, though many histories focus on the military settlement that took place farther west. Fort Snelling, located at the confluence of the Minnesota River and the Mississippi River, was one of the earliest U.S. military presences in the state. It is now a historic site.

Joining the United States

Much of the state was purchased from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase, although the exact definition of that land was not assessed for many years afterward. Parts were also considered to be in the Northwest Territory.

Minnesota Territory was carved out of Iowa Territory on March 3, 1849, but it was not coextensive with the present state, since the area included what later became the territory of Dakota (which later still became the states of North Dakota and South Dakota). The eastern half of the territory of Minnesota became the country's 32nd state—after California—on May 11, 1858.