Editing Minnesota (section)

== Geography ==

{{Main|Geography of Minnesota}}
[[File:National-atlas-minnesota.svg|thumb|right|Scalable map of Minnesota, showing roads and major bodies of water]]

Minnesota is the second northernmost U.S. state (after [[Alaska]]) and northernmost contiguous state, as the isolated [[Northwest Angle]] in [[Lake of the Woods County]] is the only part of the 48 [[Contiguous United States|contiguous states]] north of the [[49th parallel north|49th parallel]]. The state is part of the U.S. region known as the [[Upper Midwest]] and part of North America's [[Great Lakes region (North America)|Great Lakes region]]. It shares a [[Lake Superior]] water border with [[Michigan]] and a land and water border with [[Wisconsin]] to the east. [[Iowa]] is to the south, [[North Dakota]] and [[South Dakota]] are to the west, and the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian provinces]] of [[Ontario]] and [[Manitoba]] are to the north. With {{convert|86,943|sqmi|km2}},<ref>{{cite web|title=Just the Facts | date=June 7, 2002 |url=http://www.state.mn.us/portal/mn/jsp/content.do?id=-8542&subchannel=null&sc2=null&sc3=null&contentid=536879492&contenttype=EDITORIAL&programid=536888179&agency=NorthStar |publisher=Minnesota North Star (official state government site). |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401204836/http://www.state.mn.us/portal/mn/jsp/content.do?id=-8542&subchannel=null&sc2=null&sc3=null&contentid=536879492&contenttype=EDITORIAL&programid=536888179&agency=NorthStar |archive-date=April 1, 2009 }} Retrieved on July 4, 2009.</ref> or approximately 2.25% of the United States,<ref>{{cite web |year=2007 |title=Facts and figures |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/us/A0859662.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615062217/http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/us/minnesota-state-united-states-facts-figures.html |archive-date=June 15, 2013 |access-date=April 9, 2008 |publisher=Infoplease}}</ref> Minnesota is the 12th-largest state.<ref>{{cite web| title = Land and Water Area of States, 2008| publisher = Information Please| year = 2011| url = http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108355.html| access-date = October 13, 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130720013202/http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108355.html| archive-date = July 20, 2013| url-status = live}}</ref>

=== Geology ===

{{Main|Geology of Minnesota}}
{{See also|List of lakes in Minnesota|List of Minnesota rivers}}

[[File:StLouisRiver JayCooke.JPG|thumb|right|Tilted beds of the Middle [[Precambrian]] Thomson Formation in [[Jay Cooke State Park]]<ref name="MNGeog">{{cite book | last = Ojakangas | first = Richard W. |author2=Charles L. Matsch | others = Illus. Dan Breedy | title = Minnesota's Geology | year = 1982 | publisher = [[University of Minnesota Press]] | location= Minneapolis, Minnesota | isbn = 978-0-8166-0953-6}}</ref>]]

Minnesota has some of the earth's oldest rocks, [[gneiss]]es that are about 3.6{{spaces}}billion years old (80% as old as the planet).<ref name="MNGeog" /><ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web | title = Geologic Time: Age of the Earth | publisher = United States Geological Survey | date = October 9, 1997 | url = http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html | access-date = April 9, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051223072700/http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html | archive-date = December 23, 2005 | url-status = live }}</ref> About 2.7{{spaces}}billion years ago [[basalt]]ic [[lava]] poured out of cracks in the floor of the primordial [[ocean]]; the remains of this [[volcano|volcanic]] rock formed the [[Canadian Shield]] in northeast Minnesota.<ref name="MNGeog" /><ref name="Compass">{{cite book | last = Breining | first = Greg | title = Compass American Guides: Minnesota, 3rd Edition | edition = 3rd | publisher = [[Fodor's|Compass American Guides]] | date = December 2005 | isbn = 978-1-4000-1484-2 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/minnesota0003brei }}</ref> The roots of these volcanic mountains and the action of [[Precambrian]] seas formed the [[Iron Range]] of northern Minnesota. Since a period of [[volcanism]] 1.1{{spaces}}billion years ago, Minnesota's geological activity has been more subdued, with no volcanism or mountain formation, but with repeated incursions of the sea, which left behind multiple strata of [[sedimentary rock]].<ref name="MNGeog" />

