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Geography Facts
1. The word Michigan came from various Native American words such as Michigama and Mishigamaw, which mean large lakes or great water.
2. Wexford (five miles north, northeast of Cadillac) is the geographic center of Michigan.
3. Michigan has 3 National Parks. They are, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and Isle Royale National Park.
4. The longest river in Michigan is the Grand River.
5. The Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula are the highest range of mountains in Michigan.
6. The worlds largest limestone quarry is located at Rogers City.
7. Detroit was the first capital of Michigan.
8. By the middle of the 20th century, three quarters of the original wetlands in our state (over 11 million acres) had been destroyed.
9. The state capitol of Michigan was relocated to Lansing in 1884.
10. Sault Ste. Marie, established in 1668, is the oldest town between the Alleghenies and the Rockies.
11. The Mackinac Bridge is five miles long, and was opened in 1957.
12. St. Ignace was the first military fort in Michigan.
13. Michigan became a state in 1837.
14. The Keweenaw Peninsula is the snow capital of the world. In the winter of 1978-79, a record of 390.4 inches fell for a world record.
15. From 1845-1877, Keweenaw Peninsula mines produced more native copper ore than any other mining area in North America. These deposits have been exhausted and Michigans last copper mine closed in 1995.
16. Copper Harbor is the community in Michigan that is the furthest north.
17. In 1837, the U. S. government gave the Upper Peninsula to Michigan for a narrow Toledo strip on the border of Ohio.
Water Trivia
1. The largest island in the Detroit River is Grosse Ile.
2. The St. Marys River connects Lake Huron and Lake Superior.
3. Grand Rapids is the first city in America to fluoridate its water.
4. Ocqueoc Falls is the only waterfall found in the Lower Peninsula.
5. More water is underground than on the surface of the earth.
6. The Upper Falls of Tahquamenon State Park is shaped like a backward question mark.
7. The Upper Peninsula has nearly 150 waterfalls; Tahquamenons Upper Falls is the largest.
8. Coho salmon were introduced into Michigan waters to counteract the invasion of alewives that followed the opening of the Erie Canal.
9. There are 151 types of native fish in Michigan.
10. The longest river in Michigan is the Grand River.
11. Lake Superior is the deepest of the Great Lakes. It is also the largest fresh water source in North America.
12. Since World War II 50,000 synthetic chemicals have been developed. So far 12,000 have shown up in our drinking water.
13. Michigan has 2,300 native plant species; 50% of these are wetland species and over 25% of the wetland species are threatened or endangered.
14. Lake Michigan ranks sixth in size among the lakes of the world.
15. Forty of Michigans 83 counties adjoin at least one of the Great Lakes.
16. Michigan is the only state that touches four of the five Great Lakes.
17. The Erie Canal links the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. It was completed in 1825.
18. Michigan has the world's only marble lighthouse. It is located on Belle Isle.
19. Some of the longest freight carriers in the world operate on the Great Lakes. Ore carriers 1,000 feet long use our waterways.
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