Minnesota, is in the north central United States. Near the geographic center of North America, it is bordered on the north by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, on the west by North Dakota and South Dakota, on the south by Iowa, and on the east by Wisconsin and Lake Superior. Minnesota entered the Union on May 11, 1858, as the 32nd state.

If you drive from the Canadian border on the north to the Iowa border on the south, you may think you are visiting several states and going through at least two seasons on the way.

If you start on a day in late April, you'll see snow on the ground. Around noon you'll be in central Minnesota, where the snow is gone and ice on the lakes has melted. Farther south later that afternoon, trees are full with leaves, farmers are finishing plowing, and it's spring. In a month, it will be spring in the north. You may like to check the weather map or the weather forecasts for today.

Another reason there seem to be several Minnesota's is that the state is at the crossroads of three types of terrain. Grassland plains and prairies are to the west and south, coniferous (cone-bearing) forest is to the north, and to the east is the hardwood forest, once known as the "Big Woods."