{mish'-uh-guhn} The state of Michigan consists of two peninsulas formed by the Great Lakes--the large mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula and the smaller Upper Peninsula--plus numerous islands located within the Great Lakes. The state has land borders with Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin; water forms part of the state boundary with Wisconsin and all of it with Illinois and Minnesota. Canada and Michigan are joined for 1,160 km (720 mi) along the international boundary. Michigan ranks 23d among the U.S. states in land area, with 151,585 sq km (58,527 sq mi). In addition, however, Michigan is responsible for managing a significant portion of the Great Lakes water area (99,905 sq km /38,575 sq mi). Michigan's shoreline of 3,592 km (2,232 mi) is the longest of any inland state. The name Michigan is derived from two Algonquian words, michi ("large") and gami ("lake"). The state's early economy was dominated by the fur trade centered at the Straits of Mackinac and Detroit. Agriculture, timber, and mining developed during the 19th century, whereas motor vehicle manufacturing has been the most important industry during the 20th century. LAND AND RESOURCES The Michigan Basin bedrock underlying Michigan dates from the Precambrian and Paleozoic eras (3.9 billion to 225 million years ago). The present shape of both the Great Lakes and Michigan's peninsulas was formed about 2,500 years ago as a result of glacial ice and meltwater action and elevation changes of the lakes' outlets. The Upper Peninsula, also called the Northern Peninsula, extends for about 500 km (310 mi) in an east-west direction; its northern shore lies along Lake Superior, and the southern shore is along Lake Michigan. The Upper Peninsula upland covers its western half. The Porcupine Mountains reach 597 m (1,958 ft), and Mount Curwood in the Huron Mountains, at 604 m (1,980 ft), is the highest point in the state. The Upper Peninsula lowland, in the east, has an average elevation of about 213 m (700 ft). The Lower Peninsula topography consists of lowland areas punctuated with glacial uplands. Lowlands formed from former glacial lake beds are located in the southeast, around Saginaw and Muskegon. Glacial moraines form the thumb upland and the northern upland, which rises to 518 m (1,700 ft) near Cadillac. When the Pleistocene glaciers melted 10,000 to 16,000 years ago, glacial till was deposited throughout the peninsula, forming hilly moraines and plains. Soils Three soil types are found in Michigan: podzols, gray brown podzolics, and mixed organic bog soils. The podzols, the least fertile of the three, are mostly found in the Upper Peninsula and the northern two-thirds of the Lower Peninsula. The productive gray brown podzolics are found in the southern Lower Peninsula. The widely distributed mixed organic bog soils were created when inland lakes filled in with rich nutrients. The bog soils are especially well adapted for vegetable and sod production. Remains of ice-age mastodons and other extinct animals are sometimes found in the former bogs. Rivers and Lakes Michigan has more than 11,000 natural inland lakes, which are an important resource for recreation. Houghton Lake is the largest, with an area of 80 sq km (31 sq mi). The total length of Michigan's rivers is 58,160 km (36,140 mi). Most of the rivers are relatively short, but are useful for hydroelectrical power generation; they are also used for transportation and recreation. Numerous attractive waterfalls are found in the Upper Peninsula. The Grand is the longest river and flows 420 km (260 mi) in the southwestern part of the state. The Saginaw River system drains an area of nearly 15,540 sq km (6,000 sq mi). Climate Michigan is situated within the humid continental climate region. The presence of the Great Lakes, however, makes Michigan unique within that climatic zone, because the lakes influence the temperature, the number of frost-free days, and the ratio of sunshine to cloudy days. Average annual temperatures vary between 10 deg C (50 deg F) at Detroit in the southeast and 4 deg C (39 deg F) at Marquette in the north central Upper Peninsula. The greatest range in annual temperatures occurs in the northern Lower Peninsula, with a record high of 44.4 deg C (112 deg F) and a record low of -46.1 deg C (-51 deg F). Frost-free periods range from 170 to 180 days in the south and from 60 to 70 days in the interior of the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. An average of 787 mm (31 in) of precipitation falls annually in the state. Snow, sleet, hail, and ice storms are common, and tornadoes and blizzards sometimes occur. Snowfall averages range from 762 mm (30 in) in the southeast to 4572 mm (180 in) in the Keweenaw Peninsula in the northern Upper Peninsula. Heavy cloud cover in the fall and early winter is common because the Great Lakes rarely freeze totally. Vegetation and Animal Life Pioneer settlers removed most of the native vegetation consisting of northern hardwood and coniferous forests and grasses of the treeless prairies. Throughout southern Michigan, hardwood species are regenerating in the original forest associations of oak, hickory, and walnut on well-drained land and of maple, beech, and birch or elm, ash, and cottonwood on moist land. Mixed forests of both deciduous and coniferous trees were common in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula. Most prized by early lumbermen were stands of white pine. Other commercial trees include ash, aspen, cherry, hemlock, spruce, cedar, and replanted red pine. Several species of animals are native to the region including whitetail deer, black bear, moose, raccoon, red fox, bobcat, woodchuck, squirrel, beaver, muskrat, rabbit, skunk, porcupine, and the reintroduced elk. Eagle, osprey, and the endangered Kirtland's warbler are less often seen; the wolverine, fisher, marten, and wild bison have vanished. Several species of fish have become rare, including white fish, sturgeon, herring, muskellunge, and lake trout. Sportfish found in the state include bluegill, crappie, perch, large and smallmouth bass, pike, and salmon. Common birds include the great blue heron, kingfisher, several duck species, geese, and gulls. Game birds inhabiting the area are the partridge, quail, and ringneck pheasant. Mineral Resources The major resources deposited during the Precambrian Era (600 million to 3.9 million years ago) were copper and iron ore, both located in the western Upper Peninsula. Small reserves of zinc, lead, nickel, cobalt, platinum, gold, silver, and uranium were also laid during the Precambrian. The mineral resources of the Paleozoic Era (600 million to 225 million years ago) include limestone, rock salt and brines, gypsum, and coal. Reserves of natural gas and petroleum are found at several locations in Lower Michigan. PEOPLE Michigan's population grew from 31,639 in 1830, to 1,184,000 in 1870, to 8,875,083 in 1970. The population at the time of the 1990 census was 9,295,297, an increase of only 33,219 in the decade from 1980 to 1990. Most of Michigan's population live in urban areas, with about half of the state's inhabitants in the Detroit-Ann Arbor metropolitan area. \TDetroit\t is the largest city in the state, and \TGrand Rapids\t, \TWarren\t, \TFlint\t, \TLansing\t, Sterling Heights, \TAnn Arbor\t, and Livonia all have between 100,000 and 200,000 residents. Between 1980 and 1990 Michigan had a very slow rate of growth--with an increase of less than half of 1% during the decade. Contributing to the stagnant growth was significant out-migration. While Michigan historically has experienced a net gain from migrations into the state, since the mid-1970s a net out-migration has taken place. Most pioneer settlers migrated from New England, New York, and Pennsylvania. Black migration from the southern United States was high from the pre-Civil War era and reached its peak during World War II and immediately after. In the post-World-War-II period, people from Lithuania, Mexico, the Philippines, Korea, Cuba, India, and the Arab nations joined the migration flow. The racial-ethnic composition in 1990 was 7,756,086 whites, 1,291,706 blacks, 55,638 American Indians, 104,983 Asian and Pacific Islanders, and 201,596 Hispanics. Asians are the state's fastest-growing ethnic group. The Protestant religious denominations are most numerous in Michigan. The Roman Catholic church, with 1,987,528 (1979) adherents, is the oldest denomination; the French established churches at the state's oldest communities, \TSault Sainte Marie\t (1668), Saint Ignace (1671), and Mackinaw City (1683). About 90,000 Jewish people reside in several communities statewide, with a majority in the greater Detroit area. Education and Culture Since passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 with its requirement to "encourage education," Michigan has become a leader in public education. In 1837 the nation's first state primary school fund was created, and tuition-free primary schooling was