Located in the Midwest, Michigan is the heart of the Great Lakes
region. Michigan is divided into two parts, the upper and lower
peninsulas, which are separated by the Mackinac Waterway and
have no land connection except for a bridge. The Upper Peninsula
borders Wisconsin to the southwest, Lake Superior, which borders
Canada's Ontario, to the north, and Lake Michigan to the south.
The Lower Peninsula has land connections to Ohio and
Indiana in
the south and is framed by Lake Michigan to the west and Lake
Huron and the Detroit River to the east, which form the border
with Ontario.
Michigan has many attractions, famous
landmarks and scenic national parks and forests. In addition to
the Great Lakes, there are also 12,000 inland smaller lakes, 38
deep-water ports, a longer coastline than any US state except
Alaska, and more lighthouses than any other state.
Located in the Midwest region of the country, Central Northeast
division, it consists of two peninsulas separated from each
other and mainly surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes and
containing a variety of nearby islands. Both areas have very
different characteristics: the Upper Peninsula - which is
bordered to the north and east by Lake Superior and the St.
Marys River, which separate it from Canada, to the southeast by
Lake Huron, to the south by the Straits of Mackinac (which
separate it from the Lower Peninsula) and Lake Michigan, and to
the southwest by Wisconsin—and the Lower Peninsula, which is
shaped like a left mitten, and is bounded to the north by the
Straits of Mackinac, to the east by the St. Clair and Detroit
rivers , and Lakes Huron, Sainte-Claire and Erie, which separate
it from Canada, to the south with Ohio and Indiana, and to the
west with Lake Michigan that separates it from Illinois and
Wisconsin. With 9,883,640 inhabitants in 2010, it is the eighth
most populated state, behind California, Texas, New York,
Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio. It was admitted to the
Union on January 26, 1837, as the 26th state.
Michigan is
one of the national leaders in the manufacturing industry. The
national capital of the automobile industry is located in the
state's largest city, Detroit. The state is the largest producer
of cars and trucks in the United States, and is also the second
largest producer of iron ore in the country.
One of
Michigan's best-known nicknames is The Great Lakes State. In
fact, Michigan borders four of the five North American Great
Lakes. Its coastline is 5,292 km long, and is one of the longest
in the entire country. No part of the state is located more than
137 km from the Great Lakes coastline. Michigan is divided into
two distinct areas, the Upper Peninsula and the Lower Peninsula,
connected to each other by a single five-mile-long bridge.
Another nickname for Michigan is The Wolverine State because
during the early days of European settlement of the region,
hunters and fur traders hunted and traded large quantities of
wolverine pelts with indigenous people of the region.
Its
name comes from Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation
of the term mishigani from the Ojibwe, meaning 'great lake' or
'great water'. Michigan was initially colonized by the French.
French colonization of the region however was limited. France
ceded Michigan to the United Kingdom in 1764. In 1783, after the
end of the American Revolutionary War, Michigan became part of
the Northwest Territory in 1787, an independent territory in
1805, and elevated to statehood. on January 26, 1837, as the
26th American state to enter the Union.
Some of the top tourist destinations in Michigan are:
1
Ann Arbor
- University of Michigan.
2 Detroit - largest city, capital of the
automobile.
3 Flint - "Birthplace" of General Motors
4
Grand
Rapids - Michigan's second largest city.
5 Holland - Beaches and
Tulips.
6 Kalamazoo - Headquarters of Western Michigan University.
7 Lansing - State capital.
8
Saginaw - historic logging settlement.
9 Marquette
10
Sault Ste Marie - border town
with Canada on the Upper Peninsula.
11 Traverse City - "Cherry
Capital of the World".
Big Bay Point Light is located 24 mi (39 km) North- West of Marquette, Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was constructed in 1896 for guidance across dangerous lake Superior.
Isle Royale National Park is a large expanse of forest and water located in Keweenaw County of the Upper Michigan, USA.
Porcupine State Forest is a wilderness area in the Porcupine mountains, named so by the Ojibwa tribe due to silhouette of the range.
Beaver Island – largest island in Lake Michigan, from 1850 to 1856 a
kingdom of the Mormons existed here
Mackinac Island - Island on the
Mackinac Strait, the transition from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore - Colorful sandstone landscape on the
shores of Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula with rock arches,
waterfalls and sand dunes
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – 60
km long strip on the east shore of Lake Michigan with sand dunes up to
140 meters high
If you can do it on the water or in the water, you can do at least a
little of it in Michigan. Fishing, sailing, and motor boating are
popular on both the Great Lakes and inland lakes. The Great Lakes are a
bit cooler in the summer, but they remain popular beaches along with
swimming in the warm inland lakes. Canoeing on the rivers meandering
through the protected forests is also popular. Some people surf, but
most of the waves come across Lake Michigan.
In winter, the water
turns to snow and ice. Hardcore anglers continue to fish in the ice.
Serious alpine skiers may think it's laughable to ski in glacier-smooth
Michigan, but downhill skiing is plentiful, with some of the most
popular resorts in the Charlevoix/Grand Traverse region of the Lower
Peninsula. Don't forget the mountainous U.P. West. Indianhead Resort in
Wakefield and Big Powderhorn in Bessemer. Both peninsulas have excellent
cross-country skiing, and if there is a slope nearby that attracts kids,
it's a sledding hill.
The city of Detroit has four major
professional sports teams: the Tigers (baseball), Lions (American
football), Red Wings (field hockey), and Pistons (basketball). The Lions
and Tigers play in a downtown stadium, while the Red Wings and Pistons
share an arena in midtown a few blocks away. Detroit also hosts the
North American International Auto Show each January, and with four major
casinos, metropolitan casino gambling is Detroit's newest pastime.
Detroit is home to major concert venues, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra,
the Detroit Institute of Arts, an active theater scene, and many jazz
venues, making it the cultural and entertainment center of the
metropolitan area.
In Lansing, visitors can visit the State
Capitol, which was renovated in 1992. Lansing and East Lansing are home
to many other state government and historical buildings.
Michigan
has many interesting small towns. Frankenmuth, located in central
Michigan, was settled by German immigrants and has many German-style
stores and restaurants. Zehnder's, the Bavarian Inn, and Bronner's are
the two most famous and best-known restaurants in town, respectively
Zehnder's is known for its home-style fried chicken dinners, while
Bronner's is known for its German-style fried chicken. Bavarian Inn is
known for its German favorites and glockenspiels. Bronner's offers a
wide selection of gifts, ornaments, and cards, many of which are
imported from Germany. Frankenmuth has a variety of small, charming
stores and a beautiful riverbank and covered bridge along the Cass
River.
If you are traveling between the Lower and Upper
Peninsulas, visit Mackinaw City, St. Ignace, and Mackinac Island. The
latter has Fort Misili Mackinac and an old sawmill, both of which are
open to the public. To get to the islands, one must take a ferry; three
different services are available. Mackinac Island has Fort Mackinac, the
Grand Hotel, and many other attractions. No vehicles are allowed on the
island for bike rentals, horseback riding, or walking around.
By Airplane.
Michigan has several airports, but for international
and cross-country flights, use Detroit Metro Airport (DTW IATA). Gerald
R. Ford International Airport (GRR IATA) in Grand Rapids also has daily
flights from all parts of the country. Regional airports (with nonstop
flights from Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Milwaukee,
Cincinnati, and other cities in neighboring states) include Bishop
Airport (FNT IATA) in Flint, Capital City (LAN IATA) in Lansing,
Kalamazoo/Battle Creek (AZO IATA), Muskegon (MKG IATA), Midland/Bay
City/Saginaw (MBS IATA), Cherry Capital in Traverse City (TVC IATA), and
Marquette-Sawyer (MQT IATA).
By Car.
Driving into Michigan,
you can take any of the highways that enter and pass through Michigan.
From Ohio, I-75 passes through Detroit, Flint, Bay City, and Mackinaw
City and ends in Sault Ste. Marie, U.P. From Indiana and Illinois, I-94
passes through Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Jackson, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and
ends in Port Huron, Mich. I-196 branches off I-94 and follows the
lakefront to Grand Rapids; I-69 enters eastern Indiana and I-69 enters
from Indianapolis and crosses I-94, passing through Lansing, Flint, and
Port Huron; US-131 heads north from I-80/90 in northern Indiana through
Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Big Rapids, and Cadillac. The Upper Peninsula
can be entered from Wisconsin via US-2 from Duluth and US-41 from Green
Bay or Milwaukee. Michigan has major bridge and tunnel border crossings
from Ontario, Canada at Detroit (from Windsor) and Port Huron (from
Sarnia).
Railroads
Amtrak provides daily rail service to
Michigan on three routes, with Chicago as its hub. The Pere Marquette
runs through St. Joseph and Holland to Grand Rapids. The Wolverine to
Pontiac via Kalamazoo, Jackson, Ann Arbor, and Detroit. The Blue Water
will travel through Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Flint to Port Huron. There
is also a connecting bus service from Kalamazoo north on US-131 to St.
Ignace.
By Bus
Greyhound and Megabus offer intercity bus
service.
By boat
Car/passenger ferries operate from Milwaukee
and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, across Lake Michigan to Muskegon and
Ludington, respectively, during the warmer months. The truck ferry
between Windsor and Detroit carries hazardous materials that cannot use
bridges or tunnels, and the car ferry between Marine City and Sonora
(halfway between Detroit and Port Huron) is permanently cancelled. (See
List of Ferries in Michigan).
As the historic home of the U.S. automotive industry, Michigan's
intrastate mobility system is almost entirely dependent on the internal
combustion engine. The automobile remains the best way to travel within
Michigan. Interstate highways, state roads, and state highways permeate
southeastern Michigan, traverse the rest of southern Michigan, and
extend into northern Michigan, crossing the Upper Peninsula.
Railroads
Amtrak offers three daily trains from Chicago to certain
southern Michigan cities.
Bus
The most extensive statewide
public transportation system is the Indian Trail Bus Network and
Michigan Flyer (East Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Detroit Metropolitan
Airport), which reach the most population centers in the state. Detroit
also has light rail.
By Air.
Most intrastate air service is
from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and there are no scheduled flights
between the state's smaller regional airports.
Michigan is home to many unique coastal towns, and the look and feel
of its tourist attractions and attractions make it an attractive place
to shop. Michigan's sales tax is 6% and is rarely included in advertised
prices (as in the rest of the U.S.). Most groceries and many personal
items are tax-free.
Antique markets, stores, and shows are a
major attraction in the Great Lakes area. Below is an alphabetical list
of events:
Markets & Shows (major events held regularly)
Allegan Antiques Market Six shows per season, last Sunday of each month
from April through September. See website for exact dates, directions,
and contact information for each season.
