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With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of 96,716 sq mi (250,490 km 2), Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the largest by area east of the Mississippi River. [b] Its capital is Lansing, and its largest city is Detroit.
- Overview
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
Michigan, constituent state of the United States of America. Although by the size of its land Michigan ranks only 22nd of the 50 states, the inclusion of the Great Lakes waters over which it has jurisdiction increases its area considerably, placing it 11th in terms of total area. The capital is Lansing, in south-central Michigan. The state’s name is derived from michi-gama, an Ojibwa (Chippewa) word meaning “large lake.”
Michigan is the only one of the states to be split into two large land segments: the sparsely populated but mineral-rich Upper Peninsula (commonly called “the U.P.”) slices eastward from northern Wisconsin between Lakes Superior and Michigan, and the mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula reaches northward from Indiana and Ohio. Indeed, for most Michigan residents, an upturned right hand serves as a ready-made map for roughly locating towns, routes, regions, parks, or any other feature of the Lower Peninsula. The two landmasses have been connected since 1957 by “Big Mac,” the 5-mile (8-km) Mackinac Bridge across the Straits of Mackinac, which separate Lake Michigan on the west from Lake Huron on the east. Between Lake Huron and Lake Erie, in the southeast, the Lower Peninsula is separated from the Canadian province of Ontario by Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers. The St. Marys River, which flows from Lake Superior to Lake Huron, forms the international boundary between the Upper Peninsula and Ontario.
Since its admission on January 26, 1837, as the 26th state of the Union and the fourth to be carved from the Northwest Territory, Michigan has become a mainspring in the economic life of the United States; the name of its largest city, Detroit, has become a byword throughout the world for the American automotive industry. The state also has retained its prominence in agriculture and, to a lesser extent, forestry. In addition, because of its many inland lakes, its borders on four of the five Great Lakes, and its many wilderness tracts, Michigan has evolved into one of the country’s leading tourist destinations.
Michigan’s population is primarily urban, concentrated in the industrialized centres of the southern Lower Peninsula. Many have been attracted by the union-dominated labour pool, and the state’s urban populations reflect a broad spectrum of ethnic, economic, educational, and professional backgrounds. Such socioeconomic diversity has given rise to an environment in which affluence and poverty often exist side by side; nowhere is this better exemplified than in the Detroit metropolitan region. The state government coordinates a vast network of programs that aim to reduce such contrasts. Michigan’s system of public higher education has consistently remained among the strongest, most diverse, and most widely respected in the country. Area 96,713 square miles (250,487 square km). Population (2020) 10,077,331; (2023 est.) 10,037,261.
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The mildly rolling terrain and generally low elevations that characterize much of Michigan’s countryside appealed to the early agricultural settlers. The highest point in the Lower Peninsula, near Cadillac, rises only to about 1,700 feet (520 metres). Flat, nearly featureless plains also occur in many parts of the state; these are vestiges of the floors of large glacial lakes that existed some 10,000 to 14,000 years ago. In the mid-19th century, most of these flatlands were malarial swamps that deterred settlers and were the source of much angst for early farmers. Draining of the swamps, a tiring process, has yielded highly productive farmland since that time. Large sand dunes rim the shores of Lake Michigan. Much of the northern Lower Peninsula and the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula are wooded.
The western segment of the Upper Peninsula belongs to the Superior Upland (a region lying to the south of Lake Superior and stretching westward from the Upper Peninsula across northern Wisconsin and Minnesota). There, rock-cored hills, some so large as to be named the Huron and Porcupine mountains, provide more relief; the peaks of the Hurons rise above 1,900 feet (580 metres).
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In addition to being virtually surrounded by water, Michigan has an abundance of inland lakes, swamps, wetlands, and waterways. The state’s roughly 11,000 inland lakes, most of which are glacial in origin, range in size from less than an acre to the nearly 20,000 acres (8,100 hectares) of Houghton Lake in the north-central Lower Peninsula. Michigan’s rivers, which generally are shallow and narrow, drain the state’s high interior. Most of the larger rivers are found in the southern part of the Lower Peninsula, and they flow relatively evenly throughout the year. In the Upper Peninsula, where elevations are higher and snowfall is more plentiful, many rivers have a pronounced peak discharge in spring when the snow melts. Although several of the rivers, especially in the Upper Peninsula, have waterfalls, the navigability of the state’s waterways and the ease of portaging encouraged early settlement. Compared with those in nearby states, most of Michigan’s rivers are short; distances from the headwaters to the mouths of the major rivers (which usually empty into one of the Great Lakes) are usually less than 150 miles (240 km).
About 500 islands dot the lakes and rivers of Michigan; nearly 350 of them are named. Belle Isle, a public recreation centre, and Grosse Ile, largely residential, are well-known features of the Detroit River. Mackinac Island, near the Straits of Mackinac, is a resort on which motor vehicles are prohibited. Isle Royale, a virgin wilderness of almost 900 square miles (2,300 square km), is a national park in western Lake Superior, near Canada.
Michigan’s soils vary regionally, depending on a number of factors, including climate, landform, and vegetation, as well as wetness, which is mainly a function of texture (various combinations of sand, silt, and clay) and depth of the water table. Fertile clays and loams in the southern Lower Peninsula foster extensive agriculture, while less-produ...
Mar 29, 2024 · Learn about Michigan's geography, history, and culture with maps and facts. Explore its two peninsulas, Great Lakes, counties, and major cities.
- Lansing
- State of Michigan
- US-MI
See small towns styled like Dutch villages, idyllic islands that keep to a horse-and-carriage pace and romantic lighthouses like Big Red (Michigan’s most photographed) rising up out of vast, cobalt-blue lakes.
- Detroit. Best place for art and nightlife. It’s hard not to fall for the infectious, can-do spirit of Detroit. The edgy public art scene meets you at every turn, from the multi-block, polka-dotted Heidelberg Project to the 100-plus murals remaking the warehouses of Eastern Market.
- Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Best place for days at the beach. One of Michigan’s unheralded national parks, Sleeping Bear Dunes spreads across 35 miles of prime Lake Michigan shoreline.
- Traverse City. Best place for couples. It may only have about 15,000 residents, but Traverse City is northern Michigan’s “big” city, with the superb restaurants and cool-cat shops to prove it.
- Mackinac Island. Best place for families. A zippy 20-minute ferry ride from the mainland, Mackinac Island is a petite charmer speckled with fudge shops, Victorian cottages and 18th-century hilltop forts.
With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of 96,716 sq mi (250,490 km 2), Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the largest by area east of the Mississippi River. Its capital is Lansing, and its largest city is Detroit.
“If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.” Michigan’s official state motto holds many truths – our state is a land of great splendors. Full of natural beauty, historical importance, and a talented, resourceful population, Michigan has it all. Our state services support residents, businesses, and visitors to the Great Lakes state.