enacted in 1869. With the landmark Kalamazoo Case of 1874 the state supreme court established the legality of the use of local taxes for the creation of high schools. An eight-member elected board of education supervises Michigan's public school system. The state has a particularly distinguished public higher-education system, the history of which stretches back to the period before statehood was granted (see \TMichigan, state universities and colleges of\t). Michigan's museums include the \TDetroit Institute of Arts\t and Detroit Historical Museum; the Henry Ford Museum (of transportation and technology exhibits) located at Greenfield Village in Dearborn; an historical museum at Lansing; the University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor; and the Gerald Ford Museum ( Grand Rapids) and Presidential Library ( Ann Arbor). The \TCranbrook Foundation\t, in Bloomfield Hills, is the site of a well-known art school. The National Music Camp at Interlochen and the Detroit Symphony are both well known throughout the country. Michigan's historic sites include Fayette State Park near Manistique, which contains a deserted early iron manufacturing town; Mackinac Island, located in the Straits of \TMackinac\t, which is the site of a fortress built by the British in 1780; and Norton Indian Mounds in Grand Rapids (built between 110 BC and AD 280). Communications The state is served by numerous Sunday, daily, weekly, and semiweekly newspapers. The leading daily newspapers are the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press. In 1986 the Gannett Company acquired the Detroit News, thus ending 112 years of family ownership of the News by descendants of its founder, James E. Scripps. The Free Press, in financial difficulties, subsequently moved to combine its business operations with those of the News. Radio stations WWJ (1920) and WJR (1922) are two of the nation's pioneering commercial broadcast stations. In 1941, WWJ initiated FM operations; it originated state telecasts in 1947. There are many other radio stations broadcasting in Michigan, as well as television stations. Recreation and Sports Michigan's many lakes, especially the Great Lakes, are the state's greatest recreational resource. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is an area of dramatic sandstone cliffs along Lake Superior; Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore extends for 55 km (34 mi) along the shores of Lake Michigan. Isle Royale National Park is a wilderness island in Lake Superior, nearly 80 km (50 mi) long, with an area of about 544 sq km (210 sq mi). The state park system comprises dozens of parks. Most major league sports are centered in Detroit (baseball and hockey) or at the nearby Pontiac Silverdome (basketball, football, soccer). Competitive power boating is popular in Detroit, and horse racing tracks are operated in several cities. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY Although Michigan (specifically, Detroit) is closely identified with the motor vehicle industry, the state earns a good deal more from service industries (including retail and wholesale trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; government; and transportation, communication, and utilities) than from the--nonetheless important--manufacturing industries. A critical economic problem for the state is developing sufficient diversification of industry, particularly in cities like Flint, to prevent unemployment when the auto industry is affected by a weakened national economy. Agriculture Although Michigan was formerly an agricultural state, it is now dominated by industry. The trend since 1945 has been the steady loss of farmland and a decline in the number of farms. Michigan nonetheless ranks in the midrange nationally in agricultural output, with most production concentrated in the southern half of the Lowe Peninsula. A significant fruit-growing belt is located in the west along Lake Michigan and the thumb region is a leading producer of beans and sugar beets. Michigan is a national leader in the production of tart cherries, cucumbers, dry beans, and blueberries. Other major crops grown include corn, wheat, soybeans, potatoes, hay, and table vegetables. Dairy and beef cattle, hogs and laying chickens lead livestock production. Mint, red cloverseed, and grapes for wine are specialty crops. Forestry and Fishing Michigan's commercial timberlands cover 7.5 million ha (18.8 million acres) and are among the largest in the nation. The dollar value