Editing Bloomington, Minnesota (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Minnesota River Valley Wetland.jpg|thumb|Bloomington includes portions of the Minnesota River Valley on its southern and eastern sides]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has an area of {{convert|38.395|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|34.699|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|3.696|sqmi|sqkm|2}} or 9.73% is water.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2024"/>

There are three primary land types in the city. The northeastern part of the city is a sand plain, low hills dominate the western part, and the far south lies within the valley of the [[Minnesota River]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

About a third of the city is permanently reserved for park purposes, including two large natural areas—the Minnesota Valley's [[wetland]]s (controlled by the City and the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]]) and the Hyland Lake Park Reserve (controlled by the [[Three Rivers Park District]]).

Water bodies in the city include [[Bush Lake (Hennepin County, Minnesota)|Bush Lake]], Long Meadow Lake, [[Normandale Lake]], Marsh Lake (Hennepin), Nine Mile Creek, Penn Lake and about 100 small lakes and ponds with their [[wetland]] [[Habitat (ecology)|habitat]]s.

{{Weather box
| location = Bloomington, Minnesota
| single line = Y
| Jan high F = 22
| Feb high F = 29
| Mar high F = 41
| Apr high F = 57
| May high F = 70
| Jun high F = 79
| Jul high F = 83
| Aug high F = 80
| Sep high F = 71
| Oct high F = 58
| Nov high F = 40
| Dec high F = 26
| Jan low F = 4
| Feb low F = 12
| Mar low F = 23
| Apr low F = 36
| May low F = 48
| Jun low F = 58
| Jul low F = 63
| Aug low F = 61
| Sep low F = 51
| Oct low F = 39
| Nov low F = 25
| Dec low F = 11
| Jan precipitation inch = 1.04
| Feb precipitation inch = 0.79
| Mar precipitation inch = 1.86
| Apr precipitation inch = 2.31
| May precipitation inch = 3.24
| Jun precipitation inch = 4.34
| Jul precipitation inch = 4.04
| Aug precipitation inch = 4.05
| Sep precipitation inch = 2.69
| Oct precipitation inch = 2.11
| Nov precipitation inch = 1.94
| Dec precipitation inch = 1.00
| source 1 = weather.com<ref name=weatherbox >{{cite web
| url = http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/USMN0840 |title=Average weather for Bloomington, Minnesota USA |access-date=January 12, 2009
| date = June 2011}}</ref>
| date = August 2010
| source = 
| width = 100%
}}

The city is informally divided by [[Interstate 35W (Minnesota)|Interstate 35W]] into "West Bloomington" and "East Bloomington". West Bloomington is mostly residential with newer housing stock, along with multi-story office high-rises along [[Interstate 494|Interstate Highway 494]] in the north, whereas East Bloomington contains more [[Industrial sector|industry]], destination [[retail]] centers, and the majority of Bloomington's less expensive housing. The dividing line may be placed as far west as France Avenue, where the high school attendance boundaries meet.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xfs36SEbGH4C&q=west+bloomington+boundary&pg=PA89|title=Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to and Living in Minneapolis-St. Paul|author=Elizabeth Caperton Halvorson|date=August 2006|publisher=First Books Minneapolis (Minn.)|isbn=0-912301-67-8}}</ref>