Minnesota Geography

Basic Facts

• Geographical Region: Midwest
• Size: 86943 sq.mi., 12th rank overall.
• Admitted to Statehood: May 11, 1858
• Population: 5,266,214;21st rank overall.
• Capital: Saint Paul
• Other Major City: Minneapolis
• Abbreviation: MN

Fun Facts

• Nickname: North Star State / Land of 10,000 Lakes
• State Flag: Click Here (opens window to 50states.com)
• State Bird: Common Loon (opens window to 50states.com)
• State Flower: Pink and White Lady's Slipper (opens window to 50states.com)

Geographical Description

• Minnesota is mostly made up of rolling plains with fertile topsoil.
• Prehistoric glaciers carved out 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 ranges that are part of the larger Canadian Shield.
• In the south and the west are prairies, fertile farming country.

Map: Relief Map of MN

Industry

Iron ore, machinery, food processing, paper products, fabricated metal products, electronic equipment, chemicals, mining, glass products, computers, high-technology manufacturing, tourism.

Agriculture

Livestock, dairy products, corn, cattle, soybeans, hogs, wheat, turkeys

Other Information

Fun Facts:

• During a baseball broadcast, Minnesotan baseball commentator Halsey Hal is credited to be the first person to say "Holy Cow" during a baseball broadcast.
• Minnesota's total shoreline adds up to 90,000 miles, more than California, Florida and Hawaii combined.
• Minnesota's waters flow outward in three directions: north to Hudson Bay in Canada, east to the Atlantic Ocean, and south to the Gulf of Mexico
• Olaf Ohman found stone carvings that allegedly tell of a journey of a band of Vikings in 1362. The stone is called the Kensington Rune and was found in 1898.
• The largest open-pit mine in the world is the Hull-Rust mine in Hibbing.

More Fun Facts: http://www.50states.com/facts/minn.htm