ENCYCLOPÆDIA Britannica DISCOVER AMERICA Michigan The Wolverine State CHICAGO LONDON NEW DELHI PARIS SEOUL SYDNEY TAIPEI TOKYO
4 MICHIGAN One fifth of Michigan’s total value in manufacturing comes directly from car manufacturing firms INTRODUCTION The next time you are sitting in an automobile think of Michigan Although Michigan is commonly known by the nickname the Wolverine State many people also associate it with another nickname the Auto State Since the early 1900s Michigan has been the location of incredible automotive breakthroughs In 1903 Henry Ford established the Ford Motor Company in Detroit There he designed the Model T an automobile that was more affordable than others available at the time The Model T debuted in 1908 and was produced through 1927 Demand for the car was high Soon Detroit was manufacturing so many automobiles that it earned the nickname Motor City Michigan is known as the Wolverine State possibly as a reference to wolves since there is no proof that wolverines ever roamed Michigan forests Another popular nickname the Great Lakes State refers to these bordering large bodies of water The economic recession of the 1980s and competition with foreign car makers led to layoffs and fewer sales Still Michigan along with the entire United States auto industry bounced back The three largest automobile manufacturers in the nation DaimlerChrysler General Motors and Ford continue to be among Michigan’s major employers The Renaissance Center was completed in 1977 General Motors purchased it in 1996 making it its global headquarters Michigan was named after Lake Michigan It is believed that the lake’s name was derived from an Ojibwa Chippewa Indian word meaning large lake
The Detroit Metro Airport handles about 32 million passengers per year Detroit is Michigan’s largest city but Lansing is the state capital Gerald R Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids is Michigan’s second busiest airport Detroit is linked to Windsor Ont Can by a tunnel Bridges also connect the two countries at Sault Ste Marie Detroit and Port Huron INTRODUCTION 5 Michigan is one of the Great Lakes states that make up the country’s northern border It is almost completely surrounded by water and is shaped like a mitten Michigan is made up of two peninsulas the Upper and Lower peninsulas Lake Superior forms the northern border of the Upper Peninsula The Saint Marys River makes up the eastern border and Lakes Huron and Michigan and the Straits of Mackinac form the southern boundary Wisconsin serves as the western border The Lower Peninsula shares a border with Ohio and Indiana to the south and Lake Michigan to the west To the north are Lakes Huron and Michigan and the Straits of Mackinac There are about 122,000 miles of highways in the state For air travelers there are some 20 major airports throughout the state Detroit Metro Airport the state’s busiest airport is among the busiest in the country In addition there are several smaller commuter airports and airlines Michigan is also accessible by train with just under 4,500 miles of rail lines WISC U S Michigan Location Map Capital Lansing Interstate highways 0 0 35 70 Mi 113 56 Scale Km Population 9,938,444 Size 96,705 square miles Highest peak Mount Arvon 1,979 feet e n is t e a M Kalamazoo U S N A C T N O
