The automobile is the single commodity with which Michigan is most identified. It is the home of the big three automakers: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. More than 50% of Michiganders live in the southeastern corner of the state, where the car industry flourishes. While on Mackinaw island, there are no cars allowed.
In the Upper Peninsula, across the Straits of Mackinac, lumber and copper have been the principal commodities from the 19th century, and the northern part of the Lower Peninsula boasts rich farmland, famous for it's fruits and vegetables. Most notably is Traverse City Cherries.
Michigan's boundaries include parts of four of the five Great Lakes. It has more coastline than any state except Alaska. It also has more Lighthouses than any other state.
Michigan has had an outstanding reputation in higher education. Lake Superior State University has outstanding Engineering, Nursing and Technical programs as well as a Nationally ranked Hockey Team. While The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and Michigan State are helping to foster the state's high tech industries.
The state's heavy reliance on auto manufacturing makes it vulnerable to economic downturns, as well as the general contraction of the American industry. The state's unemployment rate was 8.2% in early 1992 and was expected to remain high for the foreseeable future.
The name Michigan comes from the Fox "mesikami", "large lake." Michigan's nicknames are the Wolverine State and the Lake State.
Michigan's capital is in Lansing. The state entered the Union on January 26, 1837 as the 26th state.
The state motto is "Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice," "If you are looking for a beautiful peninsula, look around you!"