RURAL MICHIGAN 



GEOGRAPHICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FEATURES 



Michigan's most striking physical characteristic — as 

 one ghmces at the map (Fig. 1) — is its peninsularity. 

 This fact is suggested in the Great Seal of the State, 

 — si quaris peninsulam aniAjenam circumspice, — "if 

 you seek a beautiful peninsula, look around you." 



Residents of IMiehigan commonly speak of "the 

 Two Peninsulas/' but in reality, the two major land 

 masses that compose the State are themselves clusters 

 of lesser peninsulas, the most obvious of which are 

 "the Thumb" between Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron, 

 "the Horn" between Grand Traverse Bay and Lake 

 Michigan, and the Keweenaw Peninsula between 

 Keweenaw Bay and Lake Superior. Lesser land 

 bodies project themselves at intervals into the en- 

 compassing fresh-water seas, greatly extending the 

 shore-line of the State and, each in its own Avay, 

 affecting navigation, climate and the economic and 

 social interests of the people. Thus, the Keweenaw 

 Peninsula deflects the Duluth Sault Ste. Marie ship- 

 ping route to the northward, gains for the agriculture 

 of the region a growing season of one hundred and 

 fifty days, comparable to that of the southern part 

 of the State, and makes available an enormous min- 

 eral wealth that otherwise might be imprisoned be- 

 neath the waters of the Lake. For thousands of 

 miles this peninsular feature places Michigan in 

 direct contact with the world's most extensive and 

 widely used inland waterway, while it isolates her 