Michiganders (a designation enthusiastically defended) have a variety
of regional dialects and accents. Letters and syllables are sometimes
removed from longer words ("probably" is almost always shortened to
"probly" and sometimes to "prolly"). Unnecessary prepositions are
sometimes added at the end of a sentence; when the letter T comes in the
middle of a word, it is sometimes pronounced with a D sound, which is
more common in the western U.P. than elsewhere; Michiganders in the U.P.
sometimes sound like their neighbors in Ontario, Canada, where the
letter T is often pronounced with a D sound, which is more common than
in other regions; Michigan residents in the U.P. sometimes sound like
their neighbors in Ontario, Canada, where the letter T is sometimes
pronounced with a D sound, which is more common than in other regions;
and Michigan residents in the U.P. are sometimes pronounced with a D
sound, which is more common than in other regions. To fully understand
Michiganders from these regions, it is very important to be aware of
context.
In the south-central part of the Lower Peninsula, you
will often hear the phrase "Up North." When Michiganders in these areas
speak of going away for the weekend, they often say, "I'm heading Up
North." Most often, they are referring to the mostly rural, wooded areas
and scenic coastline of the northern part of the Lower Peninsula;
sometimes they refer to the U.P., but it is more common to hear "I'm
heading up to the U.P."
State highways are referred to by the
letter M followed by the highway number. For example, Michigan State
Highway 43 is M-43. Interstate and US Highways are usually referred to
by highway number only. For example, Interstate 94 would be 94 in
conversation. Many counties and cities use a number-based nomenclature
for local roads, which may likewise be referred to by number only, but
local road numbers and highway numbers rarely overlap. If you are
spending time in a small area of Michigan, take a few minutes to study a
map of the area whenever possible to avoid confusion.
Carbonated
beverages are commonly referred to as pop. Coke is a specific kind of
pop (usually Coca-Cola), unlike in some other parts of the United
States. The term "soda" is usually acceptable. I have rarely heard the
term "soda pop" used.
If you are planning a trip to Michigan and want to check out the "must try" local specialties, there are four that you must try during your stay. Interestingly, they are all centered in the northern part of the state, so if you want to try the real deal, I suggest you visit the area from Traverse City to UP.
Pasty (rhymes with "nasty," not "hasty") is a traditional Upper
Peninsula food made with meat (usually beef), potatoes, onions, and
sometimes rutabagas (essential for some Yoopers) wrapped in a tough
dough with crimped edges. It originated in the Cornwall region of
southwestern England and was brought to the region by Cornish miners who
migrated to the area. The miners' wives would cut up all the leftovers
from Sunday dinner and wrap them in semi-circular pastry cases, which
their husbands would heat up on the shovel and eat for lunch. These
days, there are pastry stores along UP highways, some with limited
hours, others with their own websites. There are several ways to eat
pasties: cold and handheld, with ketchup, or with ketchup or brown
gravy.
Other flavors include vanilla, peanut butter, mint, praline,
and cranberry, but popular destinations along the Michigan coast produce
a thick, creamy fudge made from milk, sugar, and usually chocolate. The
most famous fudge in the state has been made on Mackinac Island since
1887.
Not surprisingly, lake fish is popular in Michigan, especially
walleye, rainbow trout, whitefish, and lake perch. Most Michigan
restaurants that serve seafood feature at least one of these two
somewhere on their menus. It can be grilled, fried, smoked, made into a
salad, or served on a cedar plank with whipped mashed potatoes piped in
on the end. Lake fish is more often on the menu in the Upper Peninsula
because it is so often associated with Lake Superior.
Michigan
produces more than 70% of the tart cherries and about 20% of the sweet
cherries grown in the United States. The main cherry-growing area is
around Traverse City, where a cherry festival is held every July.
Cherries, especially dried cherries, are sometimes added to dishes to
give them a local flavor. Restaurants sometimes serve "Michigan salads"
with dried cherries.
But while these four foods are associated
with Michigan, they are by no means exclusively Michigan specialties.
Cudiggi ("COO-duh-ghee") is an Italian sausage, sometimes served as a
sausage patty hoagie with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce, popular in
the Upper Peninsula. It was brought to the region by immigrants from
northern Italy who moved to the Iron Mountain region, Copper Country,
and the Ishpeming and Negaunee neighborhoods. Kudigis are flavored with
sweet spices such as paprika, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
In
southeast Michigan, a popular treat to celebrate Fat Tuesday and the
beginning of Lent is ponchiki ("poonch key"), baked annually in the
Polish village of Hamtramck, near Detroit. The ones made in Hamtramck
are like large deep-fried jelly donuts, covered with powdered sugar or
glazed and usually filled with custard, fruit, or chocolate, with plum
flavors being particularly popular. Many grocery stores in southeastern
Michigan carry donchikis a few days to a few weeks before Ash Wednesday
in February each year.
In addition to cherries, Michigan is surprisingly known for its
agriculture and a variety of other products:
Michigan is the
third largest producer of apples in the U.S., and grocery stores are
overflowing with apples when they are in season.
The western part of
the state, along the shores of Lake Michigan, produces 45% of the
nation's blueberries. Blueberries don't appear on menus as often as
cherries, but if you visit the region during blueberry season (July
through October), keep an eye out for roadside stands and rural "U-pick"
farms.
Michigan morel mushrooms grow wild throughout the state, but
are especially common in the northern Lower Peninsula. Locals often go
mushroom hunting, and Michigan-grown morels are sought after by chefs
across the state. Each May, Boyne City and Messick host the Morel
Festival.
The growing season for the small, sweet Michigan
strawberries is short, but worth it. Belleville hosts a national
Strawberry Festival each year.
It may not sound very appealing, but
Michigan is the second largest producer of celery in the U.S., mainly in
the Kalamazoo area. The area is also home to the Celery Interpretive
Center, where visitors can learn about the region's celery-growing
traditions.
Maple Syrup. Produced since the days when Native American
tribes lived in Michigan, it is also available in the form of maple
candy.
