Michigan Summary

With no point farther than 6 miles from water, vast tracts of forest, and a state park system with more than 14,000 campsites, the “Great Lakes State” of Michigan is known as much for its outdoor attractions as it is for its pioneering role in the motor vehicle industry. Its two water-separated peninsulas border four of the five Great Lakes with 3,300 miles of shoreline, much of it made up of sandy beaches, which are popular in the summer. The landscape is dotted with more than 11,000 smaller lakes and is crossed by 36,000 miles of rivers and trout streams.

Michigan covers 96,705 square miles, nearly half of which is water. The Lower Peninsula takes the form of a mitten-covered hand, a distinctive shape distinguishable from space. Agriculture, industry, and population are concentrated in the south; in the north are hardwood forests known for their blazing October colors, and the state’s largest inland lake, 31-square-mile Houghton Lake. Moose, wolves, and black bears roam the pine-covered slopes of the smaller and more rugged Upper Peninsula. The two are linked by a 5-mile bridge across the Straits of Makinac.

Michigan’s population of nearly 10 million people makes it the nation’s eighth most populous state. Detroit is its largest city, and Lansing is the capital. In 1837 Michigan became the 26th state to enter the Union. The name has Native American origins, as Michigana is widely recognized as the Algonquian term for “big water” or “great lake.”

As the motor vehicle capital of the world, it should come as no surprise that the car rules in Michigan. Public transportation options are minimal and, with the exception of waterfronts and parks, walking or bicycling paths are nonexistent. The economy is based on agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining, manufacturing, electronics, and trade. Michigan is also home to an emerging wine industry.