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Portal:Michigan

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The Michigan Portal

The flag of Michigan
Location of Michigan within the United States

Michigan (/ˈmɪʃɪɡən/ MISH-ig-ən) is a state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest region of the United States. It borders Wisconsin to the southwest in the Upper Peninsula, and Indiana and Ohio to the south in the Lower Peninsula; it is also connected by Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie to Minnesota and Illinois, and the Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of 96,716 sq mi (250,490 km2), Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the largest by area east of the Mississippi River. Its capital is Lansing, and its largest city is Detroit. Metro Detroit is among the nation's most populous and largest metropolitan economies. The name derives from a gallicized variant of the original Ojibwe word ᒥᓯᑲᒥ (mishigami), meaning "large water" or "large lake".

Michigan consists of two peninsulas. The Lower Peninsula resembles the shape of a mitten, and comprises a majority of the state's land area. The Upper Peninsula (often called "the U.P.") is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile (8 km) channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The Mackinac Bridge connects the peninsulas. Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline of any political subdivision in the United States, being bordered by four of the five Great Lakes and Lake St. Clair. It also has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds. Michigan has the second-most water area of any state, behind only Alaska.

The area was first occupied by a succession of Native American tribes over thousands of years. In the 17th century, French explorers claimed it as part of the New France colony, when it was largely inhabited by Indigenous peoples. French and Canadian traders and settlers, Métis, and others migrated to the area, settling largely along the waterways. After France's defeat in the French and Indian War in 1762, the region came under British rule. Britain ceded the territory to the newly independent United States after its defeat in the American Revolutionary War. The area was part of the larger Northwest Territory until 1800, when western Michigan became part of the Indiana Territory. Michigan Territory was formed in 1805, but some of the northern border with Canada was not agreed upon until after the War of 1812. Michigan was admitted into the Union in 1837 as the 26th state, a free one. It soon became an important center of industry and trade in the Great Lakes region, attracting immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from many European countries. Immigrants from Finland, Macedonia, and the Netherlands were especially numerous. Migration from Appalachia and of Black Southerners as part of the Great Migration increased in the 1930s, with many settling in Metro Detroit.

Although Michigan has developed a diverse economy, in the early 20th century it became widely known as the center of the U.S. automotive industry, which developed as a major national economic force. It is home to the country's three major automobile companies (whose headquarters are all in Metro Detroit). Once exploited for logging and mining, today the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula is important for tourism because of its abundance of natural resources. The Lower Peninsula is a center of manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, services, and high-tech industry. (Full article...)

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The marquee sign, facing Interstate 75

Great Lakes Crossing Outlets, formerly Great Lakes Crossing, is a shopping mall in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The site of the mall was originally to have been occupied by a different mall called Auburn Mills, which was never built due to financial issues of its intended developer, Western Development Corporation. Great Lakes Crossing was built on the site and opened in 1998. Constructed and owned by Taubman Centers (itself a subsidiary of Simon Property Group), Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is the largest outlet mall in the state of Michigan. It features 185 stores, with anchor stores including Burlington, Primark, Bass Pro Shops, TJ Maxx, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Marshalls; other notable attractions include a 1,000-seat food court, a 25-screen AMC Star movie theater, Round1, Legoland Discovery Center, and Sea Life Michigan. (Full article...)

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Rivard Place part of Detroit International Riverfront
Rivard Place part of Detroit International Riverfront
Credit: Mikerussell

The Detroit International Riverfront is an area so designated by the nonprofit city sponsored managing entity, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization. The conservancy resulted from a study commissioned by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

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Albert Henderson Pattengill (February 26, 1842 – March 16, 1906) was an American professor of Greek. For 40 years, Pattengill was also a leader in athletics at the University of Michigan. He played on Michigan's 1867 baseball team and was part of a three-person committee that selected "azure-blue and maize" as the university's colors. He was also one of the leaders behind the formation and early development of the Big Ten Conference. (Full article...)

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Ezeh attempts to shoestring tackle Beanie Wells during the 2008 Michigan – Ohio State rivalry game.

Obi Pius Ezeh (February 2, 1988 – May 3, 2024) was an American college football player who was a linebacker for the Michigan Wolverines. He was included on both the 2009 mid-season and the 2009 preseason watchlist for the Butkus Award. He ended his career as the Wolverines' active career leader in tackles.

In high school, he played running back on offense more regularly than linebacker on defense. He shared running back duties as a sophomore and junior before becoming the starting running back as a senior at Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He established his school career rushing record of nearly 3,000 yards. As a senior, he scored a two-point conversion to give his school a one-point victory and a berth in the 2005 Michigan High School Athletic Association state championship game at Ford Field. He was also a member of a three-time state champion high school rugby team and was invited to try out with the United States national rugby union team. (Full article...)

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