While not as prestigious as California and foreign varieties,
Michigan wines have important vineyards in the Southwest (St. Julien,
Turbo Hill, Fenn Valley, etc.) and Northwest Lower Peninsula (Leelano
Cellars, Good Harbor, Chateau Grand Traverse, etc.) , Its reputation is
growing.
Stroud's was one of Michigan's last traditional
breweries and a staple in the Detroit area, but is now produced out of
state. However, you can now find microbreweries throughout Michigan.
Widely consumed Michigan beers include Bell's, Arcadia, Atwater,
Michigan Brewing, and Founders.
Two local brands of soft drinks
(locally called "pop") are Faygo (perhaps best known for its
berry-flavored "Redpop" and 1970s Top 10 singles based on a straw TV
jingle) and Vernor's Ginger Ale (with its distinctive tangy taste and
gnome mascot). These are available in stores, although restaurants and
vending machines are dominated by national brands.
Michigan's
abundant apple harvest is often used to make fresh apple cider. They are
only open during the fall harvest, but if you stop by, you can get cider
by the gallon (not "hard" cider) or just a cup, hot or iced. In
Michigan, cider is traditionally served with cake donuts. Most cider
mills make their donuts freshly baked on the premises, so you can get a
hot, cinnamon-sugar-wrapped donut. Most mills also sell apple products
such as baked goods, apple jelly and butter, and apple-related items
such as cookbooks and marine spices.
Most of Michigan is very safe. Violent crime is everywhere, but is
more serious in Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, and some other cities. Even in
those places, most places are perfectly safe during the day, and
important entertainment and cultural centers are heavily policed after
dark. Please use common sense in urban areas, especially after sunset.
When touring Michigan by car, be aware of road conditions,
especially in winter. Lower Michigan in western Michigan and the
northeast (UP) can get snowy due to the lake.
There are quite a
few timber roads in the U.P., some of which are still in use: a) be with
locals who can keep you from getting lost and b) have an emergency kit
(including food, water and first aid). These roads are often one lane
wide and timber trucks go faster than you can imagine. Beware of
Explorers.
Michigan is bordered to the north by Lake Superior, to the east by
Lake Huron, to the south by the states of Indiana and Ohio, and to the
west by Lake Michigan. The Canadian province of Ontario is located to
the north, east, and extreme southeast of Michigan, the states of
Wisconsin and Illinois are located to the west, and Minnesota is located
in northwest Michigan. Detroit, located north of the Canadian city of
Windsor, is the only major American city located north of a major
Canadian city.
It has an area of 250,493 km², which, for
comparative purposes, corresponds to half that of Spain.
Michigan
has a coastline of 5,292 km on the Great Lakes (including nearly a
thousand kilometers of coastline made up of islands located in these
Great Lakes and by bays and estuaries along the Michigan coastline).
Only Alaska, Louisiana and Florida have longer coastlines. The state is
located on the edge of all the Great Lakes except Lake Ontario. No part
of the state is more than 137 km from the Great Lakes. Michigan also has
more than 11,000 lakes. No point in the state is located more than 10 km
from a lake. The state's rivers are small, short and shallow, and few
are navigable. The main ones include the Au Sable, Thunder Bay,
Cheboygan and Saginaw, which flow into Lake Huron; the Ontonagon and the
Tahquamenon, which flow into Lake Superior; and the St. Joseph,
Kalamazoo, Grand, Muskegon, Manistee and Escanaba, which flow into Lake
Michigan. Forests cover about half of the state.
Michigan is
divided into two large peninsulas, separated by the Straits of Mackinac:
the Upper Peninsula is the smaller of the two peninsulas, located in the
northwest of the state. Compared to the rest of the state, it is
sparsely populated, with only 325,000 inhabitants: and the Lower
Peninsula, densely populated, is home to about 97% of the state's
population. These peninsulas are only connected to each other by the
Straits of Mackinac Bridge.
Michigan can be divided into two
distinct geographic regions:
The Upper Plateau covers the northwest
corner of the state, or the western Upper Peninsula. This region has
very rugged terrain. The highest point in the state, Mount Coorwood, is
located in this region, with its 603 meters of altitude. This region is
extremely rich in copper and iron.
The Great Lakes Plains occupy most
of Michigan. This region is characterized by its low altitude, up to 174
meters on the edge of Lake Erie. This region is rich in swamps, rivers
and lakes, and its soil is very fertile.
Michigan is the only US state whose mainland is divided
into two parts. Lake Michigan stretches between the parts. Upper
Michigan, the northern portion, is sandwiched between Lake Michigan to
the south and Lake Superior to the north. The western part is
characterized by the Superior Upland, a highland with granitic bedrock.
It consists of several mountain ranges running northeast-southwest,
extending west into Wisconsin and Minnesota. Individual mountain ranges
are the Porcupine Mountains and the Gogebic Range and Copper Range
mountain ranges. The Superior Upland has much greater elevation
variation than the rest of the state. The highest peak in Michigan is
Mount Arvon at 603 m. Isle Royale in Lake Superior is also part of
Michigan, although both the Canadian province of Ontario and the US
state of Minnesota are significantly closer to the island.
The
southern portion, Lower Michigan, is sandwiched between Lake Michigan
(west) and Lake Huron (east). In terms of area, this is the larger part
of the state. The vast majority of the state's population lives in the
southernmost third of lower Michigan. All of Lower Michigan and eastern
Upper Michigan are part of the Eastern Great Lakes Lowland. This is a
flat to hilly lowland and was formed as a result of the glaciers that
covered the land during the Ice Age. The average elevation is 900 feet
(274 m) and the lowest point is about 550 feet (173 m). As a result,
there is hardly any noticeable difference in elevation within Lower
Michigan.
