Michigan is located in the Midwest region of the United States. Its two parts, Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula, are separated by the narrow Straits of Mackinac, which links Lake Michigan with Lake Huron, and crossed by the Mackinac Bridge. The Upper Peninsula is known as the U.P. (its residents call themselves Yoopers). The eastern portion has swampy lowlands with ridges rising sharply from the Lake Superior shoreline. Farther west are forested mountains. The Lower Peninsula, often described as being shaped like a mitten, occupies nearly two-thirds of the Michigan’s land area. Its level plains are broken by conical hills and glacial moraines, which form low ridges.

Name

The name Michigan is from the French version—Michigane—of the Native American Ojibwe word mishigamaa or mishigami, meaning "large water" or "large lake”, a reference to Lake Michigan. The Ojibwe (or Chippewa) were one of the resident Native American peoples when French explorer Étienne Brûlé and his party landed at Sault Ste. Marie in 1618. The French founded a number of trading posts and settlements (including Detroit) in the area around the Great Lakes known to them as Pays d’en Haut, meaning “Upper Country”. France lost the territory to the British in 1763.

Michigan has a continental climate. The southern and central parts of the Lower Peninsula are warmer than areas farther north, with hot summers and cold winters. The waters of the lakes moderate the climate, and provide a long growing season for the surrounding farmland. The northern Lower Peninsula and the whole of the Upper Peninsula have a more severe climate with warm, but shorter summers, and longer, sometimes very cold, winters.

Economy

Michigan is a leading grower of fruit, including cherries, blueberries, cherries, apples, grapes and peaches. These are mainly grown close to the shore of west Lower Peninsula, benefitting from the warming effect of Lake Michigan on the local climate. Chief agricultural products include milk, other livestock products, poultry, maize, soya beans, flowers, wheat, sugar beet, vegetables and potatoes.
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The manufacture of cars and transportation equipment in the Detroit metropolitan area is by far the state's chief industry, although it is now in decline. Other Michigan manufactures include machinery, fabricated metal products, chemicals, prepared cereals (the cereal giant Kellogg’s is based in Battle Creek), other food processing, machine tools, aircraft parts, refrigerators, hardware and furniture.

Michigan’s forests contribute significantly to the state's economy—including the production of Christmas trees. The state’s natural beauty and excellent fishing help make tourism a major industry.

Detroit

The French were the first settlers of Detroit, which was founded by explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. It was originally named Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit, the French word détroit meaning “strait“, the 27-mile-long (43-kilometre) Detroit River, which connects Lake Erie to Lake St Clair. Originally a fur-trading town, as a port on the Great Lakes Detroit became established as a commercial centre in the 19th century. It grew to be one of the largest manufacturing cities in the United States, first with shipbuilding and then, after Henry Ford established his Ford Motor Company in the city in 1903, as the centre of the automobile industry.
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In recent decades, the car industry has experienced a long decline, while the population has shrunk more than 60% since 1950, accelerating in the early 2000s. Saddled with a $20 billion debt, Detroit filed for bankruptcy in 2013 (from which it successfully exited in 2014). Metro Detroit remains the second largest metropolitan area in the Midwest with a population of 4.3 million, while the "Big Three" car manufacturers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, are still headquartered there. Downtown Detroit has recently been revitalized with the restoration of many historic buildings, theatres and its riverfront area. In 2015, it was named a "City of Design" by UNESCO, the first US city to receive this honour.

Facts about Michigan

Area 56,804 sq miles (147,122 sq km)

Highest point Mount Arvon 1979 ft (603 m)

Population 10,037,261

Capital Lansing

Largest cities Detroit, 633,218; Grand Rapids, 196,608; Warren, 136,655; Sterling Heights, 133,306; Ann Arbor, 119,381; Lansing, 112,115; Dearborn, 105,811; Macomb 92,747; Livonia, 92,185

Nickname Wolverine State

State bird Robin

State flower Apple blossom

State tree White pine