The Duluth MN-WI Metropolitan Area, commonly called the Twin Ports, is a small metropolitan area centered around the cities of Duluth, Minnesota and

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...

, Wisconsin. The Twin Ports are located at the western part of Lake Superior (the westernmost part of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

's Great Lakes) and together are considered one of the larger cargo ports in the United States. The Twin Ports are close to many natural attractions such as the

North Shore North Shore or Northshore may refer to: Geographic features Australia *North Shore (Sydney), a suburban region of Sydney **Electoral district of North Shore **North Shore railway line, Sydney *Noosa North Shore, Queensland * North Shore, New So ...

, the

Apostle Islands The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Islands are located in Ba ...

, and the Superior National Forest. The census bureau's Twin Ports metropolitan statistical area includes all of Wisconsin's Douglas County, and Minnesota's Carlton, Lake, and Saint Louis counties. With a 2020 census population of 291,638, the Duluth MSA ranked as the 170th largest metropolitan area in the United States. A tourist location that boasts many scenic natural amenities, approximately 6.7 million on average tourists visit The City of Duluth alone each year. AerialLiftBridgeNight

The area is home to two long bridges: the

Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge The Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge, also known as the Bong Bridge, connects Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, via U.S. Route 2, U.S. Highway 2 (US 2). Opened on October 25, 1985, it is roughly long, including about over wate ...

(carrying U.S. Highway 2) and the John Blatnik Bridge (carrying I-535 and

U.S. Highway 53 U.S. Route 53, or U.S. Highway 53 (U.S. 53), is a north–south U.S. highway that runs for 404 miles (650 km) from La Crosse, Wisconsin to International Falls, Minnesota. It is the primary north–south route in northwestern Wisconsin ...

). Each bridge reaches across more than 1.5 miles (2.5 km) across the mouth of the Saint Louis River. The Aerial Lift Bridge was constructed in 1905 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It must be raised each time a vessel enters or leaves Duluth's harbor; the inlet on the Wisconsin side is not similarly obstructed. Together, the cities rank as the 19th-busiest port in the country overall (44.2 million

short ton The short ton (symbol tn) is a measurement unit equal to . It is commonly used in the United States, where it is known simply as a ton, although the term is ambiguous, the single word being variously used for short, long, and metric ton. The vari ...

s /nowiki>40.1 million tonnes/nowiki> per year) as of 2002, though the area is the 7th-busiest port (13.8 million short tons /nowiki>12.5 million tonnes/nowiki> per year) when measured on foreign exports alone.

MSA

The Twin Ports metropolitan statistical area includes 4 counties, of which 3 are in Minnesota and 1 in Wisconsin. St. Louis County is Minnesota's largest county by area. Duluth MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area

Communities

Population as of 2020 Census

Principal city

* Duluth (86,697)

Places with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants

Superior, WI , native_name_lang = oj , nickname = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = Tower Avenue.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Downtown Superior , ima ...

(26,751) * Cloquet (12,568) * Hermantown (10,221)

Places with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants

* Rice Lake (4,136) * Saginaw (3,910) unincorporated *

Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

(3,120) * Esko (2,082) *

Scanlon Scanlon is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Scannláin, meaning descendant of Scannlán’. Notable people with the name include: * Agnes Scanlon (1923–2018), American politician * Albert Scanlon (1935–2009), English soccer playe ...

(991) * Carlton (948) * Wrenshall (428) * Oliver, WI (399)

Infrastructure

The four tallest buildings are in Duluth, the Alworth Building,

Historic Old Central High School The Historic Old Central High School of Duluth, Minnesota, United States, is a local landmark dating to 1892. One of Minnesota's leading examples of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, it occupies an entire city block and sports a clock tower ...