In [[Glacial history of Minnesota|more recent times]], massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick ravaged the state's landscape and sculpted its terrain.<ref name="MNGeog" /> The [[Wisconsin glaciation]] left 12,000 years ago.<ref name="MNGeog" /> These glaciers covered all of Minnesota except the far southeast, an area characterized by steep hills and streams that cut into the [[bedrock]]. This area is known as the [[Coulee Region|Driftless Zone]] for its absence of [[drift (geology)|glacial drift]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Natural history – Minnesota's geology |publisher=Minnesota DNR |url=http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snas/naturalhistory.html |year=2008 |access-date=April 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010202724/http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snas/naturalhistory.html |archive-date=October 10, 2006 }}</ref> Much of the remainder of the state has 50 feet (15{{spaces}}m) or more of [[glacial till]] left behind as the last glaciers retreated. Gigantic [[Lake Agassiz]] formed in the northwest 13,000 years ago. Its flatbed now is the fertile [[Red River of the North|Red River]] valley, and its outflow, [[glacial River Warren]], carved the valley of the [[Minnesota River]] and the Upper Mississippi downstream from [[Fort Snelling]].<ref name="MNGeog" /> Minnesota is geologically quiet today; it experiences [[earthquake]]s infrequently, most of them minor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Table Showing Minnesota Earthquakes |publisher=University of Minnesota, Morris |url=http://www.mrs.umn.edu/earthquakes/MNeqchart.html |access-date=April 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327204634/http://www.mrs.umn.edu/earthquakes/MNeqchart.html |archive-date=March 27, 2008 }}</ref>
[[File:Palisade, Shovel Point (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Palisade Head]] on [[Lake Superior]] was formed from a [[Precambrian]] [[rhyolitic]] [[lava]] flow.<ref name="MNGeog" />]]

The state's high point is [[Eagle Mountain (Minnesota)|Eagle Mountain]] at 2,301 feet (701{{spaces}}m), which is only {{convert|13|mi|km}} away from the low point of 601 feet (183{{spaces}}m) at the shore of Lake Superior.<ref name="Compass" /><ref>{{cite web | title = {{convert|118|km|0|abbr=on}} SW of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada | website = Topographic map | publisher = U.S.G.S via terraserver.microsoft.com | date = July 1, 1964 | url = http://msrmaps.com/map.aspx?t=2&s=16&lon=-90.56700164&lat=47.79184974&w=600&h=400&opt=0 | access-date = April 13, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131009100944/http://msrmaps.com/map.aspx?t=2&s=16&lon=-90.56700164&lat=47.79184974&w=600&h=400&opt=0 | archive-date = October 9, 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref> Notwithstanding dramatic local differences in elevation, much of the state is a gently rolling [[peneplain]].<ref name="MNGeog" />

Two major [[drainage divide]]s meet in Minnesota's northeast in rural [[Hibbing, Minnesota|Hibbing]], forming a triple [[Drainage basin|watershed]]. [[Precipitation (meteorology)|Precipitation]] can follow the [[Mississippi River]] south to the [[Gulf of Mexico]], the [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]] east to the Atlantic Ocean, or the [[Canada Hudson Bay drainage|Hudson Bay watershed]] to the Arctic Ocean.<ref>{{cite web|title=Continental Divides in North Dakota and North America |publisher=National Atlas |date=October 2, 2007 |url=http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/geology/a_continentalDiv.html |access-date=April 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513163803/http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/geology/a_continentalDiv.html |archive-date=May 13, 2008 }}</ref>

