Minnesota’s diversified scenery, including the Itasca park area, results from its location near the center of the continent, midway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Hudson Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico, and from having within its boundaries three principal divides in the watersheds of North America. The state lacks the rugged topography and high elevations found in most continental divides. Its highest elevation, 2,300 feet on the Mesabi Range, lies in close proximity to its lowest, the surface of Lake Superior 602 feet above the sea. From the north-central portion near Itasca park, the general surface of the state slopes in four directions toward its distant and opposite corners. Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes cover 5,600 square miles, an average of one square mile for every 15 of land. This unprecedented supply of water, with a surface exceeding the water area of any other state, reaches the ocean through Hudson Bay, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico.