Minnesota ( or ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth-largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the 32nd state on May 11, 1858. The state is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". Those lakes and rivers which gave the state its name, and its forests, parks, and wilderness areas, offer residents and tourists a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.

Nearly 60% of Minnesota's residents live in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area known as the Twin Cities, the center of transportation, business, and industry, and home to an internationally known arts community. The remainder of the state consists of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture; eastern deciduous forests, also heavily farmed and settled; and the less populated North Woods. The state's image of being populated by whites of Nordic and German descent has some truth, but diversity is increasing. Substantial influxes of African, Asian, and Latin American immigrants have joined the descendants of European immigrants and of the original Native American inhabitants.

The state is known for its moderate-to- progressive politics and social policies, its civic involvement, and high voter turnout. It ranks among the healthiest states, and has one of the most highly educated and literate populations.

Etymology

The word Minnesota comes from the Dakota language name for the Minnesota River: Mnisota. The root Mni (also spelled mini or minne) means, "water". Mnisota can be translated as sky-tinted water or somewhat clouded water. Minnesota. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Retrieved on 2008-04-26. Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it mnisota. Many locations in the state have similar names, such as Minnehaha Falls ("waterfall"), Minneiska ("white water"), Minnetonka ("big water"), Minnetrista ("crooked water"), and Minneapolis, which is a combination of mni and polis, the Greek word for "city".

Geography

Geology and terrain

main: Geology of Minnesota