Nature
Itasca State Park in northern Minnesota contains the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca and preserves a landscape shaped by glaciers, with forests, lakes, and old-growth pine. Established in 1891 as Minnesota’s first state park and regarded as the nation’s second oldest, it protects a place with human history stretching back thousands of years, including Native American use and burial mounds. Ozawindib guided Henry Schoolcraft to the lake in 1832, and later Jacob V. Brower helped secure recognition and protection of the river’s source. The park also became an important center for science, conservation, and outdoor recreation.
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Minnesota · United States
