Upper midwestern state of the United States. It is bordered by Lake Superior and Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota, and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario. Area, 225,181 sq km ((86,943 sq mi), Minnesota is the 12th biggest state in the USA. Pop. (2005) 5,132,799, a 4.3% increase since the 2000 census. Capital,St. Paul. Largest city, Minneapolis. Nickname, North Star State. Motto,L'Etoile du Nord [The Star of the North]. State bird, common loon. State flower, showy lady's slipper or pink and white lady's slipper. State tree, red pine. Number of rivers and streams, 6,564 (92,000 miles). Number of lakes (over 10 acres), 11,842 (4,967,510 acres). Minnesota gets its name from the Dakota word minisota, meaning "water that reflects the sky." Centuries ago, that is what the Dakota named the river now called the Minnesota River. Minnesota today has more shoreline than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined! We are known on our license plates as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," but Minnesota actually has 12,000 lakes, three-fourths of which are 4 hectares (10 acres) or more in size year round. The world's third largest river, the Mississippi, begins its 2,552-mile journey at Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota. Minnesota is also known as the Gopher State. There are varying interpretations about the source of the nickname. Some say it comes from the gophers commonly found in the southern part of the state; others say it is from a political cartoon in the 19th century that depicted dishonest railroad union organizers as gophers. Minnesota is also known as the North Star State, a translation of the French inscription on the state seal, L'Etoile du Nord.