Quamba ( ) is a city in Kanabec County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 107 at the 2020 census. It is the only city in Minnesota that begins with the letter Q.
History
Quamba was first established in 1882 on the side track of the Great Northern Railway. Originally, the community was called "Mud Creek" after the creek that flows through the community and that the railroad tracks crossed; the Ojibwe population in the area, though, called the creek Basa'igani-ziibiwishenh ("Creek to square Cedar Timbers"), thus calling the community Basa'igani-ziibiwishenying ("By the Creek to Square Cedar Timbers"). When the depot was built, the name was changed to "Quamba," which according to the railway officials was derived from an Indian word for "mudhole"; most likely the name derives from the Ottawa word: zhash<u>kwiimbaa</u>kmigaa (fully vocalized as azhashki-wiimbaakamigaa: "be a muddy hole in the ground"). The community was platted in 1901 by Oric Ogilvie Whited and incorporated as a village on July 11, 1952. Its post office operated 1901–1903 and 1906–1966.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
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|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<br>2020 Census