of the state's fisheries industry did not vary greatly after the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959, although the size (in pounds) of the commercial harvest has declined considerably. Since the opening of the Seaway, sea lamprey have been reduced and salmon have been introduced to help control alewife (a species of herring) and to create a sport-fishing industry in the state. Mining Mining roughly matches agriculture in economic importance in Michigan. The most valuable minerals are petroleum, iron ore, and natural gas. Fuels are tapped in the Lower Peninsula, and metallic ores mined in the Upper Peninsula. Michigan is a leading producer of iron ore. Nonmetallic resources such as limestone, natural salines, sand, and gravel contribute importantly to mining revenue. Michigan no longer leads the nation in copper production, but the remaining low-grade deposits may be the largest in the nation. The state is the leading producer of peat in the United States. Manufacturing and Energy The metropolitan Detroit area is one of the world's foremost manufacturing regions. Although the dominant automobile industry suffered a severe slump in the early 1980s, it had regained its profitability by the mid-1980s. Approximately one-third of Michigan's industrial workers produce transportation equipment, including cars, trucks, and tractors. Motor vehicles are manufactured in \TDearborn\t, \TKalamazoo\t, Flint, Lansing and Pontiac, as well as the Detroit metropolitan area. Parts manufacturing and auto-related research are provided mostly at \TJackson\t, \TSaginaw\t, and Grand Rapids. Michigan is also an important producer of nonelectric machinery, fabricated metal products, and primary metals. Other leading industries are cereal and food processing, especially in \TBattle Creek\t, chemicals and drug production, centered in Midland, and furniture manufacturing, in \TMuskegon\t and Grand Rapids. Until the late 19th century wind, sun, native wood, and coal met the state's basic energy needs. In 1886, Michigan's first petroleum well was drilled near Port Huron, and natural gas was tapped in 1927. Although new fields have continued to be productive, they are grossly inadequate for the state's needs; most of the state's fuel comes from outside sources. Michigan's power is generated largely by plants using coal, oil, or gas. There are also nuclear-powered energy installations and a few hydroelectric plants. Tourism Tourism, professional sports, and other leisure time activities are linked to numerous businesses that employ many thousands of people. Out-of-state visitors are attracted by Michigan's plentiful outdoor recreation opportunities; water resources, including the Great Lakes and the thousands of inland lakes and streams, are particularly appealing for sports and nature enthusiasts. Transportation In 1909 the world's first paved concrete road was laid in Detroit. Today the transportation network consists of an extensive road and freeway system as well as railroads. Michigan and Canada are linked by bridges at Detroit, Port Huron, and \TSault Sainte Marie\t. The Mackinac Bridge linking the Upper and Lower Peninsulas and completed in 1957, was the world's longest suspension bridge when constructed and has a main span of 1,158 m (3,800 ft). Tunnels for railroad and auto use are located at Detroit and Port Huron. Detroit and several other cities have port facilities for ocean vessels, and freighters are used on the Great Lakes for the transport of bulk commodities. Year-round lake shipping has been initiated experimentally, using icebreakers. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Michigan has been governed by constitutions of 1835, 1850, 1908, and currently 1964 as amended. The chief officer, the governor, is teamed with a lieutenant governor; they are elected to 4-year terms of office. Michigan's bicameral legislature is composed of a Senate, whose 38 members serve 4-year terms, and a House of Representatives, whose 110 members are elected every 2 years. Local government is comprised of 83 counties and 1,248 townships, as well as incorporated villages and cities. In 1968, 14 planning and development regions based on social and economic patterns, were established to facilitate administration of local, state, and federal cooperative programs. Whether the Republican party was established in 1854 at Jackson, Mich., "under the oaks," or at Ripon, Wis., may never be settled. Nevertheless, up to 1932 the state was a "citadel of Republicanism." Since