Named for the river the Sioux called "sky-tinted water" or "cloudy water," Minnesota is located in north central United States just south of the Canadian border. Though it is popularly known as The Land of 10,000 Lakes, the state actually contains more than 15,000 lakes. Tourists from around the world are attracted to the scenic beauty of this "vacation wonderland"--to its clear, sparkling lakes, lush pine forests, magnificent waterfalls, miles of unbroken wilderness. It also is frequently referred to as The Gopher State and The North Star State. Minnesota is bordered on the north by Canada, on the east by Wisconsin and Lake Superior, the largest lake in the world, to the south by Iowa, and on the west by South and North Dakota.

Minnesota has four land regions. The Superior Upland covers most of the rugged terrain in the state and includes the Saw Tooth Mountain and the towering Eagle Mountain, and most of the state's rich iron-ore deposits. The Young Drift Plains region has mainly gently rolling farmlands, extending south to Iowa, and thousands of lakes. The Dissected Till Plains form the southwest corner of Minnesota also offers excellent farm country. The Driftless Area lies along the Mississippi River in the southeast corner, with deep valleys in the eastern prairies and nearly flat land toward the west.

Minnesota contains more water than most other states, its lakes covering some 4,000 square miles. The three great river systems which originate in the state are the Mississippi, the Rainy River and Red River, and the St. Louis and other rivers that empty into Lake Superior. The state has 189 miles of shoreline on Lake Superior. Other large lakes include Big Stone Lake, Lake Traverse, Lake of the Woods, Rainy Lake, Mille Lacs Lake, Lake Minnetonka, and Red Lake. In central Minnesota, Lake Itasca is the source of the Mississippi. Picturesque waterfalls include Minnehaha, made famous in the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The state's highest waterfalls is the 124-foot Cascade Falls on the Cascade River in Lake Country. Thus abundant water is one of Minnesota's most important natural resources, along with fertile soil, evergreen forests, mineral deposits, and wildlife. Principal cities are St. Paul, the capital, and Minneapolis, the largest city. Others include Duluth, a large inland port, Austin, Mankato, Rochester, Winona, and St. Cloud. The metro formed by the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of the state. Its growing population is now estimated at more than 4.7 million, and represents people from many foreign backgrounds: Germans, Swedes, French, Norwegians, Danes, Irish, plus more recent immigrations from Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, the former Soviet Union, Asia, and Mexico. Most Native Americans live on northern reservations and in the Twin Cities. A few famous Minnesotans are the Mayo brothers, who made the town of Rochester one of the world's great medical centers, Noble Prize writer Sinclair Lewis, and the Jazz Age novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. University of Minnesota heads a long list of excellent colleges and universities.

Minnesota has a strong, diverse economy based on rich farmland, forest products, petroleum refineries, mining, commercial fishing, food processing, meat packing, tourism, and such wide ranging manufactures as tractors and farm machinery, electrical equipment, chemicals, abrasives, cosmetics, furniture, fabricated metals, plastic and rubber products, computers, printing and publishing. Wheat and dairy products have given Minnesota yet another nickname: The Bread and Butter State. The area is served by the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, extensive rail and highway systems, such major waterways as the Mississippi, the Great Lakes, and the St. Lawrence Seaway, and five river ports including Duluth.

Notable points of interest are the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Walker Art Center; American Institute of Swedish Arts, Literature, and Sciences; Minnesota Historical Society Museum; the Science Museum at St. Paul; the Minnesota Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota; the Minnesota Museum of Mining at Chisholm; the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden; the Minneapolis and Duluth symphony orchestras; St. Paul Civic Opera; Ballet Arts Minnesota; the Ethnic Dance Theatre; the Guthrie Theater; and Metropolitan Boys Choir. Other attractions include Lumbertown, USA; Red Lake Indian Reservation; Superior National Forest; Beltrami Island; Frontenac State Park. Visit the Charles A. Lindbergh House State Historic Site at Little Falls; explore the state's many Scenic Byways; tour Minnesota's lakes and rivers by houseboat; shop at the more than 400 specialty stores in the Mall of America. Opportunities for outdoor recreation range from fish and hunting to boating and camping, from water skiing to some of the best snow skiing in America. For professional sports enthusiasts there are the Minnesota Twins major league baseball club, the NFL Minnesota Vikings, and the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves.

When French fur trappers arrived in the Minnesota area in the 1650s they found Sioux Indians living in the forests of the north and northeast. The Frenchman Daniel Greysolon, Sieur Duluth, entered Minnesota in 1679 in search of the Pacific Ocean and claimed the region for France. The United States obtained Minnesota as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; and the Territory of Minnesota was created by Congress in 1849. Minnesota because the 32nd state on May 11, 1858.