Interesting facts about Michigan

michigan flag

Michigan is a state in the Great Lakes and Midwestern regions of the United States.

It is bordered by the Canadian province of Ontario; by the U.S. states of Ohio and Indiana, and Wisconsin, and it shares a water boundary with Illinois and Minnesota.

As of June 2018, the population of Maryland was estimated to be about 10 million. It is the 10th most populous state in the United States.

Maryland is the 11th largest state inthe United States in terms of total area with 250,493 square kilometers (96,716 square miles).

Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. It was named the new state capital of Michigan in 1847, ten years after Michigan became a state.

lansing

Detroit is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan, the largest city on the United States – border, and the seat of Wayne County. The metropolitan area, known as Metro Detroit, is home to 4.3 million people, making it the second-largest in the Midwest after Chicago.

Divided into two separate land areas, and bordered by four of the five Great Lakes, Michigan has the longest shoreline in the continental U.S. – nearly 5,300 kilometers (3,300 miles).

Michigan encompasses 150,504 square kilometers (58,110 square miles) of land, 99,909 square kilometers (38,575 square miles) of Great Lakes waters and square kilometers (1,305 square miles) of inland waters. Only Alaska has more territorial water.

michigan map

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is hilly and rugged in the west, especially in the heavily-forested Porcupine Mountains. Michigan’s Lower Peninsula is rather flat, especially along the eastern and southeastern shorelines.

Mount Arvon, elevation 603 meters (1,979 feet), located in L’Anse Township, Baraga County, is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of Michigan. Like nearby Arvon Township, Mount Arvon takes its name from the deposits of slate in the area which were reminiscent of those around Caernarfon in Wales.

mount arvon

Michigan has 5 national park and 74 state parks.

Isle Royale lies in northwestern Lake Superior near the Canadian frontier. Shaped by Ice Age glaciers, this 432 square mile island has many lakes and streams, dense forests, and a variety of wildlife that includes wolves, foxes, moose, otters, ospreys, herring gulls, falcons, and more. This relatively unspoiled tract of country attracts those looking for a remote wilderness experience.

isle royale

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore on the shore of Lake Superior. It extends for 67 kilometers (42 miles) along the shore and covers 29,637 hectares (73,236 acres). The park has extensive views of the hilly shoreline between Munising and Grand Marais in Alger County, Michigan, with picturesque rock formations, waterfalls, and sand dunes.

pictured rocks national lakeshore

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers 61,100 square meters (658,000 square feet) with a major renovation and expansion project completed in 2007 that added 5,400 square meters (58,000 square feet).

detroit institute of arts

The Henry Ford is a large indoor and outdoor history museum complex and a National Historic Landmark in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn. The museum collection contains the presidential limousine of John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln’s chair from Ford’s Theatre, Thomas Edison’s laboratory, the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop, the Rosa Parks bus, and many more historical exhibits. It is the largest indoor-outdoor museum complex in the United States and is visited by over 1.7 million people each year.

the henry ford

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a 64-hectare (158-acre) botanical garden and outdoor sculpture park located in Grand Rapids Township, Michigan in Kent County. Commonly referred to as Meijer Gardens, it has quickly become one of the most significant sculpture experiences in the Midwest and an emerging worldwide cultural destination.

frederik meijer gardens & sculpture park

The Grand Hotel is a historic hotel and coastal resort on Mackinac Island, Michigan, a small island located at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac within Lake Huron between the state’s Upper and Lower peninsulas. Constructed in the late 19th century, the facility advertises itself as having the world’s largest porch. The Grand Hotel is well known for a number of notable visitors, including five U.S. presidents, Russian presidents Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev, inventor Thomas Edison, and author Mark Twain.

grand hotel

The history of human activity in Michigan, a U.S. state in the Midwest, began with settlement of the western Great Lakes region by Native Americans perhaps as early as 11,000 B.C.

The first European to explore Michigan, Étienne Brûlé, came in about 1620.

Michigan Territory was formed in 1805 and was admitted into the Union in 1837 as the 26th state.

Although Michigan developed a diverse economy, it is widely known as the center of the U.S. automotive industry, being home to the country’s three major automobile companies (General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler (FCA US)).

The state’s name, Michigan, originates from the (Ojibwe word) mishigamaa, meaning “large water” or “large lake”.

michigan map

Although Michigan is often called the “Wolverine State” there are no longer any wolverines in Michigan.

Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit during the mid-to-late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno in reference to a specific genre of music was in 1988. Many styles of techno now exist, but Detroit techno is seen as the foundation upon which a number of sub-genres have been built.

Michigan has about 150 lighthouses, more than any other state.

Michigan has America’s only floating post office. J.W. Westcott II is a boat known for its delivery of mail to ships while they are underway. It operates out of Detroit, Michigan, and is the only floating zip code in the United States.

Vernors ginger ale was created in Detroit and became the first soda pop made in the United States. In 1862, pharmacist James Vernor was trying to create a new beverage when he was called away to serve our country in the Civil War. When he returned, 4 years later, the drink he had stored in an oak case had acquired a delicious gingery flavor.

Rogers City boasts the world’s largest limestone quarry.

Colon is home to the world’s largest manufacture of magic supplies.