Geography of Minnesota

Introduction to Geography of Minnesota

Minnesota, one of the Midwestern states of the United States. Minnesota is the most westerly Great Lakes state and is bordered by Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba. In the Northwest Angle, which projects above the 49th parallel into Canada, is the most northerly point of the 48 contiguous states.

Physical Geography

Minnesota's surface features were formed primarily by glaciers during the last Ice Age. Only a small area in the southeast, in the so-called Driftless Area, was left untouched.

During the glaciation, massive sheets of ice eroded and smoothed the hills and in places leveled the land. On receding, the glaciers dammed rivers, created lakes, and left widespread debris.

Minnesota lies in two major physical regions of the United States: the Central Lowlands and the Superior Uplands.

The Central Lowlands region consists mainly of level to rolling plains. All of the state except the northeast is in this region. In the northwest is the broad, fertile valley of the Red River of the North, known simply as The Valley in Minnesota. It is exceptionally flat and was once part of the lake bed of Lake Agassiz. There are also large stretches of flat plains north and south of the Minnesota River and in the far north beyond Red Lake. Swamps, marshes, and peat bogs are widespread in some northern parts of the state.

The Superior Uplands region, in the northeast, is part of the vast Canadian Shield. It is largely a flat to rolling upland where ancient, hard, crystalline rock is either exposed at the surface or slightly covered by glacial debris. In places the terrain is broken by fairly prominent hills and low ranges, including the iron-rich Mesabi Range.

Scenic cliffs extend along some sections of Lake Superior's shore. Eagle Mountain, in the Misquah Hills in the extreme northeast, is the highest point in the state—2,301 feet (701 m) above sea level. The lowest elevation—600 feet (183 m)—is the surface of Lake Superior.

Minnesota's rivers and lakes are among the state's chief scenic and recreational attractions. This is reflected in two of the state's nicknames—Land of 10,000 Lakes and Land of Sky-blue Waters.

A small part of Minnesota is drained by rivers flowing into Lake Superior. In most of the state, drainage is either southward to the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Mississippi River system or northward to Hudson Bay via the Nelson River system. The Mississippi drains the largest part of the state. Major tributaries include the Minnesota River, which joins the Mississippi near the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the St. Croix River, which forms part of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.

The chief rivers draining northward toward Hudson Bay are the Red River of the North, along the North Dakota border, and the Rainy River, along the Ontario border.

Waterfalls and Whitewater rapids mark the courses of many rivers, especially in the hillier areas of the northeast. Some wilderness areas, particularly the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, are accessible only by water.

Minnesota has more than 15,000 lakes of 10 acres (4 hectares) or more in size. Red Lake, divided into upper and lower sections, covers 451 square miles (1,168 km 2)and is the largest lake entirely within the state. Other large lakes within Minnesota include Mille Lacs, Leech, Winnibigoshish, and Vermilion. Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake are on the Canadian border.

Minnesota has a humid continental type of climate. It is determined mainly by the state's location in the center of the continent, which aids rapid seasonal heating and cooling of the land. Winters are long and severely cold; summers are short and warm to hot.

Average January temperatures increase from roughly 2° F. (-17° C.) in the northwest to 18° F. (-8° C.) in the southeast. During July, average temperatures vary from about 65° F. (18° C.) to 76° F. (24° C), increasing from north to south. Only in the vicinity of the Misquah Hills does the July average fall as low as 59° F. (15° C). Extreme temperatures occasionally rise to more than 100° F. (38° C.) and sometimes drop below -40° F. (-40° C). Normally, the growing season is between 90 and 170 days, depending on location.

Annual precipitation varies from as little as 19 inches (480 mm) in the extreme northwest to 32 inches (810 mm) in the southeast. Most of it comes in the form of rain during the growing season. The annual snowfall is roughly 20 to 70 inches (510 to 1,780 mm), increasing from southwest to northeast. Tornadoes and blizzards are among the storms that occasionally strike the state.

