Duluth, Minnesota - Geography

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 87.43 square miles (226.44 km2), of which, 67.79 square miles (175.58 km2) of it is land and 19.64 square miles (50.87 km2) is water. It is Minnesota's second largest city in terms of land area, surpassed only by Hibbing. Of its 87.3 square miles (226 km2), 68 square miles (180 km2) or 77.89% is land and 19.3 square miles (50 km2) or 22.11% is water. Duluth's canal connects Lake Superior to the Duluth–Superior harbor and the Saint Louis River. The Aerial Lift Bridge, on which vehicles cross the canal, connects Canal Park with Minnesota Point ("Park Point"). Minnesota Point is approximately 7 miles in length, and when included with adjacent Wisconsin Point, which extends 3 miles out from the city of Superior, Wisconsin, is reported to be the largest freshwater sand spit in the world at a total of 10 miles.

Duluth's topography is dominated by a steep hillside that climbs from Lake Superior to high inland elevations. Duluth has been called "the San Francisco of the Mid-West." The expression alludes to San Francisco's similar water-to-hilltop topography. This similarity was most evident before World War II, when Duluth had a network of street cars and an "Incline Railroad" that, like San Francisco's cable cars, climbed a steep hill (at Seventh Avenue West). The change in elevation is illustrated by Duluth's two airports. The Sky Harbor airport's weather station, situated on Park Point, has an elevation of 607 feet (185 m), whereas the elevation of Duluth International Airport atop the hill is 1,427 feet (435 m)--820 feet higher.

As the city has grown, the population has tended to hug the Lake Superior shoreline, hence Duluth is primarily a southwest–northeast city. A considerable amount of development on the hill's upslope gives Duluth a reputation for steep streets. Some neighborhoods, such as Piedmont Heights and Bayview Heights, are atop the hill, at times giving scenic views of the city. The Goat Hill neighborhood overlooking the "can of worms" freeway interchange above 22nd Avenue West is an example of this. Another is Skyline Parkway, a scenic road that extends from Becks Road above the Gary – New Duluth neighborhood near the western end of the city to the Lester Park neighborhood on the east side. Skyline Parkway crosses nearly the entire length of Duluth and affords breathtaking views of the famous Aerial Lift Bridge, Canal Park, and the many industries that inhabit the largest inland port. Most important, the tip of Lake Superior can be seen continuously from high on the brow of the hill. Perhaps the most rapidly developing part of the city is Miller Hill Mall and the adjacent big-box retailer shopping strip "over the hill"–the Miller Trunk Highway corridor. The 2009–2010 road reconstruction project in Duluth's Miller Hill area improved transit movement through the U.S. Highway 53 corridor from Trinity Road to Maple Grove Road. The highway project reconstructed connector roads, intersections, and adjacent roadways. Construction of a new international airport terminal is also underway as part of the government's Stimulus Reconstruction Program.