Lake Michigan

Third largest of the five Great Lakes and the only one lying wholly within the U.S.

Bordered by the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, it connects with Lake Huron through the Straits of Mackinac in the north. It is 321 mi (517 km) long and up to 118 mi (190 km) wide, with a maximum depth of 923 ft (281 m); it occupies an area of 22,300 sq mi (57,757 sq km). The first European to discover it was the French explorer Jean Nicolet in 1634; the explorer La Salle brought the first sailing ship there in 1679. It now attracts international shipping as part of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway. The name is derived from the Algonquian word michigami or misschiganin, meaning “big lake.”

Best Reasons to Visit Michigan

Some of the best reasons to visit Michigan :

- Henry Ford Museum’s “100 Years of the Automobile in American Life” exhibit
- Mackinac Island where automobiles have yet to intrude, setting a different pace of life
- Motown Historical Museum, home of the Motown sound
- Sleeping Bear dune climb on Lake Michigan’s shoreline, the Pierce Stocking scenic drive and the life-saving Station Museum
- Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore’s cliffs, beaches, waterfalls and forests on Lake Superior
- Charter fishing for King Salmon on the Great Lakes, plus 11,000 inland lakes for pan-fish, boating or relaxing
- Numerous manufacturers’ outlet malls - shopping at up to 70% off designer name brands