Michigan

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 freshwater shoreline in the continental United States, the longest total shoreline after Alaska (including island shorelines http://www.michigan.gov/som/0,1607,7-192-29938_30243-103397--,00.html), and more recreational boats than any other state in the union.

Geography

Michigan encompasses 96,810 square miles (250,630 square kilometers), making it the largest state east of the Mississippi River if territorial water is included. Georgia and Florida each have a slightly larger land area, however.

Related Topics:
Georgia - Florida

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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 1,979 feet (603 m). The highest point in the Lower Peninsula is not definitely established but is either Briar Hill at 1,705 feet (520 meters), or one of several points closely nearby.

Related Topics:
Indiana - Ohio - Wisconsin - Minnesota - Illinois - Canadian - Ontario - First Nation - Walpole Island - Mount Arvon

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Michigan consists of two peninsulas:

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• the Lower Peninsula and
• the Upper Peninsula

The Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten and is 277 miles (446 km) long from north to south and 195 miles (314 km)from east to west. The heavily forested Upper Peninsula (often called simply "The U.P.") is as large as Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island combined, but has less than 330,000 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.

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See also

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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 (3,607 km). An additional 879 miles (1415 km) can be added 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 (10 km) from an inland lake or more than 85 miles (137 km) from one of the Great Lakes, and the state has more than 11,000 inland lakes and more than 36,000 miles (58,000 km) of rivers and streams.

Related Topics:
Mackinac Bridge - Great Lakes - Alaska - Lake Erie - Lake Huron - Lake Michigan - Lake Superior

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

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National parks

• Isle Royale National Park
• Keweenaw National Historical Park
• Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
• Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
• Father Marquette National Memorial

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

Related Topics:
Protected areas of Michigan - List of Michigan state parks

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