Michigan ::: Project ETERNITY

Name = Michigan |

Fullname = State of Michigan |

Flag = Michigan state flag.png |

Seal = Michigan state seal.png |

Map = Map of USA highlighting Michigan.png |

Nickname = Wolverine State |

Capital = Lansing |

LargestCity = Detroit |

Governor = Jennifer Granholm |

PostalAbbreviation = MI |

OfficialLang = English |

AreaRank = 11^th |

TotalArea = 250,941 |

LandArea = 147,255 |

WaterArea = 103,687 |

PCWater = 41.3 |

PopRank = 8^th |

2000Pop = 9,938,444 |

DensityRank = 15^th |

2000Density = 67.55 |

AdmittanceOrder = 26^th |

AdmittanceDate = January 26, 1837 |

TimeZone = Eastern: UTC-5/-4
(Some Upper Peninsula counties bordering Wisconsin are Central time.) |

Latitude = 41°41'N to 47°30'N |

Longitude = 82°26'W to 90°31'W |

Width = 385 |

Length = 790 |

HighestElev = 603 |

MeanElev = 275 |

LowestElev = 174 |

ISOCode = US-MI |

Website = www.michigan.gov

}}

Michigan is a state in the United States. The name is derived from Lake Michigan, which in turn is believed to come from the Chippewa Indian word meicigama, meaning "great water." Bounded by four of the Great Lakes, Michigan has the longest state shoreline in the continental United States, and more recreational boats than any state in the union.

The state is primarily known as the birthplace of the automobile industry. However, it is also home to a thriving tourist industry, with destinations such as Traverse City, Mackinac Island and the entire Upper Peninsula drawing vacationers, hunters and nature enthusiasts from across the United States and Canada.

Michigan is simultaneously known for its cities, supported by heavy industry, and its pristine wilderness, home to more than 11,000 lakes. The clang and clamor of Detroit's crowded freeways and busy factories stand in vivid counterpoint to the tranquility found in virtually every corner of the state.

An individual from Michigan is called a "Michigander" or "Michiganian." A resident of Michigan's Upper Peninsula ("the U.P.") is often called a "Yooper" (or U.P.'er). In turn, residents of the lower peninsula may be jokingly referred to as "trolls" -- because they "live below the Mackinac Bridge." As the Lower Peninsula is famously shaped like a mitten, residents often use their hands as shorthand "maps" to illustrate where they are from.

Its U.S. postal abbreviation is "MI" (traditional: "Mich."). The U.S. Navy's USS Michigan was named in honor of the state. Michigan is nicknamed the "Great Lakes State", and also the "Wolverine State", possibly due to the state's history as a fur-trading center.

History

The Michigan was explored and settled by French voyageurs in the 17th century. In 1701, they founded Detroit on the straits between Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. The town became a major fur-trading and shipping post. Most of the rest of the region remained unsettled by whites, however. Michigan passed to Great Britain in 1763 and then to the new United States two decades later. The population grew slowly until the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, which brought large numbers of settlers.

By the 1830s, Michigan had enough residents to apply for statehood. However, approval of this measure languished for several years due to a boundary dispute (the Toledo War) with Ohio, with both sides claiming a strip of land westward from Toledo. Ultimately, Congress awarded the "Toledo Strip" to Ohio, and Michigan, having received the addition of the western part of the Upper Peninsula, formally entered the Union on January 26, 1837.

Once a thriving lumber capital and supplier of iron and copper minerals, Michigan's economy underwent a massive shift at the turn of the 20th century. The birth of the automotive industry, with Henry Ford's first plant in the Highland Park suburb of Detroit, marked the beginning of a new era in personal transportation. It was a development that not only transformed Detroit and Michigan, but permanently altered the socio-economic climate of the United States.

Today, many automotive manufacturing plants remain. However, Detroit's industrial base has eroded to some degree since World War II, as auto companies abandoned some of the area's industrial parks in favor of less expensive labor found overseas and in Southern states. Still, with 10 million residents, Michigan remains a large and influential state.

Early European history

U.S. history

Major historical events

Law and Government

Michigan counties and townships are statutory units of government, meaning that they have only those powers expressly provided or fairly implied by state law. Cities and villages are vested with home rule powers, meaning that they can do almost anything not prohibited by law.

There are two types of townships in Michigan: general law and charter. Charter township status was created by the state legislature in 1947 and grants additional powers and stream-lined administration in order to provide greater protection against annexation by a city. As of April 2001, there were 127 charter townships in Michigan.

See: List of Michigan Governors, List of United States Senators from Michigan, List of United States Representatives from Michigan

Geography

Michigan encompasses 96,810 square miles, making it, by far, the largest state east of the Mississippi River. Georgia has a slightly larger land area, however.

Michigan borders Indiana and Ohio to the south, and Wisconsin to the southwest of the Upper Peninsula. Michigan also borders Minnesota, Illinois, the Canadian province of Ontario, and the Canadian First Nation (Indian) reserve of Walpole Island, but only on water boundaries in the Great Lakes system. The highest point is Mount Arvon in the Upper Peninsula at 1979 feet (603 m). The highest point in the Lower Peninsula is not definitely established but is either Briar Hill at 1705 feet (520 meters), or one of several points closely nearby.

Michigan consists of two peninsulas:

The Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten and is 277 miles long from north to south and 195 miles from east to west. The heavily forested Upper Peninsula (often called simply "The U.P.") is as big as Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island combined, but has less than 320,000 inhabitants, who are sometimes called "Yoopers" (from "U.P.'ers") and whose speech has been heavily influenced by the large number of Scandinavian and Canadian immigrants who settled the area during the mining boom of the late 1800's.

These two sections are connected only by the five mile long Mackinac Bridge -- the third longest suspension bridge in the world. The two peninsulas are surrounded by an extensive Great Lakes shoreline. Other than Alaska, Michigan has the longest shoreline of any state -- 2,242 miles (and another 879 miles if islands are included). This equals the length of the Atlantic Coast, from Maine to Florida. The Great Lakes which touch the two peninsulas of Michigan are Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. No point in Michigan is more than 6 miles from an inland lake or more than 85 miles from one of the Great Lakes, and the state has more than 11,000 inland lakes and more than 36,000 miles of rivers and streams.

Detroit, Michigan is the only city in the United States that is due north of Canada.

National parks

See also Protected areas of Michigan, List of Michigan state parks

Economy

See also: List of companies based in Michigan

Demographics

Michigan's total population (2003 U.S. Census Bureau estimate): 10,079,985

The racial makeup of the state is:

The five largest ancestries in Michigan are: German (20.4%), African American (14.2%), Irish (10.7%), English (9.9%), Polish (8.6%).

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Michigan are:

The three largest Protestant denominations in Michigan are: Baptist (16% of the total state population), Lutheran (8%), Methodist (7%).

See also Highway map of Michigan

Important cities

See: List of cities, villages, and townships in Michigan

The largest cities in Michigan are

Other important cities include

Education

Colleges and universities

Community Colleges and Technical Schools

Professional sports teams

Other notable sports teams

State symbols

Miscellaneous information

Michigan has 116 lighthouses. The first lighthouses in Michigan were built between 1818 and 1822. They were built to project light at night and to serve as a landmark during the day to safely guide the passenger ships and freighters traveling the Great Lakes. See Lighthouses in the United States.

Michigan has the most registered boats (over 1 million) of any state in the Union.

Although most famous for its automotive industry, over half of Michigan's land is forested, much of it quite remote.

Quick trivia

Related articles

External links

Category:U.S. states

Copyrights