Lower Peninsula of Michigan

{{Infobox settlement

| name = Lower Peninsula of Michigan

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| settlement_type = Michigan

| image_skyline = Little Sable Light Point Light Station - Michigan.jpg

| image_caption = The Little Sable Point Light Station on Lake Michigan in Oceana County

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| motto =

| nickname = The Mitten

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| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = United States

| subdivision_type1 = State

| subdivision_name1 = Michigan

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| image_map = Michigan Lower Peninsula Regions.png

| map_caption = Regions and major cities of the Lower Peninsula

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| area_total_sq_mi = 40162

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| population_as_of = 2015 est.

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| population_total = 9,584,261

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The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the Straits of Mackinac. It is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border, which it shares with Indiana and Ohio.

Although the Upper Peninsula is commonly referred to as "the U.P.", it is uncommon for the Lower Peninsula to be called "the L.P.". Because of its recognizable shape, the Lower Peninsula is nicknamed The Mitten, with the eastern region identified as "The Thumb". This has led to several folkloric creation myths for the area, one being that it is a handprint of Paul Bunyan, a giant lumberjack and popular European-American folk character in Michigan. When asked where they live, Lower Peninsula residents may hold up their right palm and point to a spot on it to indicate the location.{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/12/09/hand-to-hand-combat/| title=Hand-to-hand combat| work=Chicago Tribune| date=December 9, 2011| access-date=August 22, 2014| last=Keilman| first=John}}

The peninsula is sometimes divided into the Northern Lower Peninsula—which is more sparsely populated and largely forested—and the Southern Lower Peninsula—which is largely urban or farmland. Southern Lower Michigan is sometimes further divided into economic and cultural subregions.

The more culturally and economically diverse Lower Peninsula dominates Michigan politics, and maps of it without the Upper Peninsula are sometimes mistakenly presented as "Michigan", which contributes to resentment by "Yoopers" (residents of "the U.P.").{{Cite web|url=http://www.9and10news.com/story/23916664/dr-benishek-urges-president-obama-to-include-up-on-medicaid-map|title=Update: U.P. Added to White House Medicaid Map|date=November 8, 2013|location=Cadillac, MI|publisher=WWTV-TV|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=October 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006143054/http://www.9and10news.com/story/23916664/dr-benishek-urges-president-obama-to-include-up-on-medicaid-map|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://theupperpeninsulaisnotoptional.tumblr.com|title=The Upper Peninsula Is Not Optional|website=theupperpeninsulaisnotoptional.tumblr.com|access-date=October 5, 2016}} Yoopers jokingly refer to residents of the Lower Peninsula as "flat-landers" (referring to the region's less rugged terrain) or "trolls" (because, being south of the Mackinac Bridge, they "live under the bridge").{{cite book |last=Parrish |first=P. J. |title=A Thousand Bones |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vkFbQ6BrQtcC&q=michigan+trolls+mackinac+bridge |access-date=August 26, 2008 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4165-2587-5 |pages=22 |chapter=Somebody's Daughter |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vkFbQ6BrQtcC&pg=PA9 |quote=A troll was what people from Michigan's Upper Peninsula called anyone who lived 'below the bridge,' the five-mile-long span that connected the Upper and Lower peninsulas. }}

Geography

The Lower Peninsula is bounded on the west by Lake Michigan and on the northeast by Lake Huron, which connect at the Straits of Mackinac. In the southeast, the waterway consisting of the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, Detroit River, and Lake Erie separates it from the province of Ontario, Canada. It is bounded on the south by the states of Indiana and Ohio. This border is irregular: the border with Indiana was moved 10 miles northward from its territorial position to give Indiana more access to Lake Michigan,{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsandtribune.com/news/retracing-a-border-incites-tensions-between-indiana-michigan/article_1108d182-5331-11e4-a86b-3729dc093f46.html|title=Retracing a border incites tensions between Indiana, Michigan|last=Hayden|first=Maureen|website=News and Tribune|date=October 14, 2014 |language=en|access-date=December 4, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.in.gov/history/markers/401.htm|title=IHB: Indiana's Northern Boundary Line|website=www.in.gov|access-date=December 4, 2019}} and its slightly angled border with Ohio was part of the compromise which ended the Toledo War.{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/the-toledo-war-when-michigan-and-ohio-nearly-came-to-blows|title=The Toledo War: When Michigan and Ohio Nearly Came to Blows|last=Andrews|first=Evan|website=HISTORY|date=September 2018 |language=en|access-date=December 4, 2019}} The Lower Peninsula is a part of the Great Lakes Plain, which include large parts of Wisconsin and Ohio.{{Cite web |title=Michigan Geography from NETSTATE |url=https://www.netstate.com/states/geography/mi_geography.htm |access-date=December 7, 2022 |website=www.netstate.com}}