The state's nickname "Land of 10,000 Lakes" is apt, as there are 11,842 [[Minnesota lakes]] over {{convert|10|acre|ha|0}} in size.<ref name="dnr">{{cite web | title = Lakes, rivers & wetlands | website = MN Facts | publisher = Minnesota DNR | year = 2008 | url = http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/faq/mnfacts/water.html | access-date = April 9, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130629143248/http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/faq/mnfacts/water.html | archive-date = June 29, 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref> Minnesota's portion of Lake Superior is the largest at {{convert|962,700|acre|ha km2}} and deepest (at {{convert|1290|ft|m|abbr=on}}) body of water in the state.<ref name="dnr" /> Minnesota has 6,564 natural rivers and streams that cumulatively flow for {{convert|69,000|mi|km}}.<ref name="dnr" /> The Mississippi River begins its journey from its [[headwaters]] at [[Lake Itasca]] and crosses the Iowa border {{convert|680|mi|km}} downstream.<ref name="dnr" /> It is joined by the [[Minnesota River]] at Fort Snelling, by the [[St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota)|St. Croix River]] near [[Hastings, Minnesota|Hastings]], by the [[Chippewa River (Wisconsin)|Chippewa River]] at [[Wabasha, MN|Wabasha]], and by many smaller streams. The Red River drains the northwest part of the state northward toward Canada's Hudson Bay. Approximately {{convert|10.6|e6acre|ha km2}} of wetlands are within Minnesota's borders, the most of any state outside Alaska.<ref name="weatheralmanac">{{cite book | last = Seeley | first = Mark W. | title = Minnesota Weather Almanac | publisher = [[Minnesota Historical Society]] press | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0-87351-554-2 | url = https://archive.org/details/minnesotaweather0000seel }}</ref>

=== Flora and fauna ===

{{Main|Natural history of Minnesota}}

Minnesota has four ecological provinces: [[prairie]] parkland, in the southwestern and western parts of the state; the [[Temperate deciduous forest|eastern broadleaf forest]] ([[Big Woods]]) in the southeast, extending in a narrowing strip to the state's northwestern part, where it transitions into [[Tallgrass Aspen Parkland|tallgrass aspen parkland]]; and the northern [[Laurentian Mixed Forest Province|Laurentian mixed forest]], a transitional forest between the northern [[Taiga|boreal forest]] and the broadleaf forests to the south.<ref>[http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/natural_resources/ecs/province.pdf Ecological Provinces] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020104611/http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/natural_resources/ecs/province.pdf |date=October 20, 2017 }}, ''Ecological Classification System'', [[Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]] (1999). Retrieved on May 3, 2008.</ref> These northern forests are a vast wilderness of [[pine]] and [[spruce]] trees mixed with patchy stands of [[birch]] and [[Populus|poplar]].

Much of Minnesota's northern forest has undergone logging, leaving only a few patches of [[old growth forest]] today in areas such as the [[Chippewa National Forest]] and the [[Superior National Forest]], where the [[Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness]] has some {{convert|400000|acres|sigfig=3|abbr=on}} of unlogged land.<ref name="Heinselman">{{cite book | title = The Boundary Waters Wilderness Ecosystem | last = Heinselman | first = Miron | publisher = University of Minnesota Press | location = Minneapolis, Minnesota | year = 1996 |isbn = 978-0-8166-2805-6}}</ref> Although logging continues, regrowth and replanting keep about [[Forest cover by state and territory in the United States|a third of the state forested]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Bewer | first = Tim | title = Moon Handbooks Minnesota | publisher = Avalon Travel Publishing | year = 2004 | edition = First | isbn = 978-1-56691-482-6 | url = https://archive.org/details/minnesota00bewe }}</ref> Nearly all Minnesota's prairies and [[oak savanna]]s have been fragmented by farming, grazing, logging, and suburban development.<ref>{{cite web | title = Upper Midwest forest-savanna transition (NA0415) | website = Terrestrial Ecoregions | publisher = [[World Wildlife Fund]] | year = 2001 | url = http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na/na0415_full.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20010429031358/http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na/na0415_full.html | archive-date=April 29, 2001| access-date = September 3, 2012}} (archived from original June 11, 2008).</ref>

