Michigan is known as the Great Lakes State due to its shores touching four of the Great Lakes, including Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, and Lake Michigan. Almost half of the state consists of water, with over 11,000 inland lakes. The state’s name comes from the Chippewa Indian word for “big lake.” Lake Erie is the smallest and shallowest of the Great Lakes, while Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake on Earth. The state’s official wildflower is the dwarf lake iris, found along the shores of the Great Lakes.
Michigan is called the Great Lakes State because its shores touch four of the Great Lakes. These lakes include Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Almost half of this state consists of water. In addition to the four Great Lakes, Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes. People in Michigan are always within 85 miles of one of the Great Lakes and never within 6 miles of an inland lake. Experts say the Great Lakes were created by glaciers more than 12,000 years ago.
The name of this state is also rooted in the Chippewa Indian word for “big lake”. Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas are shaped by the four Great Lakes by which it is surrounded, and the bodies of fresh water in the Great Lakes state can be seen from the moon.
Lake Erie is the smallest of Michigan’s four Great Lakes. It represents a short stretch of shoreline from the Detroit River to the Ohio border. The area of Lake Erie is 9,940 square miles (25,744 sq km). It is also the shallowest of all the Great Lakes and has an average depth of only 62 feet (19.8 meters). Coastal marshes and wetlands are found where Lake Erie meets the shore of the Great Lakes State.
The fifth largest freshwater lake on the planet, Lake Huron is the second largest of the Great Lakes. Its area is 23,010 square miles (59,596 sq km). Michigan’s eastern border is shaped by this lake, originally known as La Mer Douce by French explorers. Later, this Great Lake claimed its name from the Huron Indians.
The northern coast of the Great Lakes State comes into contact with Lake Superior, which is the largest freshwater lake found on Earth. Lake Superior covers 31,820 square miles (82,400 square km) in the United States and 11,081 square miles (28,700 square km) in Canada. This lake has a history of shipwrecks and violent storms. Isle Royale is the largest island on Lake Superior in Michigan.
Lake Michigan is the second largest major lake. Of all the Great Lakes, it is the only one completely surrounded by the United States. Rivers and streams from the Great Lakes State flow into Lake Michigan, and a complete water change occurs every 100 years as it flows into Lake Huron through the Strait of Mackinac.
Although the official state flower of Michigan is the apple blossom, the official state wildflower is the dwarf lake iris. It is a threatened species, but can be seen along the shores of the Great Lakes in Michigan. An image of a lake is also displayed on the Michigan state flag.
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