The soil in Upper Michigan is greyish-brown and acidic. It emerged from glacial deposits and is in part not very fertile or not at all. Due to this and the climate, there is hardly any agriculture there. In southeastern Michigan, around Saginaw Bay, heavy, loamy soil prevails. Most of Lower Michigan, however, has very fertile soil, which is also used for agriculture.
Michigan shares four of the five Great Lakes. These are Lake Michigan,
Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Lake Erie. As a result, it has a total
coastline of 5310 km. There are also more than 11,000 smaller lakes, the
largest of which is Houghton Lake in northern Lower Michigan.
The
longest river in the state is the Grand River. Other important rivers
are the Kalamazoo, Manistee, Saint Clair, Detroit and Saint Joseph.
Goods can be shipped all over the world through the waterways, because
there is a connection to the Atlantic via Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence
River. There are a few waterfalls in Upper Michigan, such as Tahquamenon
Falls.
Michigan's climate is unique compared to the rest of the United
States. This is due to its proximity to the Great Lakes. These give
Michigan a milder climate compared to other states of the same latitude.
It is humid and continental (a fairly rare combination in the world) and
lies in the cool-temperate climate zone. However, the climates of Upper
and Lower Michigan should be considered separately.
Upper
Michigan is significantly cooler and has a northern climate. The average
frost-free period is only 60 to 120 days per year. The winters are very
severe and the summers are mild. The average annual temperature in Sault
Ste. Marie near the border with Canada in northeastern Upper Michigan is
4.3 °C. The warmest month is July at 18 °C, the coldest are January and
February at -10 °C. The average annual precipitation is 869 mm and is
spread over the entire year.
The climate in Lower Michigan, on
the other hand, is mild. The average frost-free period is 180 to 240
days, which is significantly longer than in Upper Michigan. In Detroit
(in south-eastern Lower Michigan), the average temperature is 10°C. The
warmest month is July at 24 °C, the coldest January at -5 °C.
Temperatures are 5°C warmer overall than Upper Michigan. The temperature
difference of 18 °C is small for a continental country. This is due to
the influence of the Great Lakes. In summer they cool the air and in
winter they store heat and warm the air. However, the temperature
difference is still significantly higher than, for example, on sea
coasts, which is why the Michigan climate is counted as a continental
type, despite the influence of the lakes. Precipitation is also here all
year round, but slightly less at 691 mm.
Various Native American tribes and people lived in the region where
the state of Michigan is currently located thousands of years before the
arrival of the first Europeans. These tribes and peoples included the
Chippewa, Menomini, Miami, Ottawa and Potawatomi, indigenous tribes part
of the Algonquian Native American family; in addition to the Hurons, who
lived where the city of Detroit is currently located. It is estimated
that the indigenous population at the time of the arrival of the first
Europeans was 15 thousand inhabitants.
The first European
explorer of Michigan was the Frenchman Étienne Brûlé, who explored the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1620, setting out from Quebec under the
command of Samuel de Champlain. Eventually, Michigan became part of the
French colonial province of Louisiana, one of the colonial provinces of
New France. The first permanent European settlement in Michigan, Sault
Ste. Marie, was founded by Jacques Marquette, a French missionary, in
1660.
The French founded various trading settlements, forts, and
villages in Michigan in the late 17th century. Among them, the
foundation of Fort Pontchartrain, present-day Detroit, founded by
Antoine de Lamothe-Cadillac stands out. However, French activities in
the region were limited to hunting, commercial exchanges and catechizing
of local indigenous people and very limited agriculture. In 1760,
Michigan had only a few hundred inhabitants.
Territorial disputes
between French and British colonists sparked the French and Indian War,
which occurred between 1754 and 1763, which ended in defeat for the
French. As part of the Treaty of Paris, the French ceded all French
colonies in North America located east of the Mississippi River to the
British. Thus, Michigan became controlled by the United Kingdom. In
1774, Michigan became part of Quebec. However, it remained sparsely
populated, and population growth in the region continued to be very low,
with the British primarily interested in the fur trade and not in the
settlement and colonization of the region.
During the American
Revolutionary War, much of Michigan, inhabited primarily by settlers who
supported independence, rebelled against the British. These, with the
help of local Indian tribes, constantly attacked rebel settlements in
the region, and conquered Detroit. The Spanish, allies of the rebels,
captured St. Joseph from the British in 1781, and ceded control of the
settlement to the rebels the next day. The War for Independence ended in
1783, and Michigan came under control of the newly formed United States
of America. In 1787, the region became part of the Northwest Territory.
The British, however, conquered Detroit in 1790, and only definitively
ceded the fort in 1796 to the United States.
In 1800, Michigan
became part of the Indiana Territory. In 1805, the Territory of Michigan
was created, although this territory included only the Lower Peninsula
of the present state of Michigan, with Detroit as the seat of government
and William Hull appointed governor. In 1812, during the Anglo-American
War, the British captured Detroit and Fort Mackinac. American troops
recaptured Detroit in 1813, and Fort Mackinac was returned to the
Americans at the end of the war in 1815.
Throughout the 1810s and
1820s, the Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indian tribes began fighting
the growing white settler settlement of the region. However, the Indians
were defeated, and in 1821, forced to cede all their lands to the
American government. Most of these Indians were forced to move to Indian
reservations in the far western United States.
During the 1820s,
Michigan's population began to grow rapidly, largely due to the opening
of the Erie Canal in 1825, which connected the Great Lakes to the
Atlantic Ocean, becoming a transportation route between the eastern
states. America and the sparsely inhabited territories of the West.
