Duluth MN-WI Metropolitan Area

The Twin Ports of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin, are located at the western part of Lake Superior (the westernmost of North America's Great Lakes) and together are considered the largest freshwater port in the world.[1] They are twin cities and seaports, connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The Twin Ports are at the core of the U.S. Census Bureau's "Duluth, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area",[2] which 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. Approximately 6.7 million tourists visit Duluth alone each year, this does not account for surrounding suburbs such as Virginia, Two Harbors, Ely, or Hibbing.

The Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge

Duluth-Superior Duluth MSA, MN-WI Twin Ports
Top: Duluth Bottom: Duluth, MN-WI Metro Map
Country	United States
States	Minnesota and Wisconsin
Area
• City	10,522 sq mi (27,250 km2)
• Urban	80 sq mi (208 km2)
Highest elevation	2,301 ft (701 m)
Lowest elevation	600 ft (200 m)
Population
• Density	33/sq mi (13/km2)
• Urban	120,378 (260th)
• MSA	291,638 (170th)
Time zone	UTC−6
• Summer (DST)	CDT
Area code(s)	218,715,320

The area is home to two long bridges: the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge (carrying U.S. Highway 2) and the John Blatnik Bridge (carrying I-535 and U.S. Highway 53).[3] Each bridge reaches across more than 1.5 miles (2.5 km) across the mouth of the Saint Louis River.[3] 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 tons [40.1 million tonnes] per year) as of 2002, though the area is the 7th-busiest port (13.8 million short tons [12.5 million tonnes] per year) when measured on foreign exports alone.