Facts and Information About Minnesota


Nickname 
The North Star State
 
Land Area
79,548 square miles 

Highest Point
Eagle Mountain, 2,301 feet 

Population
4,387,029 

Capital
St. Paul 

Largest City
Minneapolis 




State Seal
The official seal shows a barefoot farmer plowing a field 
near St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River. The 
farmer's axe, gun, and powderhorn rest on a near by stump, 
as he looks at an Indian riding a horse.
 
Minnesota's State Motto
"L'Etoile du Nord," French for "star of 
the north," also appears on the seal. 

State Flag
Minnesota's state flag is royal blue bordered with gold 
fringe. Around the state seal in the center is a wreath 
of lady slippers. Nineteen stars ring the wreath. The 
largest star represents Minnesota, the 19th state to join 
the union after the original 13. 

State Song
"Hail! Minnesota" 
Written by two students at the University 
of Minnesota in 1904 and 1905. It was the official University 
song until 1945, when it became the state song. 

State Bird
Common Loon 
Dating back 60 million years, the common loon is 
one of the earth's oldest living bird species. Its name comes 
from a Norwegian word that means "wild, sad cry". Approximately 
12,000 make their homes in Minnesota. Loons are large black 
and white birds with long black bills. Clumsy on land, 
they are excellent divers, underwater swimmers, and 
high-speed flyers. 

State Tree
Norway Pine (pinus resinosa)
The Norway pine, also called the red pine because of its 
reddish brown bark, stands 60 to 100 feet tall, with a trunk 
three to five feet wide. Its needles are four to six inches 
long and grow in pairs. The tallest Norway pine in Minnesota 
is in Itasca State Park. It is over 300 years old and stands 
120 feet high. 

State Flower
Pink and White Lady Slipper
The pink and white lady slipper is one of Minnesota's rarest 
wildflowers. Thriving in swamps, bogs, and damp woods, swamps, 
bogs, and damp woods, they grow slowly, taking 4 to 16 years 
to produce their first flower. Sometimes they live for 50 
years and grow four feet tall. They bloom in late June or 
early July. It is illegal to harvest the flower.

State Fish
Walleye (stizostedion v. vitreum)
Walleye, a favorite fishing catch, inhabit waters in all parts 
of the states, but mainly the large, cool lakes in northern 
Minnesota. Their eyes are sensitive to light, so they go to 
deep dark waters during the day and move to shallow lake areas 
at night. Minnesota's record walleye weighed 17 pounds 8 ounces. 

State Mushroom
Morel (morchella esculenta)
These tasty brown, spongy-topped mushrooms pop up in fields 
and forests in spring time, and are considered a rare delicacy 
by mushroom hunters.

State Grain
Wild Rice (zizania aquatica)
Wild rice grows naturally in the shallow waters of lakes 
in central and northern Minnesota. For many years, all the 
wild rice produced in the world came from Minnesota. It is 
harvested from lakes in the traditional Anishinabe Indian way,
from canoes. It is also planted as a farm crop. 

State Muffin
Blueberry
Wild blueberries are native to northeastern Minnesota, growing 
in bogs, on hillsides, and in cut over forested areas. 

State Drink
Milk
Minnesota produces 9.7 billion pounds of milk a year and ranks 
fifth in dairy production among the states. 

State Gemstone
Lake Superior Agate
These unusually beautiful quartz stones are banded with rich 
red and orange colors derived from iron ore in the soil. Found 
in northeastern and north central Minnesota, they are often 
polished to make jewelry.





Minnesota Water Facts

Minnesota's waters flow outward in three directions:
North to Hudson Bay in Canada; east to the Atlantic Ocean; and south to
the Gulf of Mexico.

Voyageurs National Park is the largest water-based park in the national
system.



Number of Lakes 11,842 (10+ acres)

Total surface water including wetlands 7,762 sq. mi.

Largest Lake Red Lake, Beltrami County, 451 sq. mi.




     
Five Largest Lakes 

Red Lake 288,800 acres

Mille Lacs Lake 132,510 acres

Leech Lake 109,415 acres

Winnibigoshish 69, 821 acres

Lake Vermilion 49,110 acres
Five Most Popular Lake Names Mud Lake, Long Lake,
Rice Lake, Bass Lake, Round Lake

County with no natural lakes Rock County

Wetlands present in 1850 18.6 million acres

Wetlands present in 1990 7.5 million acres

Number of rivers and streams 6,564 (92,000 miles)

State and National Wild and Scenic Rivers 589 miles