then, neither major party has dominated state politics. After World War II, however, the Democratic party has increased its influence significantly. In 1974, Gerald R. Ford, a Republican Congressman from Grand Rapids (served 1948-73), became the 38th President of the United States. HISTORY Pre-European Settlement Material from the oldest dated archaeological site in Michigan suggests that Paleo-Indian hunters inhabited the area north of Detroit about 11,000 years ago. After 500 BC the Hopewellian \TMound Builders\t moved into the state and brought with them a rich culture, long-distance trade, and the burial cult for which they are named. Subsequently the state was inhabited by three Algonquian tribes: the \TOjibwa\t, a fishing culture centered in the eastern Upper Peninsula; the \TOttawa\t, "the traders" located in the western Lower Peninsula; and the Potawatomi, found in the southwest. The Wyandot (Huron), an Iroquoian-speaking tribe, were formerly concentrated in the southeast. Colonial Period The first European to explore the area that is present-day Michigan was Etienne \TBrule\t, who visited the Upper Peninsula about 1620. In 1668, Father Jacques \TMarquette\t founded the first permanent settlement Sault Sainte Marie. Throughout this early period, fur trading with the Indians dominated the activities of the Euro-Americans; missionary efforts were also prevalent. Forts Michilimackinac (1715) and later Mackinac (1780; both now reconstructed) became renowned as the center of fur trade. In 1701, Antoine de la Mothe \TCadillac\t established Fort Ponchartrain, which subsequently came to control the fur trade in the Lower Peninsula. In 1760, near the end of the \TFrench and Indian War\t between the British and French, the British gained control of the area and governed it until 1796. During this period the British built Fort Lernoult (1779) at Detroit and Fort Mackinac (1780), neither of which American forces were powerful enough to seize during the Revolution. In hope of controlling part of the Great Lakes region, the Spanish entered the Lower Peninsula briefly in 1781. The American Pioneer Period In 1787 the area became part of the \TNorthwest Territory\t; subsequently fighting broke out between Indians in the area (with British support) and the United States. After Gen. Anthony \TWayne\t's victory at \TFallen Timbers\t (1794), Indian resistance was broken, and the British peacefully relinquished (1796) Detroit and Fort Mackinac under the terms of \TJay's Treaty\t. Michigan Territory was established in 1805. During the \TWar of\t 1812, Michigan was temporarily lost to the British. Michigan's pioneer land boom came in the 1830s and 1840s. It was spurred by the completion of the \TErie Canal\t (1825), road building, and the spread of favorable reports concerning the agricultural quality of the land. In 1835, Michigan residents ratified a constitution for statehood. Admission to the Union, however, was delayed because of a border dispute with Ohio over control of Toledo. The dispute was resolved by awarding Toledo to Ohio and part of the Upper Peninsula to Michigan, which received statehood on Jan. 26, 1837. The mining boom in the Upper Peninsula began in the mid-1840s with the modern-era discovery of copper and iron ore (Indians had previously known of them). The demand for lumber in the Midwest and Plains laid the foundation for Michigan's nation-leading logging boom during the last half of the 19th century. The state's virgin forests were depleted because cutting rates were astonishingly high in comparison to present-day harvests. In the 1870s loggers cleared about 13,400 ha (33,000 acres) yearly, and they doubled that rate in the peak years of the 1890s. During the Civil War and later years, Michigan farms became known for the production of wheat, potatoes, hops, and sheep. Industrial Development During the Civil War, 23% of the state's male population (more than 90,000 persons) fought, and almost 14,000 died. Because of the wartime labor shortages and the trend to create labor-saving devices, the innovative foundation was laid for the evolution of the automobile industry. As early as 1886, R. E. Olds drove a steam car in Lansing. Henry Ford (see \TFord\t family) established his company in 1903. The assembly-line production of about 15 million low cost Model T cars between 1908 and 1927 coupled with Ford's $5-per-day minimum-wage policy set in 1914 (considered a high wage at the time) revolutionized Michigan's economy. In 1926 the General