What is the geography of Brainerd, Minnesota?
Brainerd is located just north of the geographical center of Minnesota, in a relatively hilly terminal moraine area created by the Labradorian ice sheet#Superior LobeSuperior Lobe of the Labradorian ice sheet. The town occupies land on both sides of the Mississippi River, though the older parts of Brainerd are almost all to the east. Though the city itself has relatively few lakes, there are over 460 lakes within 25 miles of Brainerd, located mostly to the north. For this reason, Crow Wing County and parts of the adjoining counties are often collectively referred to as the Brainerd Lakes Area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.9 km sq (8.4 square miles). 20.6 km sq (8.0 mi sq) of it is land and 1.2 km sq (0.5 mi sq) of it (5.57%) is water.
