scubish.com: Scuba diving Eden Prairie - Minnesota - USA

Eden Prairie is a second ring suburb located southwest of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA. It is home to more than 2,200 businesses, including Supervalu, ADC Telecommunications, and the Minnesota Vikings. In 2006, Eden Prairie was selected as the 10th best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine. The city has more than 170 miles of multi-use trails, 2,250 acres of parks, and 1,300 acres of open space.

History

For most of its existence, Eden Prairie has been a slow-growing, pastoral village on the far southwestern fringes of the Twin Cities area. Between 1880 and 1960, Eden Prairie’s population grew by only 1,300 people, from 739 to 2,000.

Native Americans were the first to live in the area. In 1851, a treaty opened land west of the Mississippi River to settlement allowing pioneers to settle in what is now Eden Prairie. The town board of Eden Prairie held its first meeting in a log school house on May 11, 1858, the same day Minnesota became a state. However, Eden Prairie's farming community grew slowly over the years. Flying Cloud Airport was the first sign of big development in 1946. The 1960s and 1970s were decades of growth for the City's parks and recreation system. In the mid-70's, the community earned a higher profile with the addition of Interstate 494 and the Eden Prairie Shopping Center. Eden Prairie became a Village in 1962 and a Statutory City in 1974.

Naming Eden Prairie
The City owes its name to Elizabeth Fries Ellet, an East Coast writer who visited the area in 1852. In her travelogue book, Summer Rambles in the West. By Mrs. Ellet. she described the Minnesota River valley, which adjoins the current day City of Eden Prairie, as the garden spot of the territory.

Geography

Eden Prairie is located approximately 11 miles southwest of Minneapolis along the northern side of the Minnesota River. It is located at at an elevation of 906 feet (276 m).

The land in Eden Prairie consists of rolling hills and bluffs overlooking the Minnesota River with zones of prairie and mixed (primarily deciduous) forests.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.2 square miles (91.2 km²)—32.4 square miles (83.9 km²) of it is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) of it (8.04%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 54,901 people (though it is now estimated that there are more than 65,000 people), 20,457 households, and 14,585 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,695.1 people per square mile (654.4/km²). There were 21,026 housing units at an average density of 649.2 per square mile (250.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.66% White, 2.28% African American, 0.21% Native American, 4.82% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.57% of the population.

There were 20,457 households out of which 42.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married...