Very little of Minnesota's natural vegetation remains. Coniferous forests, mainly pine, spruce, and fir, once occurred throughout most of northeastern and north-central Minnesota. These forests were cleared long ago by loggers and in most areas have been replaced by poplar, aspen, birch, second-growth conifers, and various kinds of scrub.

Deciduous forests—predominantly oak, hickory, maple, beech, and birch—at one time extended in a broad band from around Brainerd southeastward to the Iowa border. They were the first forests cleared in Minnesota, making way for farming. The rest of the state—the south and the west—was originally a vast expanse of tall prairie grass. Most of the area now is highly productive farmland.

Economy

Service industries make up the largest portion of Minnesota's gross domestic product.   These industries include finance, insurance, real estate, community, business, and personal services, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels. Transportation, construction, tourism, and other service industries are also significant. In addition, the government employs many people in the state. Fishing, both commercial and recreational, is a major activity in Minnesota.

The state's leading manufactured product is computer and electronic products. These include medical devices, computer components, semiconductors, and other electrical equipment.

Minnesota is also a leading meat-packing state. Meat packing and diary manufacturing are the most important food processing activities for the state. Minnesota ranks high among states in cheese, milk, and flour production. Also corn, soybeans, sugar beets, barley, flaxseed, oats, peas, potatoes, sweet corn, and apples are important crops. The state also is a top producer of canned fruits and vegetables and frozen foods.

Fabricated metal products and machinery are important manufactured products in Minnesota. It leads the nation in iron ore production. Granite, limestone, sand, and gravel are produced throughout the state.

Grain and livestock account for about half of Minnesota's farm income. These include hogs and beef and dairy cattle. Minnesota also is a leading producer of eggs and turkeys.

is the leading source of income and employment in Minnesota. Usually, the state ranks nineteenth or twentieth among the 50 states in total value of output. Minnesota produces a wide variety of goods. A number of large corporations have their headquarters in the state.

The making of machinery is Minnesota's leading manufacturing activity. Included is the production of industrial, agricultural, electrical, and electronic machinery. Minneapolis-St. Paul is one of the chief centers of computer technology and manufacturing in the nation.

Food processing is the second-ranking manufacturing activity. Processing of dairy products, meat packing, grain milling, and vegetable canning and freezing are prominent. Most of the nation's grain-milling companies have their home offices in Minnesota.

Other manufacturing industries include the fabricating of metal products, including ordnance, and the making of paper and paper products, chemicals, adhesives, tapes, and scientific instruments. Automobile assembly, clothing manufacturing, and printing and publishing are also significant.

Most of the manufacturing facilities are in the southeastern part of the state, primarily in the Minneapolis—St. Paul area. Duluth has the second largest concentration of manufacturing industries in the state.

Minnesota is one of the chief farming states in the nation, usually ranking fifth or sixth in annual farm income. Roughly half the land is in farms. Most of the agricultural land is in the south and the west, where rich glacial soils exist.

Most of the farmland is used for dairying, raising livestock, and growing grains and other field crops. Minnesota is a leading dairy state, ranking near the top in the amount of milk, butter, and cheese produced. Beef cattle and hogs are marketed in large numbers. In turkey production Minnesota is normally first or second in the nation.

Corn and soybeans, grown mainly in the southern part of the state, are Minnesota's principal crops. The southern region is also a heavy producer of vegetables for processing, particularly sweet corn and peas. Wheat, once the state's leading crop, is still produced in large amounts, and Minnesota is one of the top-ranking wheat states. Other major crops include hay, oats, barley, and sugar beets.

Minnesota has more farm cooperatives than any other state and these organizations play an important role in Minnesota agriculture.

More than two-thirds of the nation's iron ore is mined in Minnesota. It comes primarily from open-pit mines, especially those in the Mesabi Range. Deposits of high-grade ore have been largely depleted; taconite, a low-grade ore, is abundant, however. After mining, the taconite is crushed, concentrated, and compacted into high-grade pellets, which account for most of the iron ore shipped from the state. The Hull-Rust-Mahoning mine, near Hibbing, is one of the largest open-pit mines in the world. Sand, gravel, and stone account for most of the remaining mineral production, by value.

