~)efore hitting the Country Roads of Minnesota， a trav-<br > eler needs to know some of the basics: the who， what，<br >} where， why， when， and how. Longer than it is wide (406<br >~s from north to south and about zoo miles from east to<br >t at its skinniest point midstate)， Minnesota is bordered<br >~he north by Canada， the south by Iowa， the east by<br >consin， and the west by the Dakotas. The state can be<br >ded into three distinct terrains: the grassy prairies in the<br >t， the pine forests of the north， and the hardwood forests<br >he east.<br >Only about io，ooo years ago， the landscape was covered<br >;laciers. When they melted， lakes and rivers were created，<br >ring more shoreline than in California， Florida， and<br >e~aii combined. While the state license plate says "Land of<br >)oo Lakes，" there are actually at least ，z，ooo that have<br >n mapped. Coming up with names has been a challenge<br >surveyors. There are only so many Big Lake， Little Lake，<br >a Lake， and Lake Lake appellations to go around. In fact，<br >re are zoI Mud Lakes and r54 Long Lakes. So， name-<br >lers started into One-Mile Lake， Two-Mile Lake， and so<br > And there is even a Swan Lake (in Nicollet County， six<br >~es east of New Ulm). Some of the best lake names are<br >logna， Diddle de Woddle， and Dismal Swamp. There are<br >，84z lakes of more than m acres each， with one boat for<br >cry six people.<br > The state received its name from the Dakota Sioux， who<br >lied their country Minisota， which means "sky-tinted<br >lrers."<br >