Michigan's growing population began to demand the elevation of the
Michigan Territory to statehood. In 1835, the US Congress approved the
constitutional amendment that would elevate Michigan to statehood.
Territorial disputes with Ohio, over a narrow piece of land, where the
city of Toledo is located, postponed the elevation of Michigan to
statehood. This narrow strip became part of Ohio, by resolution of
Congress, but in compensation Michigan received the Upper Peninsula. On
January 26, 1837, Michigan became the twenty-sixth state of the Union,
with its current borders.
During the early 1840s, large deposits of copper and iron were found
in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, attracting thousands of people from
eastern states. The Soo Locks (Soo Locks or Sault Locks in English) were
inaugurated in 1855, connecting Lake Superior with the rest of the Great
Lakes, to allow the rapid and efficient transfer of minerals extracted
in the Upper Peninsula from ports in the north of the state, to the
Great Lakes, and, thus, facilitate the transportation of these minerals
to the main steel centers of the country, most of them located on the
edge of the Great Lakes or in large rivers that flow into them.
Michigan actively participated throughout the American Civil War, on the
side of the Union—the United States of America proper—and against the
rebellious Confederate States of America. After the war, Michigan's
economy began to diversify, and the state prospered economically. During
the 1870s, the lumber industry flourished in Michigan. The state became
the largest national producer of lumber. Its large forests and its
location near the central-western United States helped the occupation of
the north-central region of the United States. Between the 1870s and
1890s, agriculture and ranching also developed rapidly in the state.
Michigan's population doubled between 1870 and 1890. By the end of the
century, the state of Michigan devoted more funds to public education
than any other American state.
During the early 20th century,
manufacturing became Michigan's primary source of income—largely because
of the automobile industry. In 1897, Oldsmobile manufacturing began in
Lansing. In 1904 Ford was founded in Detroit, and with the mass
production of the Ford T, this city became the world capital of the
automobile industry. General Motors is located in Detroit, and Ford is
located in a neighboring city. Both companies built large industrial
complexes in the metropolitan Detroit region, making Michigan a national
industry leader since the 1910s. This industry developed considerably
during the First World War, thanks to the demand for military vehicles.
The Great Depression caused a major economic recession in Michigan.
Thousands of auto industry workers were laid off, as well as workers in
other sectors of the state's economy. The Michigan state government took
several steps to try to minimize the negative effects of the Great
Depression. The state created more than one hundred Civilian
Conservation Corps, an administrative body that began employing
thousands of unemployed youth in maintenance and cleaning jobs. The
Works Progress Administration was another state body that employed more
than 500,000 unemployed people in the construction of large public works
such as roads, buildings and dams.
The economic downturn in
Michigan was compounded by the fact that the state's copper reserves are
located at great depths. With the discovery of other copper reserves in
other American states, which are located in shallower layers, copper
mining fell drastically in the state, resulting in increased
unemployment for hundreds of miners. During the Great Depression, the
United Automobile Workers union was founded to represent workers in the
automobile industry. This union pressured automobile companies in
Michigan to hire only workers who were union members, and to accept
negotiations between companies and workers. Ford and General Motors were
the union's main targets. General strikes forced both companies to
accept the union's demands. Currently, the United Automobile Workers is
one of the largest unions in the United States, representing every
worker employed in any large automobile company in the United States
since 1941.
The entry of the United States into World War II in
1941 ended Michigan's economic recession. The state was throughout the
war one of the largest producers of weapons and military vehicles in the
United States. With the end of the war, the automobile and copper mining
industries recovered. After the end of World War II, and until the
1980s, large numbers of African Americans settled in Michigan,
especially in Detroit. Racial conflicts developed during this period,
culminating in the Detroit rebellion in 1967, which lasted 8 days and
caused nearly $25 million in damage and 43 deaths.
The Oil Crisis
of 1973 caused an economic recession in the United States, severely
affecting Michigan's economy. Additionally, United States automobile
companies began to encounter increased competition from other
multinational companies, especially automobile companies from Japan. As
a result, automobile companies in the United States began cutting costs
to remain competitive in the domestic market. Unemployment rates rose
dramatically in the state.
Throughout the 1970s, Michigan had the
highest unemployment rate of any American state. Large budget cuts to
education and public health were also made, in an attempt to reduce the
state's growing budget deficit. The strengthening of the automobile
industry in the 1980s and an increase in the state income tax stabilized
Michigan's budget. However, increasing competition from Japanese and
South Korean car companies constantly threatens the state's economy,
which still relies heavily on the car industry. From the late 1980s
onward, the Michigan government has strived to attract new industries to
the region, thereby reducing the state's economic dependence on the
automobile industry, whose relative importance in the local economy has
since 1979 has been reduced from 20% to less than 10%, directly.
Michigan's gross domestic product was $365 billion. The per capita
income of the state, for its part, was $31,178, the twentieth in the
country. Michigan's unemployment rate is 7.1%, third among American
states, behind only Alaska and Oregon.
The primary sector
contributes 1% of Michigan's GDP. The state has 52 thousand farms, which
occupy about 35% of the state. Agriculture and livestock together
account for 0.92% of the state's GDP, and employ approximately 128
thousand people. Michigan is a national leader in the agricultural
industry. The main agricultural products produced in the state are
wheat, soybeans, apples, corn and cattle—meat and milk. Fishing and the
logging industry together account for 0.08% of the state's GDP and
employ approximately four thousand people.
