5 Themes of Geography

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Location
i. Absolute--44° 51' 17" N / 93° 28' 14" W
ii. Relative—About one hour and fifteen minutes South East of St. Joseph, MN. Eden Prairie is located southwest of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.

Region
i. Physical— Eden Prairie is located in the interior lowland of the United States. It is considered a suburb of Minneapolis. There are over 11 counties in this region.
ii. Cultural—Eden Prairie is made up of a diverse mixture of nationalities. The majority of Eden Prairie’s population (approximately 60,000 people) is made up of white, Christians. What makes Eden Prairie interesting is the impact of the different nationalities that make up the remainder of the population. EP is positively influenced by the Somalian culture and several others. Another interesting fact regarding the makeup of Eden Prairie’s population is the fact that over 70% of the population is under the age of 45 yrs.

Place
i. Physical—Although, most of Eden Prairie is developed, EP does offer over 15 lakes, 170 miles of multi-use trails, 2,250 acres of park land and is home to several wildlife areas and woodlands.
ii. Human— Many corporations have headquartered out of Eden Prairie, ie. (Best Buy, Starkey Labs etc.) We are also well known for our largest private golf course, Bearpath, which was designed by Jack Nicklaus. However, we are probably most known for being home to the Minnesota Vikings headquarters and practice facilities. The City of Eden Prairie, Minnesota has been recognized as a great place to work and raise a family for many years and is currently one of MONEY Magazine's "Best Places to Live" in America. Flying Cloud Airport, located in Eden Prairie, provides convenient access for personal and corporate aircraft. Eden Prairie possesses dozens of hotels and award-winning restaurants as well as a super-regional shopping center that draws more than 13-million visitors per year.

Human Environment Interactions
i. Eden Prairie is a very developed city. This development has occurred in a fairly rapid amount of time. Less than 50 years ago, Eden Prairie was considered an agricultural community made up of mostly farm and prairie land. Although, there are many parks, wildlife areas and woodlands still present in this community, much land has been used and wildlife areas destroyed in order to develop its housing and business industry.

Movement
i. The majority of people from Eden Prairie get around by the use of automobiles. There is a transit station located in Eden Prairie, which is used for people to get to the downtown area and surrounding cities. Goods are usually transported by semi-trucks. Ideas travel by word of mouth and various advertisements such as billboards, TV (Eden Prairie channel 6), radio, Eden Prairie newspaper (Sun Times) and an Eden Prairie magazine.