MINNESOTA - over 20 interesting key facts

On this page you will find a list of interesting facts about the U.S. state of Minnesota. This state located in the Midwest region of the United States is called the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and there are actually more lakes than that in this state. The information below includes quick facts such as when Minnesota became a state, how it gets its name, and who some of the famous people born there are. This information is written for both kids and adults.

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Minnesota Quick Facts

Minnesota became the 32nd state in the U.S. on May 11th of 1858.
The capital city of Minnesota is Saint Paul. It is located along the banks of the Mississippi River.
Right next to the capital city of Saint Paul is Minneapolis which is the largest city in Minnesota.
The total area of this state is 86,939 square miles (225,181 square kilometers). This makes it the 12th largest state, measured by total area, in the United States.
The total population of Minnesota is 5,458,333 (U.S. Census Bureau 2014 estimate). This makes it the 21st most populous state in the U.S.
Minnesota borders Canada to the north, Iowa to the south, Wisconsin and Lake Superior to the east, and both North Dakota and South Dakota to the west.
People who live in this U.S. state are called Minnesotans.
The highest point in the state, at 2,301 feet (701 meters), is Eagle Mountain.
The official state motto of Minnesota is "L'Etoile du nord" which is French for "the star of the north".

Minnesota Interesting Facts

This Midwest states name comes from the Dakota Indian name for the Minnesota River, which is Mnisota. This name translates to "clear blue water" or "clouded blue water".
Lake Itasca, in Minnesota, is the source of the Mississippi River, the fourth longest river in the world.
Approximately sixty percent of this state's total population lives in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area; referred to as the "Twin Cities".
The Northwest Angle (the Angle) in Minnesota is the northern most point in the U.S. not including Alaska.
Besides Saint Paul and Minneapolis a few of the other major cities in Minnesota are Duluth, Rochester, Apple Valley, Saint Cloud, Bloomington, and Brooklyn Park.
The Minnesota State Fair, also called "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", is a huge event. In 2014 it attracted over 1.8 million visitors. Other large annual events held in this state includes the Saint Paul Winter Carnival and the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
Famous people born in Minnesota include author F. Scott Fitzgerald, actress Judy Garland, cartoonist Charles Schulz, and singer-songwriter Bob Dylan.

Minnesota History Facts

Way before the arrival of European explorers and settlers to North America the area that is now the state of Minnesota was inhabited by the Dakota people.
When European settlers first started populating the east coast of North America many Native American Indian tribes moved west into the area that is now Minnesota. This caused tensions between them and the Dakota people who already lived in this area.
The first Europeans to settle in what is now Minnesota were French fur traders.
In 1805 Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who Pikes Peak is named for, led an expedition exploring Minnesota.
In 1862 tensions between white settlers to the Minnesota area and the Dakota Indians resulted in the Dakota War. This war lasted six weeks with many deaths on both sides. Most of the defeated Dakota Indians were forced to move to the Crow Creek Reservation in Dakota Territory.
Farming and logging were very important industries early on in this state's history. The iron-mining industry became important to the state's economy when iron deposits were found in several places within the state. After the Second World War Minnesota became a center of technology.