Duluth is a city in northeast Minnesota next to Lake Superior and next to Superior, Wisconsin. It is the westernmost U.S. city on the Great Lakes. The harbor at Duluth is accessible to ocean-going vessels from the Atlantic Ocean 2,300 miles (3,700 km) away via the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway.
Duluth is the county seat of Saint Louis County. It is the fourth largest city in Minnesota. At the 2010 census, Duluth had 86,265 people. Duluth is the second largest city on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario. It has the largest metropolitan area on Lake Superior. The Duluth MSA had 279,771 people in 2010.
Bob Dylan was born in Duluth.
Duluth forms a metropolitan area with Superior, Wisconsin called the "Twin Ports". These two cities share the Duluth–Superior harbor and together are the Great Lakes' largest port transporting coal, iron ore (taconite), and grain.
As a tourist destination for the Midwest, Duluth has America's only all-freshwater aquarium, the Great Lakes Aquarium. Duluth is known for the Aerial Lift Bridge, which spans the Duluth Ship Canal into the Duluth-Superior Harbor. People also visit Minnesota Point (known as Park Point locally), one of the world's longest freshwater sand spits, that is 6 miles (9.7 km) long. People come to the city to start vehicle trips along Minnesota's famous North Shore. Each year, 16,000 people come to Duluth to run the "Grandma's Marathon". The 610' long William A Irvin is a museum ship that used to be the flagship of the United States Steel ore carrier fleet.
The city is named after Daniel Greysolon, Le Sieur du Luth, the first known European explorer of the area.