Motors Corporation sales reached a billion dollars, a milestone in its progress toward becoming the world's largest corporation. The Depression of the 1930s led to statewide economic hardship and also a labor-relations crisis of lasting magnitude. In 1935 the \TUnited Auto Workers\t union (UAW) was formed. Between 1935 and 1941, in a series of violent strikes involving the major automobile plants, the UAW won the right to negotiate company-wide labor contracts. With the outbreak of World War II, automobile production was halted and the plants were rapidly converted for war production. Michigan received more wartime defense contracts than any other state and produced a diversity of motor-related armaments as well as guns, artillery, and ammunition. The Willow Run B-24 Bomber Plant employed 42,000 persons and produced 8,685 aircraft, more than any other plant in the nation. Following World War II automobile production began again and soon reached record levels. Employment in the motor vehicle industry, however, dropped significantly after the Korean War, partly because of automation and decentralization of the industry. Throughout the 20th century, black and white unskilled workers from the South relocated in Detroit and other industrial cities. Blacks became increasingly concentrated in the central cities while whites moved to suburban areas. Although interracial riots had occurred in 1863 and 1943, the worst instance of civil strife took place in Detroit in 1967 when a riot resulted in dozens of deaths and huge property losses. Revitalization and Prospects for the Future Since the urban turmoil of the 1960s, several black leaders have gained political power in Michigan; they include Coleman Young, mayor of Detroit. Mall projects in city centers have resulted in revitalization. Grand Rapids and Lansing have built community colleges in downtown locations. Detroit, in a dramatic move to revitalize its downtown, constructed the riverfront Renaissance Center, a complex of four 39-story office buildings surrounding a 73-story hotel. Detroit's building projects continued through the 1980s. Innovations to protect Michigan's water include the 4,050-ha (10,000-acre) Muskegon Waste Water spray irrigation system and numerous other clean-water projects. The economy of Detroit--and the state--is exceptionally sensitive to national and international factors affecting the automobile industry. As a protection against difficult economic fluctuations, the state has worked toward a diverse economy. The residents also have maintained a strong tradition of support for socially responsible welfare programs, worker-injury protection, and education. A continuing economic diversification and the reduction of environmental damage of land and water resources vital to Michigan's thriving tourist industry remain important challenges for the state. Richard A. Santer Bibliography: \TGeneral\t: Cunningham, Wilbur, M., The Land of Four Flags (1961; repr. 1973); Federal Writers' Project, Michigan: A Guide to the Wolverine State (1941; repr. 1981); Pyle, S.N., ed., Most Superior Land (1983); Santer, Richard A., Michigan: Heart of the Great Lakes (1977). \Teconomics\t: Brazer, H. E., and Lauren, D. S., eds., Michigan's Fiscal and Economic Structure (1982); Fosler, R.S., The New Economic Role of American States (1988); Sobotka, Stephen P., Profile of Michigan (1963). \Tgeology\t, \Tgeography\t, AND \Tarchaeology\t: DeLorme Map Company Staff, Michigan Atlas and Gazetteer (1989); Dorr, John A., and Eschman, D. F., Geology of Michigan (1970); Fitting, James E., The Archaeology of Michigan (1975); Sommers, Lawrence, Atlas of Michigan (1977) and Michigan: A Geography (1984). \Thistory\t: Bald, F. C., Michigan in Four Centuries, rev. ed. (1961); Catton, Bruce, Michigan (1976); Dunbar, Willis F., Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State (1965); Gilpin, Alec R., The Territory of Michigan, 1805-1837 (1970); Great Pages of Michigan History from the Detroit Free Press (1987); Hubbard, Bela, Memorials of a Half-Century in Michigan and the Lake Region (1888; repr. 1978); Lewis, F. E., Michigan Yesterday and Today, 9th ed. (1980); Vander Hill, C. Warren, Settling the Great Lakes Frontier (1970). \LPolitic\ls AND \Tgovernment\t: Carr, Robert, The Government of Michigan, rev. ed. (1967); Lewis, F. E., and McConnell, D. B., State and Local Government of Michigan, 9th ed., rev. (1984); Stieber, Carolyn, The Politics of Change in Michigan (1970); Stollman, Gerald H., Michigan (1978).