Michigan was the 26th state in the USA

Michigan was the 26^th state in the USA; it became a state on January 26, 1837.

State Abbreviation - MI
State Capital - Lansing
Largest City - Detroit
Area - 96,810 square miles [Michigan is the 11th biggest state in the USA]
Population - 9,938,444 (as of 2000) [Michigan is the eighth most populous state in the USA, after California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio]
Major Industries - car manufacturing, farming (corn, soybeans, wheat), timber, fishing

Major Rivers - Detroit River, Grand River, Kalamazoo River, St. Clair River, St. Marys River
Major Lakes - Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair
Highest Point - Mt. Arvon - 1,978 feet (604 m) above sea level
Bordering States - Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota (across Lake Superior)
Bordering Country - Canada

Origin of the Name Michigan - Michigan is from an Algonquian Chippewa Indian word "meicigama" that means "big sea wate" (referring to the Great Lakes). State Nickname - Wolverine State
State Motto - "Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam, circum spice" [If you are seeking a amenable (pleasant) peninsula, look around you]
State Song - Michigan, My Michigan

Michigan State Symbols and Emblems:

State Flag

Michigan's official flag was adopted in 1911. The flag has a deep blue background and pictures an elk and moose around a blue shield labeled "TUEBOR," meaning "I will defend." The shield pictures a man with a raised hand and a gun, a rising sun, a peninsula and lakes (representing Michigan's geography). Over the shield is a bald eagle (holding an olive branch and a sheaf of three arrows) and a red ribbon reading "E PLURIBUS UNUM" (which is the motto of the U.S.A. and means "Out of Many, One" - this refers to the states of the United States being united into one country). Under everything lie two white ribbons that read "SI QUAERIS PENINSULAM AMOENAM" and "CIRCUM SPICE," which means, "If you are seeking a amenable (pleasant) peninsula, look around you."