Michigan
U.S. state / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Michigan (/ˈmɪʃɪɡən/ (
listen)) is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. It has land borders with Wisconsin to the southwest, and Indiana and Ohio to the south, and Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie also connect it to the states of Minnesota and Illinois, and the Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly 97,000 sq mi (250,000 km2), Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the largest by area east of the Mississippi River.[lower-alpha 2] Its capital is Lansing, and its largest city is Detroit. Metro Detroit is among the nation's most populous and largest metropolitan economies. Its name derives from a gallicized variant of the original Ojibwe word ᒥᓯᑲᒥ (mishigami),[lower-alpha 3] meaning "large water" or "large lake".[2][7]
Michigan | |
|---|---|
| State of Michigan | |
| Nickname(s): "The Great Lake State",[1] "The Wolverine State", "The Mitten State", "Water (Winter) Wonderland" | |
| Motto(s): Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice (English: "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you") | |
| Anthem: "My Michigan" | |
 Map of the United States with Michigan highlighted | |
| Country | United States |
| Before statehood | Michigan Territory |
| Admitted to the Union | January 26, 1837 (26th) |
| Capital | Lansing |
| Largest city | Detroit |
| Largest metro and urban areas | Detroit |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Gretchen Whitmer (D) |
| • Lieutenant Governor | Garlin Gilchrist (D) |
| Legislature | Michigan Legislature |
| • Upper house | Senate |
| • Lower house | House of Representatives |
| Judiciary | Michigan Supreme Court |
| U.S. senators | Debbie Stabenow (D) Gary Peters (D) |
| U.S. House delegation | 7 Democrats 6 Republicans (list) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 99,716 sq mi (250,493 km2) |
| • Land | 58,110 sq mi (150,504 km2) |
| • Rank | 11th |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 456[2] mi (734 km) |
| • Width | 386[2] mi (621 km) |
| Elevation | 900 ft (270 m) |
| Highest elevation | 1,979 ft (603 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 571 ft (174 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 10,077,331[4] |
| • Rank | 10th |
| • Density | 174/sq mi (67.1/km2) |
| • Rank | 17th |
| • Median household income | $54,900[5] |
| • Income rank | 32nd |
| Demonym(s) | Michigander, Michiganian, Yooper (Upper Peninsula)[6] |
| Language | |
| • Official language | None (English, de facto) |
| • Spoken language | English 91.11% Spanish 2.93% Arabic 1.05% Other 4.92% |
| Time zones | |
| Most of state | UTC−05:00 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| 4 U.P. counties (Gogebic, Iron, Dickinson, and Menominee) | UTC−06:00 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−05:00 (CDT) |
| USPS abbreviation | MI |
| ISO 3166 code | US-MI |
| Traditional abbreviation | Mich. |
| Latitude | 41°41′ N to 48°18′ N |
| Longitude | 82°7′ W to 90°25′ W |
| Website | michigan |
| List of state symbols | |
|---|---|
| Living insignia | |
| Bird | American robin (Turdus migratorius) |
| Fish | Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) |
| Flower | Apple blossom (Malus domestica) Wildflower: Dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris) |
| Mammal | Unofficial: Wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) Game animal: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) |
| Reptile | Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) |
| Tree | Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) |
| Inanimate insignia | |
| Fossil | Mastodon (Mammut americanum) |
| Gemstone | Isle Royale greenstone |
| Rock | Petoskey stone |
| Soil | Kalkaska sand |
| State route marker | |
 | |
| State quarter | |
 Released in 2004 | |
| Lists of United States state symbols | |
Michigan consists of two peninsulas. The Lower Peninsula resembles the shape of a mitten, and comprises a majority of the state's land area. The Upper Peninsula (often called "the U.P.") is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile (8 km) channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The Mackinac Bridge connects the peninsulas. Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline of any political subdivision in the United States, being bordered by four of the five Great Lakes and Lake St. Clair.[8] It also has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds.[9] Michigan has the second-most water area of any state, behind only Alaska.[10]
The area was first occupied by a succession of Native American tribes over thousands of years. In the 17th century, French explorers claimed it as part of the New France colony, when it was largely inhabited by indigenous peoples. French and Canadian traders and settlers, Métis, and others migrated to the area, settling largely along the waterways. After France's defeat in the French and Indian War in 1762, the region came under British rule. Britain ceded the territory to the newly independent United States after its defeat in the American Revolutionary War.
The area was part of the larger Northwest Territory until 1800, when western Michigan became part of the Indiana Territory. Michigan Territory was formed in 1805, but some of the northern border with Canada was not agreed upon until after the War of 1812. Michigan was admitted into the Union in 1837 as the 26th state, a free one. It soon became an important center of industry and trade in the Great Lakes region, attracting immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from many European countries. Immigrants from Finland, Macedonia, and the Netherlands were especially numerous.[11] Migration from Appalachia[12] and of Black Southerners as part of the Great Migration[13] increased in the 1930s, with many settling in Metro Detroit.
Although Michigan has developed a diverse economy, in the early 20th century it became widely known as the center of the U.S. automotive industry, which developed as a major national economic force. It is home to the country's three major automobile companies (whose headquarters are all in Metro Detroit). Once exploited for logging and mining, today the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula is important for tourism because of its abundance of natural resources.[14][15] The Lower Peninsula is a center of manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, services, and high-tech industry.