Michigan State Information
The State of Michigan is the 28th state of the United States of America. It was formally accepted into the Union on January 26, 1837 after its land dispute with the State of Ohio was officially settled.
The State of Michigan has a variety of nicknames. Traditionally, the state was called the “Wolverine State,” a nickname it earned during the Toledo War. The state is also called the “Great Lakes State” because it is surrounded by the Great Lakes. Other nicknames include the “Mitten State,” because of the shape of the Lower Peninsula, and “Winter Water Wonderland”.
State Symbols
• Nicknames: Wolverine State, Great Lakes State, Mitten State, and Winter Water Wonderland
• Bird: Robin
• Flower: Apple Blossom
• Tree: White Pine
• Motto: Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice, [If You Seek a Pleasant Peninsula, Look About You]
• Abbreviation: MI
Origin of State’s Name
The word Michigan was derived from the Chippewa Indian word “meicigama”, which means “great waters”. The name was assumed to refer to the Great Lakes which surround the State of Michigan. Other people, however, would claim that “meicigama” is actually referring to the Michigan Lake, and that the name of the state was taken only from the name of the lake.
Capital and Other Important Cities
Michigan’s state capital is the City of Lansing, the seat of the Michigan government since 1847. Before the said year, the capital was located in Detroit, which is also the state’s largest city and considered as the birthplace and center of the automotive industry.
Other important cities in the State of Michigan include:
• Grand Rapids, called the “Furniture City”
• Warren
• Flint
• Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan
• Battle Creek, the Cereal City of the U.S.A.
• Marquette, the largest city in the Upper Peninsula
• Traverse City, the Cherry Capital of the World
• East Lansing, home of the Michigan State University
Geography
Called the Great Lakes State, the entirety of the State of Michigan is situated on the Great Lakes. Michigan is also the only state in the U.S. that is composed of two peninsulas: the Upper Peninsula and the Lower Peninsula. And the only landmark that connects the two peninsulas together is the Mackinac Bridge, the third longest suspension bridge in the world.
Michigan’s Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten, the reason why the state was also nicknamed as the Mitten State. Lake Erie and Lake Huron separates the peninsula from Ontario, Canada on the east, and Michigan Lake separates it from Wisconsin on the west. On the south, the peninsula is bordered by Ohio and Indiana, and up south is the Upper Peninsula, separated to it by the Mackinac straight.
The Upper Peninsula is situated in between the Lakes Michigan and Superior and connected to the rest of U.S. by its border with Wisconsin on the southwest. Northeast of the peninsula is the Canadian province of Ontario, separated to it only by the narrow St. Mary’s River.
Population
As of 2003, the total population count for the State of Michigan is estimated at 10,079,985. Majority of the population are Whites (80.2%), with a few Blacks (14.2%) and a minority of Asians, American Indians and other races. This population is also largely Protestant (54%), although a fairly large community of Catholics (29%) also exists.
Economy
The economy of the State of Michigan depends primarily on manufacturing, and the largest manufacturing industry in the land is the automotive industry. Known as the birthplace and center of the automotive industry in the U.S., it is home to the main offices and factories of many big automobile manufacturing companies like Ford and General Motors. Other industries in the state are dedicated in the manufacture of non-electrical machineries, fabricated metal products, primary metals, chemical products, and food products. The state is also known for its furniture and its paper-manufacturing industry.
Because a great part of the State of Michigan is surrounded by the Great Lakes and is also home to a great number of scenic small lakes, tourism is also considered as one of the fast rising industries and source of income for the state. Also nicknamed as the Winter Water Wonderland, the state is a tourist destination for beach buddies on summers and active skiers during the winter.
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