State Name: Michigan
Name Origin: Derived from the Indian word Michigama, meaning great or large lake.
Nicknames: Great Lakes State, Wolverine State
Statehood: Jan. 26, 1837 (26th)
Capital: Lansing, since 1847; prior to that, Detroit.
State Motto: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice, which translates, "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you."
Population: According to the 2000 census, the population of Michigan is 9,938,444 (8th).
Area:

• Michigan is the 10th largest state in the Union (combined land and water area)
• 58,110 square miles of land
• 1,305 square miles of inland water
• 38,575 square miles of Great Lakes water area
• 3,288 miles of Great Lakes shoreline
• Length: 456 miles
• Width: 386 miles
• Distance from northwest to southeast corner: 456 miles
• 11,037 inland lakes