Much of what is now Minnesota formed part of the vast French holding of Louisiana, which the United States purchased in 1803. French explorers and missionaries were the earliest Europeans to enter the region, encountering the Dakota, Ojibwe, and various Anishinaabe tribes. The Upper Mississippian culture, consisting of the Oneota people and other Siouan speakers, emerged around 1000 CE and lasted through the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century. Between roughly 200 and 500 CE, two areas of the indigenous Hopewell tradition emerged: the Laurel complex in the north, and Trempealeau Hopewell in the Mississippi River Valley in the south. Minnesota, which gets its name from the Dakota language, has been inhabited by various indigenous peoples since the Woodland period of the 11th century BCE. Other minor metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas in the state include Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, and St. With a population of about 3.7 million, the Twin Cities is the 16th largest metropolitan area in the U.S.

More than 60% of Minnesotans live in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, known as the 'Twin Cities', the state's main political, economic, and cultural hub. Roughly a third of the state is covered in forests, and it is known as the 'Land of 10,000 Lakes' for having over 14,000 bodies of fresh water covering at least ten acres each. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to intensive agriculture deciduous forests in the southeast, now partially cleared, farmed, and settled and the less populated North Woods, used for mining, forestry, and recreation. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota ( / ˌ m ɪ n ɪ ˈ s oʊ t ə/ ( listen)) is a state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States.

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