This Midwestern state is named for the lake the Algonquian Indians called Michiguma, their term for "big water." Michigan is formed by two peninsulas, Upper and Lower, which are separated by the Straits of Mackinac. The state is bordered by Ohio and Indiana on the south, Wisconsin to the southeast of the Upper Peninsula, Lake Michigan on the west, Canada to the north, and on the east by Lakes Huron, Saint Clair, and Erie, and by the Detroit and Saint Clair rivers, all of which separated Michigan from Canada. It is popularly known as The Wolverine State, a name that dates back to its early fur trading days. Michigan is also referred to as The Great Lake State because it touches four of the five Great lakes. It is noted for industrial leadership, natural beauty, and wide-ranging outdoor recreation opportunities. Michigan is one of the largest states in land area and eighth in population, currently estimated at 9.8 million.

Michigan has two land regions. The Superior Upland is largely a rugged plateau covering the western part of the Upper Peninsula; it has one of the highest mountain ranges in the Midwest, and its hills and mountains are heavily forested; The Upper has rivers with rapids and waterfalls, generally rocky shores, large iron and copper deposits. The Great Lakes Plains covers the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula and the entire Lower Peninsula. In this region, the Upper is low-lying land marked by swamps and bogs, mostly unsuitable for farming. The Lower is somewhat hilly, with some sandy areas covered with scrub and stumps; and though it has many bluffs and sand dunes, it also has large areas of fertile soil. Michigan has the longest shoreline of any inland state, plus 11,000 lakes and 36,350 miles of rivers. The chief rivers are Ontonagon, Two Hearted, Whitefish, Manistique, Tahquamenon, and St. Mary's in the Upper Peninsula; Manistee, Pere Marquette, Grand, Muskegon, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Au Sable, Saginaw, Huron, Detroit in the Lower. Principal cities are Detroit (the largest), Lansing (the capital), Grand Rapids, Warren, Flint, and Lansing, all located on the Lower Peninsula. The largest city in the Upper Peninsula is Marquette. The University of Michigan and Michigan State head an impressive list of colleges and universities. Some famous Michiganians are historian Bruce Catton, novelist Edna Ferber, journalist and humorist Ring Lardner, poet Theodore Roethke, musician Bill Haley, singers Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder, boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, film director Francis Ford Coppola.

Henry Ford, Ransom E. Olds, and other automotive pioneers helped make Detroit the automobile capital of the world. Grand Rapids is one of the nation's important furniture centers. Battle Creek is famous for breakfast cereal. Because Michigan is one of the nation's most popular vacation destinations, tourism is a key factor in its economy. As are agriculture, mining, forestry, and commercial fishing. But the biggest contributor to the state's economy is manufacturing, producing not only automotive and furniture products but also metals, chemicals, machinery, pharmaceuticals, sporting goods, and food products. The area is served by modern rail and highway systems, a number of international airports, the port of Detroit, Soo Canal at Sault Sainte Marie which links Lakes Superior and Huron and handles twice the traffic of the Panama Canal, the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

Popular attractions are the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Grand Rapids Furniture Museum, the State Historical Society, American Ski Hall of Fame, the Henry Ford Museum and Ford's Greenfield Village of historic buildings, the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, Tahquamenon Water Falls, the Sleeping Bear Dune, Pictured Rocks (beautifully colored cliffs shaped by glaciers), Mackinac Island resort, Hiawatha National Forest, and casinos located throughout the state. Diversified outdoor recreation includes fishing and hunting, golf, running and hiking trails, rock climbing, swimming and boating, skiing and ice skating. Professional sports enthusiasts can choose from the annual ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix automobile race, thoroughbred horse racing at Great Lakes Downs, Detroit Tigers major league baseball, Detroit Lions NFL football, Detroit Pistons NBA basketball, and Detroit Redwings NHL hockey.

Native American presence in the Michigan area can be traced back 10,000 years. In 1668 the French established the first permanent settlement at Sault Sainte Marie. The region was seized by the British in 1760 after the French and Indian War. Following the Revolutionary War, it became part of the United States, although Americans did not gain full control until 1796. Michigan was admitted to the Union on January 26, 1837, as the 26th state.

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