Minnesota abounds in lakes of great beauty. They are from one to fifty miles in diameter, and are well stocked with a variety of fish. Those beautiful lakes are found in every portion of the State, sparkling on the open prairie, hidden in groves, or resting calm and pure in the depths of the silent forest.
"It may be interesting," says John W. Bond, Secretary of the Minnesota State Board of Immigration, "to note the areas of a few of the largest lakes in our State. Lake Minnetonka contains 16,000 acres; Lake Winnebagoshish, 56,000 acres; Leech Lake, 114,000 acres; and Mille Lacs, 130,000 acres. Red Lake, which is much larger than any other in the State, has not yet been surveyed.
"The above estimate of 2,700,000 acres in lakes does not embrace the vast water areas included in the projected boundary lines of the State in Lake Superior and Lake of the Woods, and along the great water stretches of the international line."
The importance to the State of having Lake Superior as an outlet for its produce cannot be overestimated. The day is not distant when a large amount of grain will be shipped in bulk from the Minnesota harbor (Duluth) on Lake Superior, to the Liverpool market in England.
RIVERS.
Minnesota has five navigable rivers. The Mississippi (The Father of Waters,) having its rise in Lake Itaska, in the northern part of the State.
The St. Croix, flowing through a large portion of the lumbering region.
The Minnesota, rising in Dakota Territory and flowing through a large portion of the State empties into the Mississippi, five miles above St. Paul. It is navigable, in favorable seasons, about 300 miles.
The Red River of the North, forming the northwestern boundary of the State for a distance of 380 miles, and navigable about 250.