Second-growth forests cover about a third of the state and provide wood for many pulp, paper, and plywood mills. Lumber, fuelwood, Christmas trees, and posts are also among the state's wood products.

Roughly a dozen trunk-line and regional railways serve Minnesota. Trackage is mainly in the southern part of the state, converging primarily on the Twin Cities. The port city of Duluth is also a railway hub.

Highways include three Interstate routes one running north-south and two east-west Among scenic routes are a highway along Lake Superior's shore and one following the Mississippi River.

More than a dozen cities have airports that provide commercial air service. The international airport at Minneapolis-St. Paul is the largest and busiest air terminal in the upper Midwest.

By tonnage Duluth is one of the nation's leading ports. Shipments are largely bulk commodities such as iron ore, grain, and coal. Minneapolis is the "head of navigation for barge traffic on the Mississippi River.

Government

Minnesota is still governed under its original 1858 Constitution. Minnesota's governor and lieutenant governor are elected as a team, and serve four-year terms. There is no limit on how many times they can be reelected. The secretary of state, attorney general, and auditor are elected positions with four-year terms. The governor appoints the heads of most state departments, boards, and commissions to terms that range from two to six years. Minnesota's Legislature consists of a 67-member Senate and a 134-member House of Representatives. Most senators serve four-year terms, the rest serve two-year terms to allow for reapportionment (redrawing of districts). All representatives serve two-year terms.

Minnesota's highest court is the state Supreme Court. The state judiciary also consists of a Court of Appeals, a district court, and 10 judicial districts.

The People

People of German and Scandinavian descent make up the largest ethnic groups in Minnesota. Blacks and American Indians (Chippewa and Sioux) form small minorities. Together, they accounted for slightly less than 5 per cent of the population in 2000.

In 2000 Minnesota had a population of 4,919,479—an increase of 544,380, or 12.4 per cent, over the 1990 total. It ranked 21st among the states in population. Minnesota's population density was 61.8 persons per square mile (23.9 per km2), about one-fifth less than the national average.

Education

The governor of Minnesota appoints a nine-member state board of education and the commissioner of education. The commissioner administers the state department of education.

Jesuit missionaries established St. Michael the Archangel mission at Frontenac in 1727 for the Sioux Indians. The first school for white settlers was opened in 1820 at Fort St. Anthony (later called Fort Snelling) near Minneapolis. The first permanent school-house was built at Mendota shortly thereafter. In 1849 the territorial legislature enacted a law to establish and provide support for public schools. In 1858 the Episcopal Church founded Shattuck School at Faribault as a boys' preparatory school; it was the first private school in the state. The first state school attendance law was passed in 1885. The present law requires attendance from age 7 to age 16.

Most of the state's Indian children now attend public schools subsidized by the federal government. A director of Indian education works under the state education department. An adult education unit for Indians was opened on the Red Lake Reservation in 1963.

The largest institution of higher learning in the state is the University of Minnesota. It was established in 1851 but did not open until 1869. The main campus is at Minneapolis-St. Paul. There are branches at Duluth, Morris, and Crookston.

Government

Minnesota is governed under its original constitution, adopted in 1857 and effective in 1858. The legislature consists of a Senate of 67 members, elected for four-year terms, and a House of Representatives of 134, elected for two years. The legislature is required by law to meet in January of each odd-numbered year for a session of not more than 120 days. However, it often holds sessions in even-numbered years also.

The elected officials include the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, and auditor. All are elected for four-year terms. The governor appoints most of the other department heads.

The judiciary is headed by a supreme court of seven justices. Other courts include a court of appeals, district courts, and various lower courts. All justices and judges are elected on a nonpartisan ballot.

Minnesota has 87 counties. It is represented in the national Congress by two senators and eight representatives.