The secondary sector
accounts for 30% of Michigan's GDP. The total value of products
manufactured in the state is $96 billion. The main industrialized
products manufactured in the state are cars, trucks, buses, machinery
and chemicals. Detroit is one of the largest automobile industry centers
in the world, a fact that gave it the nickname The Automobile Capital.
The state produces more cars, trucks and buses than any other American
state. In this state are the headquarters of the so-called "Big Three of
the American automotive industry", which are distributed in the cities
of Auburn Hills (FCA US, ex-Chrysler Corporation), Dearborn (Ford Motor
Company) and Detroit (General Motors). The manufacturing industry
accounts for 26% of the state's GDP, employing approximately one million
people. The construction industry accounts for 5% of the state's GDP and
employs approximately 300,000 people. Mining accounts for 1% of
Michigan's GDP, employing about 14 thousand people. The main natural
mining resources extracted in the state are iron, natural gas, oil and
copper.
The tertiary sector contributes 69% of Michigan's GDP.
About 20% of the state's GDP comes from community and personal services.
This sector employs more than a million people. Wholesale and retail
trade accounts for 17% of the state's GDP, and employs approximately 1.3
million people. Michigan's commerce is aided by tourism, which became a
major source of income in the state beginning in the 1960s. Financial
and real estate services account for more than 14% of the state's GDP,
employing approximately 375 a thousand people. Government services
account for 10% of Michigan's GDP, employing approximately 680,000
people. Transportation, telecommunications and public utilities employ
210 thousand people, and account for 7% of Michigan's GDP.
70% of
the electricity generated in the state is produced in coal-fired
thermoelectric plants, and most of the rest is produced in natural
gas-fired plants or hydroelectric plants.
The Mackinac Bridge is the only means of direct
access between the Upper Peninsula and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
This bridge is the third longest suspension bridge in the world, with
its eight kilometers in length. The Ambassador Bridge connects Detroit
with the Canadian city of Windsor and is one of the main cross-border
communication routes in North America.
Detroit is the state's
main rail, road, airport and port center. In 2002, Michigan had 5,985
kilometers of railroad tracks. In 2003, the state had 196,697 kilometers
of public roads, of which 2,000 kilometers were interstate highways,
part of the United States federal highway system.
The busiest
port in the state is Detroit. Another important port center is Sault
Ste. Marie. These ports are important for transporting minerals mined in
the interior and Upper Peninsula of Michigan, as well as cars, trucks
and vehicles produced in the Detroit metropolitan region, to other
regions. The Soo Locks connect Lake Superior to the rest of the Great
Lakes. Six railway companies provide freight transportation service, and
two offer passenger transportation service between the main cities of
the state. Michigan's busiest airport is Detroit International Airport.
The first newspaper published in Michigan was the Detroit
Gazette, first published in Detroit in 1817. About 660 newspapers are
currently published in the state, of which approximately 80 are daily
newspapers. About 250 newspapers are printed.
Michigan's first
radio station was founded in 1920, and the state's first television
station was founded in 1947, both in Detroit. Currently, Michigan has
about 280 radio stations and approximately 85 television stations.
The current Michigan Constitution was adopted in 1963. Older
constitutions were approved in 1835, 1850, and 1908. Amendments to the
Constitution are proposed by the Michigan Legislature, and to be
approved, they need to receive at least 51% of the vote. favorable votes
from the state Senate and House of Representatives, and then at least
two-thirds of the votes of Michigan's voting population, in a
referendum. The population of the State can also propose amendments to
the Constitution by collecting an adequate number of signatories. When
this petition of the signatories is accepted by the government, to be
approved it needs to receive the approval of at least a quarter of the
members of both chambers of the Legislative Branch of Michigan, and then
at least 51% of the votes of the electoral population . Amendments can
also be proposed and introduced by constitutional conventions, which
need to receive at least 51% of the votes of both chambers of the
Legislative Branch and two-thirds of the votes of the electoral
population, in a referendum.
The chief executive branch official
in Michigan is the governor. He is elected by the state's voters for
terms of up to four years. A person can serve as governor only twice.
Other executive officers who are chosen by the governor—Treasurer,
Secretary of State, Lieutenant Governor (lieutenant governor)—also serve
terms of at most four years. Like the governor, they can serve in office
only twice.
The Legislative Branch of Michigan is made up of the
Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has a total of 38
members, while the House of Representatives has a total of 110 members.
Michigan is divided into 38 senatorial districts and 110 representative
districts. The voters of each district elect a senator/representative,
who will represent each district in the Senate/House of Representatives.
The term of office of senators is four years and that of representatives
is two years.
The highest court of the Michigan Judicial Branch
is the Michigan Supreme Court. The eight justices of the Michigan
Supreme Court are elected by the people of the state for terms of up to
eight years in length. The second largest court in Michigan is the Court
of Appeals, made up of seven judges, four district courts and 57
regional courts.
Michigan is divided into 83 counties. These
counties, for their part, are divided into municipalities (townships).
More than half of Michigan's budget is generated by state taxes. The
rest comes from budgets received from the national government. In 2002,
the state government spent 49 billion dollars, having generated 44
billion dollars. Michigan's public debt is $22 billion. The debt per
capita is $2,185, the value of state taxes per capita is $2,177, and the
value of government expenditures per capita is $4,897.
