• In northern Michigan, at the Straits of Mackinac, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron come together. The Mackinac Bridge over the straits covers 5 miles from the Lower Peninsula to the Upper Peninsula. It's called a “suspension bridge” because the roadway is held up (suspended) by thick metal cables attached to very high posts that are buried deep into the rock under the water.

Michigan is a Great Lakes state. The lower, larger part of the state is bordered by Lake Michigan on its west side, Lake Huron on most of its east side, and Lake Erie along its southeast corner (by Detroit). Michigan also has an Upper Peninsula, another chunk of the state. This part has Lake Michigan on its south side and Lake Superior to the north. The very eastern part of the UP touches Canada and is just a few miles from Lake Ontario.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is in the northwestern part of the Lower Peninsula. You can drive a seven- to eight-mile road and see giant piles of sand, then two islands out in the big lake. There is a nine-mile hiking trail, too.

Michigan has the eighth largest population, with about 9.9 million people. Lansing is the capital, but Detroit, the Motor City, is the largest city.

The Midwest