While loss of habitat has affected native animals such as the [[American marten|pine marten]], [[elk]], [[Migratory Woodland Caribou|woodland caribou]], and [[American bison|bison]],<ref>Bison disappeared in the mid-19th century; the last bison was reported in southwest Minnesota in 1879. {{cite book|title=Big Game in Minnesota, Technical Bulletin, no. 9|last=Moyle|first=J. B.|publisher=Minnesota Department of Conservation, Division of Game and Fish, Section of Research and Planning|year=1965|page=172}} As referenced in {{cite book|title=Southwestern Minnesota Archaeology|last=Anfinson|first=Scott F.|publisher=[[Minnesota Historical Society]]|location=St. Paul, Minnesota|year=1997|isbn=978-0-87351-355-5|page=20}}</ref> others like [[whitetail deer]] and [[bobcat]] thrive. Minnesota has the nation's largest [[Repopulation of wolves in Midwestern United States|population of timber wolves]] outside Alaska,<ref>[http://www.fws.gov/home/feature/2007/gray_wolf_factsheet.pdf Gray Wolf Factsheet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020104610/https://www.fws.gov/home/feature/2007/gray_wolf_factsheet.pdf |date=October 20, 2017 }}, [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] (January 2007). Retrieved on May 3, 2008.</ref> and supports healthy populations of [[American black bear|black bears]], [[moose]], and [[gopher]]s. Located on the [[Mississippi Flyway]], Minnesota hosts migratory waterfowl such as [[Goose|geese]] and [[duck]]s, and game birds such as [[grouse]], [[pheasant]]s, and [[Turkey (bird)|turkeys]]. It is home to [[bird of prey|birds of prey]], including the largest number of breeding pairs of [[bald eagle]]s in the lower 48 states as of 2007,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/bald_eagle/report/index.html|title=Center for Biological Diversity|website=www.biologicaldiversity.org|access-date=December 15, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323072614/http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/bald_eagle/report/index.html|archive-date=March 23, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[red-tailed Hawk|red-tailed hawks]], and [[snowy owl]]s. [[Hawk Ridge, Duluth|Hawk Ridge]] is one of the premier birdwatching sites in North America. The lakes teem with sport fish such as [[walleye]], [[bass (fish)|bass]], [[muskellunge]], and [[northern pike]], while [[brook trout|brook]], [[brown trout|brown]], and [[rainbow trout]] populate streams in the southeast and northeast.

=== Climate ===

{{Main|Climate of Minnesota}}
[[File:Minnesota Köppen.svg|thumb|Minnesota's [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]]]]

Minnesota experiences [[List of Minnesota weather records|temperature extremes]] characteristic of its [[continental climate]], with cold winters and hot summers. The lowest temperature recorded was {{convert|-60|F|C}} at [[Tower, Minnesota|Tower]] on February 2, 1996. The highest was {{convert|114|F|C}} at [[Moorhead, Minnesota|Moorhead]] on July 6, 1936.<ref name="extremes">{{cite web|title=Minnesota climate extremes |publisher=University of Minnesota |url=http://climate.umn.edu/doc/historical/extremes.htm |access-date=May 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005084248/http://www.climate.umn.edu/doc/historical/extremes.htm |archive-date=October 5, 2006 }}</ref> Meteorological events include rain, snow, blizzards, thunderstorms, hail, [[derecho]]s, tornadoes, and high-velocity [[Downburst|straight-line winds]]. The growing season varies from 90 days in the far northeast to 160 days in southeast Minnesota near the Mississippi River. Average temperatures range from {{convert|37|to|49|F|C}}.<ref name="noaa">{{cite web | title = Climate of Minnesota | publisher = National Weather Service Forecast Office | url = http://www5.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim60/states/Clim_MN_01.pdf| access-date = May 3, 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080528042433/http://www5.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim60/states/Clim_MN_01.pdf |archive-date = May 28, 2008}}</ref> Average summer [[dew point|dewpoints]] range from about {{convert|58|F|C}} in the south to about {{convert|48|F|C}} in the north.<ref name="noaa" /><ref>{{cite web|title=104 Years of Twin Cities Dew Point Temperature Records: 1902–2006 |publisher=Minnesota Climatology Office |date=March 7, 2006 |url=http://climate.umn.edu/doc/twin_cities/mspdewpoint.htm |access-date=April 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526112144/http://climate.umn.edu/doc/twin_cities/mspdewpoint.htm |archive-date=May 26, 2007 }}</ref> Average annual precipitation ranges from {{convert|19|to|35|in|cm}}. Droughts occur every 10 to 50 years.<ref name="noaa" />