The
Republican Party dominated Michigan until the Great Depression. In the
1912 election, Michigan was one of six states that supported progressive
Republican and third party candidate Theodore Roosevelt for president
after he lost the Republican nomination to William Howard Taft. In
recent years, the state has tilted toward the Democratic Party in
national elections. Michigan supported Democrats in the last four
presidential elections. In 2004, John Kerry won the state against George
W. Bush, winning Michigan's 17 electoral votes with 51.2% of the vote.
Democrats have won the last three, and nine of the last ten US Senate
elections in Michigan. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat,
recently won election to a second term, defeating Republican candidate
Dick DeVos. Republican strength is greatest in the western, northern and
rural parts of the state, especially in the Grand Rapids area. Democrats
are strongest in the east, especially in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint and
Saginaw.
Michigan was home to Gerald Ford, the 38th president of
the United States. He was born in Nebraska and moved as a child to
Michigan, where he grew up.
According to the 2000 census of the United States Census Bureau, the
population of Michigan in that year was 9,938,444, a growth of 6.5%
relative to the state's 1990 population of 9,328. ,784 inhabitants. The
2010 United States Census put the state's population at 9,983,640, 0.6%
less than the population in 2000. Michigan was the only American state
to decrease its population between census years. 2000 and 2010. The
population of the state according to the 2020 census was 10,077,331
inhabitants.
The natural growth of the population of Michigan
between 2000 and 2005 was 182,380 inhabitants (691,897 births and
456,137 deaths) the population growth caused by immigration was 122,901
inhabitants, while interstate migration resulted in a decrease of
165,084 inhabitants. Between 2000 and 2005, Michigan's population grew
by 182,380 inhabitants, and between 2004 and 2005, by 16,654
inhabitants.
About 82% of Michigan's population lives in 9
different metropolitan regions: Ann Arbor, Benton Harbor, Detroit,
Flint, Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Jackson, Kalamazoo-Battle Creek,
Lansing-East Lansing and Saginaw-Bay City- Midland.
Most of the
population lives in the state's Lower Peninsula. The average population
density of the state is 40.21 inhabitants/km² inhabitants per square
kilometer. However, in the Lower Peninsula, this average is 230. In the
Upper Peninsula the average density is only 8 inhabitants/km². In total,
the Upper Peninsula has about 300 thousand inhabitants.
The first schools in Michigan were founded by French Catholic
missionaries during the 17th century, with the intention of converting
the indigenous people of the region to Catholicism and assimilating the
Native Americans into Western culture. The first public schools created
primarily to offer a basic level of education were founded in 1798. In
1827, the state passed a law making the creation of a public school
system mandatory in every municipality in the state. Initially, these
school systems were funded exclusively by city councils. Beginning in
1837, the state began regularly contributing budgets to these public
school systems.
Currently, all educational institutions in
Michigan need to follow rules and standards dictated by the Michigan
State Board of Education. This board directly controls the state's
public school system, which is divided into different school districts.
In cities, the responsibility for managing schools lies with the
municipal school district, while in less densely populated regions, this
responsibility lies with school districts operating throughout the
county at large. These school districts manage the schools located
within the district, and receive budgets primarily through city or
county tax collection and state government budgets. Each city,
municipality or county administers its own school districts. Michigan
allows the operation of charter schools — independent public schools
that are not managed by school districts, but that depend on public
budgets for their operation. School attendance is mandatory for all
children and adolescents over six years of age, until the completion of
secondary education or up to sixteen years of age.
In 1999, the
state's public schools served about 1.73 million students, employing
approximately 96.6 thousand teachers. Private schools served about 179.6
thousand students, employing approximately 11.8 thousand teachers. The
state's public school system invested about $12.785 billion, and public
school spending was approximately $8.1 billion per student. About 87.6%
of the state's inhabitants over 25 years of age have a high school
diploma.
Michigan's first public library was founded in 1828, in
Detroit. Currently, the state has 381 public library systems, which
annually move an average of 5.2 books per inhabitant. Michigan's first
institution of higher education—the Catholepistemiad, which later became
the present-day University System of Michigan—was founded in 1817 in
Detroit. Currently, Michigan has 109 higher education institutions, of
which 44 are public and 65 are private. The state's three major public
higher education centers are the University of Michigan, Michigan State
University, and Wayne State University.
In the state of Michigan there is the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Public Library. Culturally relevant figures such as Francis Ford Coppola, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Iggy Pop, Michael Moore, Madonna, Eminem, Tyler Oakley, etc. have emerged from the state of Michigan.
Michigan is represented in the four major professional leagues by a
Detroit team: the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball, the Detroit
Lions of the National Football League, the Detroit Red Wings of the
National Hockey League, and the Detroit Pistons of the National
Basketball Association.
The state's two major college sports
teams are the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans,
winners of national titles in football and basketball, and bitter rivals
in the Big Ten Conference.
The Detroit street circuit has hosted
Formula 1, CART, IndyCar Series, American Le Mans Series, Rolex Sports
Car Series and United SportsCar Championship events. For its part, the
Michigan International Speedway is a superspeedway where the CART and
the NASCAR Cup have raced.
Oakland Hills has hosted numerous
editions of the US Open and the PGA Championship.
Flower: Apple Blossom (Pyrus coronaria), since 1897.
Bird:
Migratory thrush (Turdus migratorius), since 1931.
Rock: Hexagonaria
pericarnata (petrified coral found north of the Lower Peninsula), since
1965.
Fish: Since 1965 it has been trout, and the Michigan
legislature specified in 1988 that it was specifically Salvelinus
fontinalis.
Reptile: Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) (since 1995).
Fossil: American mastodon (Mammut americanum), since 2002.
Tree:
Pinus strobus, since 1955.
Gem: Chlorastrolite (since 1972).
Wild
flower: Lake iris (Iris lacustris), since 1998.
Mammal: White-tailed
deer (Odocoileus virginianus), since 1997, and, traditionally, the
wolverine (Gulo gulo)