MICHIGAN, a State in the United States, lies in the region of the Great Lakes betWeen lat. 41° 44' and 47° 30' N. and long. 82° 25' and' 90° 31' W. It is composed of two peninsulas, a northern and a southern, between which pass the Straits of Mackinac, connecting Lakes Huron and Michigan. The State has an area of 57,480 square miles, ranking 18th in the Union. It is the largest except Georgia, east of the Mississippi. Of this area, 40,789 sma. re miles are in the lower peninsula, and 16,691 in the upper; the upper peninsula being less than one-third the area of the State, is thus larger than any New England State, except Maine.. The State's peninsular character is reflected in the legend on its seal: Si Queeris Penin.s-ulam Asscenom, (If you seek a beautiful peninsula, look about you).
Michigan's position has closely associated its development with Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, on the south; with Wisconsin, on the west; and with Canada, on the north and east. It deter mined that its population should come largely from New York, New England and Canada, and from Europe. Practically surrounded by lakes and rivers, it was naturally equipped to engage extensively in lake commerce and ship building. It has water communication with seven other States and with the province of Ontario in Canada, embracing together a popu lation of about 30,000,000 people. Its chief port is Detroit, whose position, in line with natural transportation facilities to the Atlantic sea board through the Saint Lawrence Basin and the Mohawk Valley of New York, gives it rank, in relation to immigration and commerce, with Pittsburgh and Saint Louis..
Climate.— The position of the State in the' midst of the Great Lakes gives it a climate suf ficiently unique to invite comparisons. The mean annual temperature has a range of about 10° — from 39° in the north to 49° in the south; July temperature, from 65° to 72° ; that of January, from 19° to 25° ; extreme of lowest temperatures in different parts of the State, from 49° to 15° below zero; extreme of high est temperatures, from 96° to 108°. For the year, in the State as a whole, the mean range of temperature is 50° and the extreme range 120°. The longest growing season, 170 days, is in the vicinity of Lake Erie; while the shortest grow ing season, 100 days, is in the west end of the upper peninsula.
The amount of rainfall varies from 29 inches in the northwest to 40 inches in the southeast; about 60 per cent of the annual rainfall'is re ceived in the crop season. The heaviest snow-' fall is in the region of Traverse City and in the *Copper Country* on Lake Superior. In relative humidity, Michigan is similar to the Atlantic seaboard States, but has a larger num ber of sunny days in summer. The annual his-' midity is about 75 per cent. In general, Michi gan weather is extremely variable, being in the track of the largest number of low pressure areas, but the constant westerly winds and the Great Lakes tend to modify. 4xtremes.
Geology and Physiography.— The oldest part of is the western half of the upper peninsula, Where are found outcrops of Archean rocks•- granites, gneisses• and schists —as old as any on the continent of North America and similar in age to the highlands of Scotland and Norway. The -highest point in the State, in the Porcupine Mountains near Lake Superior, is an outcrop of these rocks, about 1,400 feet above the level of the The whole of this part of the peninsula broken and rocky, 'though the drift in the val leys affords a good soil for agriculture. The region is noted chiefly for its minerals. • From Keweenaw Point southwestward, across the peninsula, lie copper deposits of exceeding rich ness,- second to none in theworld. To the south and east of the copper deposits lie four rich belts of iron ore. Other economic minerals are' slate, building' stone, graphite, mineral paints, mica, asbestos, oil stone, 'gypsum, lead and manganese. East of the longitude of Mar quette, the peninsula is markedly different, a rolling, drift-covered hill country, rising scarcely 400 feet above' lake level and forming the agricultural section. Along the northern shore of this portion of the peninsula, the Cam-' Brian sandstone, formed in the ancient seas that coveted the Michigan basin, has been cut wave action into fantastic shapes, known as the %Pictured Rocks% of Lake Superior.