Duluth, city in northeastern Minnesota, seat of Saint Louis County, at the western end of Lake Superior, on the mouth of the St. Louis River, opposite Superior, Wisconsin. Duluth and Superior share an excellent harbor that is situated at the head of the Great Lakes system and is linked to the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence Seaway. Although the port is closed by ice during the winter months, it is a major outlet for the raw materials of the upper midwestern United States. The principal goods shipped are iron ore, grain, coal, petroleum, and lumber. Duluth is also a processing center and has diversified manufactures. It is the seat of the University of Minnesota at Duluth (1947), the College of St. Scholastica (1906), and a community college. Cultural resources include an art institute, a ballet company, a playhouse, and a symphony orchestra. Points of interest include a 230-foot-high Aerial Lift Bridge (1905), the Lake Superior Museum of Transportation, and the Saint Louis County Historical Museum. Within the city, rocky bluffs rise to heights of more than 180 m (about 600 ft) above the lake; a scenic drive along the crest commands views of both city and lake. Duluth serves as the gateway for a year-round resort area, and tourism is a major industry.
The area was occupied by Sioux and Ojibwa. During the 17th century the site was visited by a number of French explorers and trappers, including, in 1679, Daniel Greysolon, Sieur Duluth, or Du Lhut, for whom the city is named. A fur-trading post was established here in 1672 and was taken over by John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company in 1817. Permanent white settlement on the site began in 1852. The community's development as a commercial center was spurred by the opening in 1855 of the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, the arrival in 1870 of the first railroad, and the cutting in 1871 of the Duluth ship canal, which improved the harbor's access to the lake. Port activity accelerated with the opening in 1959 of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Population 92,811 (1980); 85,493 (1990); 81,228 (1998 estimate).
