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is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2008, its population was estimated at nearly 100,000 and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 195,685. Fargo, along with its twin city of Moorhead, Minnesota, as well as adjacent West Fargo, North Dakota and Dilworth, Minnesota, form the center of the
The city of Fargo is the crossroads and economic center of a large portion of eastern North Dakota and a portion of northwestern Minnesota. Fargo is a retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and educational hub for the region. Fargo is home to North Dakota State University. The local newspaper is
. The city motto is "Gateway to the West". Fargo was founded in 1871.
Fargo is located at (46.871414, -96.808658). Fargo is a core city of the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area which also includes Moorhead, West Fargo, and Dilworth as well as outlying communities.
Fargo sits on the western bank of the Red River of the North in a very flat region known as the Red River Valley. The Red River Valley was once a part of glacial Lake Agassiz, which drained away about 9,300 years ago. The lake sediments deposited from Lake Agassiz made the land around Fargo some of the richest in the world for agricultural uses. Early settlers sometimes called the Red River Valley a new "Garden of Eden".
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 98.3 km² (37.9 mi²), all land.