Duluth

Sister cities

• Thunder Bay
• Petrozavodsk
• Ranya
• Isumi
• Växjö Municipality

History

For both the Ojibwe and the Dakota, interaction with Europeans during the contact period revolved around the fur trade and related activities. According to Ojibwe oral history, Spirit Island, near the Spirit Valley neighborhood, was the "Sixth Stopping Place" where the northern and southern branches of the Ojibwe Nation came together and proceeded to their "Seventh Stopping Place" near the present city of La Pointe, Wisconsin. The "Stopping Places" were places the Native Americans occupied during their westward migration because of their war with the Iroquois and as Europeans overran their territory. Several factors brought fur traders to the Great Lakes in the early 17th century. The fashion for beaver hats in Europe generated demand for pelts. The French trade for beavers in the lower St. Lawrence River led to the depletion of the animals in the region by the late 1630s, after which the French searched farther west for new resources and new routes, making alliances with the Native Americans along the way to trap and deliver furs. Étienne Brûlé is credited with the European discovery of Lake Superior before 1620. Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers explored the Duluth area, Fond du Lac (Bottom of the Lake), in 1654 and again in 1660. The French soon established fur posts near Duluth and in the far north where Grand Portage became a major trading center. The French explorer Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, whose name is sometimes anglicized as "DuLuth", explored the St. Louis River in 1679. After 1792 and the independence of the United States, the North West Company established several posts on Minnesota rivers and lakes, as well as in areas to the west and northwest, for trading with the Ojibwe, the Dakota, and other native tribes. The first post…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water. Minnesota Point is about long and, when included with adjacent Wisconsin Point, which extends from the city of Superior, Wisconsin, is the largest freshwater baymouth bar in the world at a total of . 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 Midwest", alluding to San Francisco's similar water-to-hilltop topography. This similarity was most evident before World War II, when Duluth had a network of streetcars and an inclined railroad, the 7th Avenue West Incline Railway, that, like San Francisco's cable cars, climbed a steep hill. The change in elevation is illustrated by Duluth's two airports. The weather station at the lakeside Sky Harbor Airport on Minnesota Point has an elevation of , while Duluth International Airport, atop the hill, is higher at . Even as the city has grown, its populace has tended to hug Lake Superior's shoreline, making Duluth a primarily southwest–northeast city. The considerable development on the hill has given Duluth many steep streets. Some neighborhoods, such as Piedmont Heights and Bayview Heights, are atop the hill with scenic views of the city. Skyline Parkway is a scenic roadway 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. It crosses nearly Duluth's entire length and affords views of Lake Superior, the Aerial Lift Bridge, Canal Park, and the many industries that inhabit the largest inland port. A developing part of the city is the Miller Hill Mall area, as well as the adjacent big-box retailer shopping…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  38,801
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  28,535
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  21,217
• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  20,546
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  18,816
• Bald Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  15,710
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,552
• American herring gull, Smithsonian Gull

  Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862 · Aves
  13,914

Largest nearby schools

• East High School
  High · DULUTH · 1,494 students · 28.2:1 ratio
• ORDEAN EAST MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · DULUTH · 989 students · 28.3:1 ratio
• DENFELD HIGH SCHOOL
  High · DULUTH · 940 students · 20:1 ratio
• HERMANTOWN ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · HERMANTOWN · 739 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• NORTH STAR ACADEMY
  Elementary · DULUTH · 716 students · 11.2:1 ratio
• HERMANTOWN MIDDLE
  Middle · HERMANTOWN · 680 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• HERMANTOWN SENIOR HIGH
  High · HERMANTOWN · 660 students · 23.6:1 ratio
• BAY VIEW ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · DULUTH · 588 students · 14.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2025-08-06
  6 km NW of Mountain Iron, Minnesota
• M 2.7 — 2025-07-02
  4 km NW of Leonidas, Minnesota
• M 2.6 — 2025-03-27
  4 km NNE of Virginia, Minnesota
• M 2.8 — 2025-03-10
  3 km ENE of Virginia, Minnesota
• M 2.5 — 2024-05-31
  3 km NNW of Parkville, Minnesota
• M 2.7 — 2024-03-08
  2 km NNE of Kinney, Minnesota