• Lake Superior is the second largest natural lake in the world, surpassed in size only by the Caspian Sea.

• Lakes Huron and Michigan are the fifth and sixth largest lakes in the world.

• The Lake Superior region had large iron deposits. Most surface iron has now been depleted requiring the use of underground mines. In 1995-1996 only two companies were still operating in the Upper Peninsula.

• Between the years 1847 and 1883, one half of the nation’s total copper production came from Michigan.

• Some of the longest freight carriers in the world operate on the Great Lakes. Ore carriers 1,000 feet long use our waterways.

• The Keweenaw Peninsula is the snow capital of the world. In the winter of 1978-79, 390.4 inches fell for a world record.

• From 1845-1877, Keweenaw Peninsula mines produced more native copper ore than any other mining area in North America. These deposits have been exhausted and Michigan’s last copper mine closed in 1995.

• Lake Michigan ranks sixth in size among the lakes of the world.

• Sault Ste. Marie, established in 1668, is the oldest town between the Alleghenies and Rockies.

• Forty of Michigan’s 83 counties adjoin at least one of the Great Lakes.

• Michigan is the only state that touches four of the five Great Lakes.

• Cattails are the incredible wetland edible! Native Americans cooked the roots (rhizomes) like potatoes, the shoots like asparagus, the flower like corn-on-the-cob and used the pollen to make pancakes.

• 80% of Michigan and 45% of U.S. Threatened and Endangered species, either live in or depend upon wetland habitats.

• Bay City State Recreation Area is located along one mile of the Lake Huron (Saginaw Bay) shoreline. It preserves one of the largest and last remaining coastal Great Lakes wetlands, the Tobico Marsh. Tobico comes from an Indian word which means…"little lake by the big one".

• Currently almost 10% of the world’s landmass is covered with glaciers, mostly in Greenland and Antarctica.

• During the last warm spell, 12,000 years ago, the seas were about 18 feet higher than they are today.

• The world’s largest limestone quarry is located in Rogers City.

• Michigan ranks first in the nation in growing red cherries, dried beans, blueberries, cucumbers and potted geraniums.

• Maybury State park has almost 1,000 acres of gently rolling hills, open meadows, forests, a variety of wildlife and many wildflowers to enjoy.

• Over 50,000 Michigan families depend on farming for their livelihood.

• Each Michigan farmer produces enough food to feed him and 70 others.

• The windformed sand dunes along Michigan’s Great Lakes shoreline represent the largest collection of fresh water sand dunes found in the entire world. Our great lake sand dunes support plant and wildlife species found only in the Great Lakes area.
  

• Michigan’s shoreline of 3,288 miles is more than the Atlantic Coast of the U.S

• Lake Michigan is the only one of the five Great Lakes located entirely in the U.S.It is often called the All American Lake.

• Michigan has 275,000 acres of sand dune formations with nearly half held in
  public trust for future generations.

• Mitchell State Park hosts a FREE Fishing Weekend in June each year.

• Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell are connected by a canal, built during the northern Michigan logging era.

• The Heritage Nature Trail winds through 70 acres of wetlands and is home to many varieties of plants and wildlife

• The Upper Falls in Tahquamenon Falls State Park is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River.
  

• In the spring, as much as 50,000 gallons of water per second pour over the sandstone ledges.

• There are 165 waterfalls in Michigan, all but two are located in the Upper Peninsula.

Hartwick Pines

Did You Know...

• 19.3 million acres of tress cover 50% of the state's total land area?
  
  
• during the lumbering era peak in 1882, 1 billion, 11 million board feet of lumber were processed in Saginaw?
  
  
• 99.5% of the forests in Michigan have been harvested at least once?