Although promoted as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes,"
Minnesota actually has 15,291 lakes
of 10 acres or more, but only 11,842
of those lakes are "officially" counted by the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
If all basins over 2.5 acres were counted,
Minnesota would have 21,871 lakes.
Counting Rivers and Streams,
Minnesota has more shoreline than
California, Hawaii and Florida combined.