At its widest points, the Lower Peninsula is {{convert|277|mi|km}} long from north to south and {{convert|195|mi|km}} from east to west. It contains nearly two-thirds of Michigan's total land area. The surface of the peninsula is generally level, broken by conical hills and glacial moraines usually not more than a few hundred feet tall, most common in the north. The highest point in the Lower Peninsula is not definitely established, but is either Briar Hill at {{convert|1,705|ft|m}}, or one of several points nearby in the vicinity of Cadillac. The lowest point is at the shore of Lake Erie at {{convert|571|ft|m}}. The western coast features extensive sandy beaches and dunes produced by Lake Michigan and the prevailing winds from the west. The relatively shallow Saginaw Bay is surrounded by a similarly shallow drainage basin. Several large river systems flow into the adjacent Great Lakes, including the Kalamazoo, Grand, Muskegon, and Manistee rivers (Lake Michigan), and the Au Sable and Tittabawassee–Shiawassee–Saginaw rivers (Lake Huron). Because of the networks of rivers and numerous lakes, no point on land is more than {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} from one of these bodies of water,{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlive.com/entertainment/2017/05/michigan_water_facts.html|title=8 amazing water facts only Michiganders can brag about|last=Bingham|first=Emily|date=May 26, 2017|website=mlive|language=en|access-date=December 4, 2019}} and at most {{convert|85|mi|km}} from one of the Great Lakes (near Lansing).

=Flora and fauna=

Image:Michigan Basin 2.jpg

The American Bird Conservancy and the National Audubon Society have designated several locations as internationally Important Bird Areas.{{cite web| url=http://www.michiganiba.blogspot.com/| publisher=Michigan Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program| date=February 28, 2010| title=Michigan's IBAs are online| access-date=August 22, 2014}}

=Geology=

The Lower Peninsula is dominated by a geological basin known as the Michigan Basin. That feature is represented by a nearly circular pattern of geologic sedimentary strata in the area with a nearly uniform structural dip toward the center of the peninsula. The basin is centered in Gladwin County where the Precambrian basement rocks are {{convert|16000|ft|m}} deep. Around the margins, such as under Mackinaw City, Michigan, the Precambrian surface is around {{convert|4000|ft|m}} down. This {{convert|4000|ft|m|adj=on}} contour on the bedrock clips the northern part of the lower peninsula and continues under Lake Michigan along the west. It crosses the southern counties of Michigan and continues on to the north beneath Lake Huron.

= Climate =

Most monthly temperatures in the lower peninsula range from a low of 14 degrees to a high of 84 degrees Fahrenheit.

Regions

File:Michigan Regions.png

Michigan's Lower Peninsula can be divided into four main regions based on geological, soil, and vegetation differences; amount of urban areas or rural areas; minority populations; and agriculture. The four principal regions listed below can further be separated into sub-regions and overlapping areas.

Transportation

=Major airports=

Alpena County Regional Airport (APN) (Alpena)
Bishop International Airport (FNT) (Flint)
Capital Region International Airport (LAN) (Lansing)
Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) (Traverse City)
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) (Romulus)
Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) (Grand Rapids)
Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport (AZO) (Kalamazoo)
MBS International Airport (MBS) (Saginaw)
Pellston Regional Airport (PLN) (Pellston)

=Highways=

Interstate Highways in the region include:

{{jct|state=MI|I|69}}
{{jct|state=MI|I|75}}
{{jct|state=MI|I|94}}
{{jct|state=MI|I|96}}

U.S. Highways in the region include:

{{jct|state=MI|US|10}}
{{jct|state=MI|US|12}}
{{jct|state=MI|US|23}}
{{jct|state=MI|US|24}}
{{jct|state=MI|US|31}}
{{jct|state=MI|US|127}}
{{jct|state=MI|US|131}}
{{jct|state=MI|US|223}}

The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.{{cite web| url=http://www.great-lakes.net/tourism/circletour/| title=Great Lakes Circle Tour| publisher=Great Lakes Information Network| date=August 22, 2014| access-date=August 22, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725204133/http://www.great-lakes.net/tourism/circletour/| archive-date=July 25, 2010| url-status=dead}}

=Passenger rail=

The Lower Peninsula is served by three Amtrak routes that travel up to {{convert|110|mph|km/h}}:

=Intercity Bus=

Various intercity buses transport people across the Lower Peninsula, including the Michigan Flyer that travels from Lansing to the Detroit Airport with stops in Brighton and Ann Arbor,https://www.michiganflyer.com/ and the D2A2 nonstop bus from Detroit to Ann Arbor.https://d2a2.com/

Notes

External links

[http://clarke.cmich.edu/ Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography on Michigan (arranged by counties and regions)]
[http://clarke.cmich.edu/oilandgas/geology.htm Michigan Geology -- Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University]
[http://www.michigan.gov/dnr Michigan Department of Natural Resources website, harbors, hunting, resources and more]
[http://www.infomi.com/city/ Info Michigan, detailed information on 630 cities]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080106132632/http://www.michigan.org/travel/attractions/?city=G2760&m=2;9 List of Museums, other attractions compiled by state government]
[http://www.michigan.org Michigan's Official Economic Development and Travel Site]
{{cite uscghist|MI}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080114191657/http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_shpo_lightmap_50933_7.pdf Map of Michigan Lighthouse] in PDF Format
[http://www.snowmancam.com Northern Michigan Live Streaming Webcam]
[http://www.terrypepper.com/Lights/index.htm Terry Pepper on lighthouses of the Western Great Lakes]

{{Coord|43|40|N|84|45|W|region:US-MI_scale:1500000|display=title}}

Category:Peninsulas of Michigan

Category:Regions of Michigan