Land of 10,000 Lakes

One of the many lakes of Minnesota. (Click to enlarge)

Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 lakes, but truly consists of more: approximately 11,842 lakes. The largest lake, discounting border lakes such as Lake Superior, is Red Lake which is 1,168.7 km² (288,800 acres). The actual geography of Minnesota is largely a result of  glaciation, especially during the Quaternary period from 2 million years ago to the present.

The Laurentian Ice Sheet, where now lies the Hudson Bay, had glaciations named for each geographic region: Nebraskan, Kansan, Illinoisan, and Wisconsin. Markings of these glacial events can still be seen in parts of Minnesota today in the form of striations and grooves within the ground, the irregular hilly deposits from end moraine, the high terrace created by ancient rivers, exposed bedrock, and the finely textured silt of loess found in the prairie soils. It is the geographic history that helps create the beauty and unique lands within the state of Minnesota.