, Maurices Headquarters, Medical Arts Building. The Bong Bridge leads to from Duluth to Superior. The bong bridge was built in 1985 and is 11,800 ft (3,600 m) long. The Blatnik Bridge also leads to from Duluth to Superior. The Blatnik Bridge was built in 1965 and is 7,975 feet (2,431 m) long. Canal Park is a heavy tourist area in Downtown Duluth. In Virginia the tallest bridge in Minnesota (Hwy 53 Bridge) connecting Eveleth to Virginia. The Hwy 53 Bridge covers the Rouchleau Mine. The bridge opened in 2017 and is 204 ft. high in the air and spans 1,125 ft.

Hospitals

* Essentia Health St. Mary's Medical Center - Duluth - (Level 1 Trauma Center) * St. Luke's Hospital - Duluth - (Level 2 Trauma Center) * Essentia Health St. Mary's Hospital - Superior - (Level 4 Trauma Center) * Community Memorial Hospital - Cloquet - (Level 4 Trauma Center)

Shopping

* Miller Hill Mall

Attractions

* Aerial Lift Bridge *

AMSOIL Arena AMSOIL Arena is a multipurpose arena in Duluth, Minnesota, home to the UMD Men's and UMD Women's hockey teams. It opened in 2010, replacing the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Arena on the waterfront near Duluth's landmark Aerial Lift ...

* Bayfront Festival Park *

Blatnik Bridge The John A. Blatnik Bridge is the bridge that carries Interstate 535 (I-535) and U.S. Highway 53 (US 53) over the Saint Louis River, a tributary of Lake Superior, between Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. The bridge is long and ...

* Canal Park * Enger Tower *

Glensheen Mansion Glensheen, the Historic Congdon Estate is a 20,000 square foot mansion in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, operated by the University of Minnesota Duluth as a historic house museum. Glensheen sits on 12 acres of waterfront property on Lake Supe ...

* Gooseberry Falls * Great Lakes Aquarium *

Lake Superior Railroad Museum The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is a railroad museum in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1973, the museum focuses on railroading in the Lake Superior region. It is housed in the restored Duluth Union Depot complex. The museum al ...

* Leif Erikson Ship * Minnesota Point * Oldest Operating Hockey Arena in Minnesota *

Spirit Mountain Ski Area Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

* Tallest Bridge in Minnesota * World's Largest Freestanding Hockey Stick

Education

Colleges and universities

College of St. Scholastica The College of St. Scholastica (CSS) is a private Benedictine college in Duluth, Minnesota. Founded in 1912 by a group of pioneering Benedictine Sisters, today St. Scholastica educates almost 4,000 students annually and has graduated more than 29, ...

- Duluth * Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College - Cloquet * Lake Superior College - Duluth * Northwood Technical College - Superior, WI * University of Minnesota Duluth - Duluth *

University of Wisconsin, Superior A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', whic ...

- Superior, WI

Transportation

Major highways

Interstates

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

I-535

U.S. Highways

US 2 *

US 53 *

US 169

Minnesota Highways

MN 23 Minnesota State Highway 23 (MN 23) is a state highway that stretches from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1. This route, signed east–west, runs roughl ...

MN 61 – North Shore * MN-194

MN 194 – Central Entrance – Mesaba Avenue * MN-210

MN 210 Minnesota State Highway 210 (MN 210) is a state highway in west-central, central, and northeast Minnesota, which runs from North Dakota Highway 210 (ND 210) at the North Dakota state line (at Breckenridge), and continues east to its e ...

St. Louis County Highways

Saint Louis County Road 4 – Rice Lake Road

Airports

* Duluth International Airport - Duluth (DLH) *

Sky Harbor Airport & Seaplane Base Sky Harbor Airport & Seaplane Base or Sky Harbor Airport is a public airport in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It is located near the Wisconsin border, between Superior Bay and Lake Superior. The airport is six nautical miles (11 km) sou ...

- Duluth (KDYT)

References

External links

Superior WI Community Links Page

Twin Ports Commonwealth regional community cooperative
{{Authority control Geography of Douglas County, Wisconsin Duluth–Superior metropolitan area Transportation in Wisconsin Geography of St. Louis County, Minnesota Transportation in St. Louis County, Minnesota Metropolitan areas of Minnesota Metropolitan areas of Wisconsin Water transportation in Wisconsin

MSA