Federated state of the USA (218,600 km 2 with 5,220,393 inhabitants in 2008); capital St. Paul. It takes its name from the river of the same name (750 km, of which 480 can be navigated under flood conditions, a tributary of the Mississippi in St. Paul), which crosses the southwestern part. The territory includes morphologically different areas. The northern region, up to the confluence of Minnesota with Mississippi, is the continuation of the Canadian shield and consists of a penepiano intensely modeled by the action of the Pleistocene glaciers. AS you enter the large wheat area that crosses the entire continent from north to S, closed here to the west by the valley of the Red River and to east by a strip of the so-called driftless area (a region that remained free from ice during the glacial period), characterized by a hilly landscape with well-organized hydrography. Towards the southwest the prairie area rises significantly, but without exceeding 430 m; likewise, to the N, one barely exceeds 500 m in the main alignments of hills. According to abbreviationfinder, Minnesota is one of the US territories richest in lakes (over 10,000, partly intermorenic, partly with the bottom dug into the rock), the largest of which are located in its northern area, still cloaked in coniferous forests. Typical the orientation of the hydrographic network, which here is aimed at three different basins (Saint Lawrence, Mississippi and Red River). The climate is cold continental, with very rigid winters and quite hot summers; rainfall is not very abundant.
From the middle of the 19th century. the agricultural and industrial development of Minnesota was one of the fastest. Agriculture is based on numerous medium-sized companies rather high, which make use of advanced production systems. The crops are traditional (cereals, sugar beets, soybeans, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, flax, etc.). The breeding (of cattle, pigs, birds) which feeds flourishing production lines such as dairy and meat processing is very widespread. Remarkable mineral resources: the Minnesota is in first place among the States of the Union for the extraction of iron, which allowed the first industrialization of the territory. The industry is active in the food, mechanical, electrotechnical, chemical, wood, paper and glass sectors, in addition to the IT sector. Growth in the tertiary sector is significant, especially in the component that addresses businesses and financial and research activities. Other important cities, besides the capital, are Minneapolis And Duluth, large port on the Lake Superior.
When the French entered it (17th century), the region was dominated by the Indian tribes of the Ojibway and the Sioux: once French sovereignty was proclaimed over those lands, explorations intensified. With the treaty of Versailles (1783) the Minnesota was ceded in part to the Spaniards (O) and in part to the English (N and E). Passed to the USA in 1803, it was established in territory in 1849 and in State in 1858. Theater of bloody clashes between settlers and Indians, which intensified during the civil war and ended (1863) with the definitive defeat of the Sioux, in the last decades of the 19th century. sec. the country saw a notable increase in grain cultivation and related industries. The discovery of mines, if on the one hand absorbed labor, on the other created discontent in the population: in 1890 the Populist Party was born and, in 1920, workers and small owners found themselves in the Farmer-Labor Party, merged (1944) in the Democratic Party.
According to countryaah, Minnesota has the following main cities:
Minneapolis
City of the USA (382,605 residents In 2008), the largest of the Minnesota, on the two banks of the Mississippi and at its confluence of the Minnesota River. It forms a conurbation with St. Paul, the state capital, which, with the other centers that are part of it, exceeds 3 million inhabitants and constitutes a large commercial, financial and industrial district. Remarkable market of agricultural products. The industry is active both in the traditional branches (food, engineering, chemical, electronic, textile, clothing and graphic-publishing) and in the high-tech one. In Minneapolis there is also an important district, worldwide, dedicated to the production of biomedical engineering. Minneapolis is a river communications hub, at the convergence of three navigable arteries: Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix. The Chicago-Seattle transcontinental railway line then created a complicated railway junction here, Great Lakes (Duluth, Escanaba). To this dense network of communications, the aerial one is added.
The first nucleus of Minneapolis dates back to 1838. On the two banks of the Mississippi River there are, in addition to the University of Minnesota (1851) and religious institutes, renowned cultural institutions: Minneapolis Institute of Arts (1883, new complex by K. Tange, 1974); Walker Art Center (1971, and Sculpture Garden, 1988, by EL Barnes; extension by Herzog & De Meuron, 2005); Intermedia Arts Minnesota (1973) etc. Notable buildings include: City Hall (1887); Case Willey (1934) and Neils (1951) by FL Wright; Lutheran church (1949) by EE Saarinen; IDS Center (1973) by P. Johnson and J. Burgee; Gateway Center of the University of Minnesota (2000) of A. Predock.
Saint Paul
City of the USA (279,590 residents In 2008), capital of Minnesota, located with the original nucleus on the left bank of the Mississippi a few kilometers downstream of Minneapolis, with which it forms a large conurbation (Twin cities). Important agricultural market. Electronic, automobile and appliance industries. Oil refineries. River port.
Duluth
City of the state of Minnesota (United States), capital of St. Louis County, at 46 ° 47 ‘N. and 92 ° 6’ W. it is located at the western end of Lake Superior, separated from Superior (Wisconsin) by the mouth of the St. Louis River. Founded in 1853, it was incorporated as a city in 1870; the name derives from that of the famous French explorer Daniel Greysolon sieur Du Luth, who visited the Lake Superior region in 1679-80.
The city has a typically continental climate: average annual temperature 3 °, 4 °; January −11 °, 7; July 18th, 9th; rainfall fluctuates around 760 mm., with absolute prevalence in summer (295 mm): days with rain are 133; abundant snow.
The population of the center has been increasing in an extraordinary way: in 1860 it had 80 inhabitants; in 1870, 3131; in 1880, 3483; in 1890, 33,115; in 1900, 52,969; in 1910, 78,466; in 1920, 98,917; in 1930, 101,463. In the decade 1880-1890 the population increased tenfold. From the ethnic point of view, 99.4% of the population is given by Whites; the remainder from Negroes, Indians, etc. The surface is about 160 sq km.
Duluth is a notable industrial center, but it has a much greater importance for trade, favored by the excellent geographical conditions, by its position on Lake Superior, which, by means of the Sault Sainte-Marie Canal, allows navigation with the rest of the North American lake Mediterranean; iron ores, wheat, flour, timber are the main items of its huge traffic. It is a first-rate railway hub, served by the lines of the Northern Pacific Railway; Great Northern; Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul; Chicago and North Western; Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha R., etc. It is the end of the great artery of the Duluth-Seattle-Portland parallels; in addition, numerous lake navigation lines are based in Duluth.