Minnesota has been affected by climate change and warmed over the past few years. Rising temperatures have affected natural habitats and many species that live in them. For example, the lakes' water is warming, which affects fish populations: trout, a cold-water fish, is losing its habitat, while the habitat of bass, a warm-water fish, is growing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-09/documents/climate-change-mn.pdf|title=What Climate Change Means For Minnesota}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto;"
|+Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected cities in Minnesota<ref name="Minnesota climate averages">{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/city.php3?c=US&s=MN&statename=Minnesota-United-States-of-America|title=Minnesota climate averages|publisher=Weatherbase|access-date=November 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009031433/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/city.php3?c=US&s=MN&statename=Minnesota-United-States-of-America|archive-date=October 9, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
!Location
!July (°F)
!July (°C)
!January (°F)
!January (°C)
|-
|[[Minneapolis, Minnesota|Minneapolis]] || 83/64 || 28/18 || 23/7 || −4/−13
|-
|[[Saint Paul, Minnesota|Saint Paul]] || 83/63 || 28/17 || 23/6 || −5/−14
|-
|[[Rochester, Minnesota|Rochester]] || 82/63 || 28/17 || 23/3 || −5/−16
|-
|[[Duluth, Minnesota|Duluth]] || 76/55 || 24/13 || 19/1 || −7/−17
|-
|[[St. Cloud, Minnesota|St. Cloud]] || 81/58 || 27/14 || 18/−1 || −7/−18
|-
|[[Mankato, Minnesota|Mankato]] || 86/62 || 30/16 || 23/3 || −5/−16
|-
|[[International Falls, Minnesota|International Falls]] || 77/52 || 25/11 || 15/−6 || −9/−21
|}

=== Protected lands ===

[[File:Pose lake Minnesota.jpg|thumb|right|Pose Lake in the [[Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness]]]]

Minnesota's first state park, [[Itasca State Park]], was established in 1891, and is the [[source (river or stream)|source]] of the Mississippi River.<ref>{{cite web | title = Itasca State Park | publisher = Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | url = http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/itasca/narrative.html | access-date = May 3, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080403192641/http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/itasca/narrative.html | archive-date = April 3, 2008 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> Today Minnesota has [[List of Minnesota state parks|72 state parks]] and recreation areas, [[List of Minnesota state forests|58 state forests]] covering about four million acres (16,000{{spaces}}km<sup>2</sup>), and numerous state wildlife preserves, all managed by the [[Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]]. The [[Chippewa National Forest|Chippewa]] and [[Superior National Forest|Superior national forests]] comprise {{convert|5.5|e6acre}}. The Superior National Forest in the northeast contains the [[Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness]], which encompasses over a million acres (4,000{{spaces}}km<sup>2</sup>) and a thousand lakes. To its west is [[Voyageurs National Park]]. The [[Mississippi National River and Recreation Area]] (MNRRA) is a {{convert|72|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} corridor along the Mississippi River through the Minneapolis–St. Paul Metropolitan Area connecting a variety of sites of historic, cultural, and geologic interest.<ref>{{cite web|title=Places To Go|url=http://www.nps.gov/miss/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior|access-date=May 3, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413225513/http://www.nps.gov/miss/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm|archive-date=April 13, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>