The Great Lake State

Michigan (pronounced [ˈmɪʃɪɡən]) is a Midwestern state of the United States, located in the east north central portion of the country. It was named after Lake Michigan, the word 'Michigan' itself being a French derivative of the Ojibwe misshikama (read "mish-ih-GAH-muh"), meaning "big lake" (compare kitchikama, meaning "Great Lake" - pronounced "gitch-ih-GAH-ma," or "Gitchee-Gumee" as rendered by Longfellow).

Bounded by four of the five Great Lakes, plus Lake Saint Clair, Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the United States, the longest total shoreline after Alaska (including island shorelines), and more recreational boats and lighthouses than any other state in the union. The state has 11,037 inland lakes and 38,575 square miles (62,067 km) of Great Lakes waters and rivers and 1,305 square miles of inland water on top of that. No point in Michigan is more than 6 miles (10 km) from an inland lake or more than 85 miles (137 km) from one of the Great Lakes.  (Or, I have been told, more than two miles from a waterway of some sort.)

Michigan is the only bi-peninsular state. The Lower Peninsula of Michigan, to which the name Michigan was originally applied, is sometimes dubbed "the mitten," owing to its shape. When asked where in Michigan one comes from, a resident of the Lower Peninsula may often point to the corresponding part of his or her hand. The Upper Peninsula (U.P.) is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The Upper Peninsula (whose residents are often called "Yoopers" from “U-P”) is economically important for tourism and its natural resources.

The Upper and Lower Peninsulas are connected by the five-mile-long Mackinac Bridge, which is the third longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the world. The Great Lakes that border Michigan are Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Michigan also abuts Lake Saint Clair, which is between Lake Erie and Lake Huron.  Tahquamenon Falls in the eastern UP are the second largest American waterfalls east of the Mississippi river.

Detroit is the only major city in the United States from which one must travel southward to cross the border into Canada. Metropolitan Detroit/Ann Arbor/Flint/Windsor is also the world's largest international metropolitan area.(from Wikipedia)

Michigan is my home state.  The photos on the following pages are from some of my travels within my own state.  (Look here for the links.) You can also visit my old site for a few photos, mostly from the UP.

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