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79-541: A narrow, freshwater sound, the Les Cheneaux Channel, separates Marquette Island from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The channel shore of Marquette Island is lined with Edwardian boathouses and cottages , relics of the island's development as real estate in the early 1900s. At its most narrow, the channel is less than 0.25 miles (0.4 km) in width. The island's summer inhabitants often travel by water to

158-642: A century and in this cabin he died about the year 1872 at the age, it is said, of over 100 years. March 28th, 1836, he represented his tribe and signed the Indian Treaty at Washington, D.C., ceding most of northern Michigan to the United States but reserving for himself and for his people 'the Islands of the chenos' (Indian Treaties, Ed. of 1873, Vol. 1, p. 607). He was succeeded by his son 'Pay-Baw-Me-Say' who took his father's name and who also died in this cabin, about

237-402: A decline of 3.2% from 2010. According to the 2010 census , 103,211 people live in the 12 towns of at least 4,000 people, covering 96.5 square miles (250 km ). A total of 116,548 people live in the 18 towns and villages of at least 2,000 people, which cover 108.5 square miles (281 km )—less than 1% of the peninsula's land area. Federal censuses indicate that the population of

316-444: A kind of meat turnover originally brought to the region by Cornish miners, is popular among locals and tourists alike. Pasty varieties include chicken, venison, pork, hamburger, and pizza, all of which many restaurants serve. Many restaurants serve potato sausage and cudighi , a spicy Italian meat. Finnish immigrants contributed nisu , a cardamom -flavored sweet bread; limppu , an Eastern Finnish rye bread; pannukakku ,

395-619: A large variety of wildlife. Some of the mammals found in the UP include shrews , moles , mice, white-tailed deer , moose , black bears , cougar , gray and red foxes , wolves , river otters , martens , fishers , muskrats , bobcats , coyotes , snowshoe hares , cotton-tail rabbits , porcupines , chipmunks , squirrels, raccoons , opossum and bats. There is a large variety of birds, including hawks, osprey, owls, gulls, hummingbirds, chickadees, robins (the state bird), woodpeckers, warblers, and bald eagles. In terms of reptiles and amphibians ,

474-711: A line from Lac Vieux Desert to the headwaters of the Montreal River . An 1847 survey established the east branch of the Montreal River as the border. However, the 1908 revision of the Constitution of Michigan specified that the west branch of the Montreal River was the proper border, which would have placed an additional 360 square miles of land on the Michigan side of the border. A 1926 Supreme Court decision awarded this tract of land to Wisconsin. The Upper Peninsula contains

553-498: A nickel-copper mine, opened in 2014. Thousands of Americans and immigrants moved to the area during the mining boom, prompting the federal government to create Fort Wilkins near Copper Harbor to maintain order. The first wave were the Cornish from Great Britain, with centuries of mining experience; followed by Irish, Germans , and French Canadians . During the 1890s, Finnish immigrants began settling there in large numbers, forming

632-755: A parody of the "Say YES to Michigan" slogan promoted by state tourism officials, shows an outline of the Upper Peninsula and the slogan, "Say ya to da UP, eh!" The dialect and culture are captured in many songs by Da Yoopers , a comedy music and skit troupe from Ishpeming . Newspapers of the Upper Peninsula include The Daily News in Iron Mountain, The Menominee County Journal in Stephenson , The Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton, The Daily Press in Escanaba, and

711-489: A plurality of residents claim Finnish ancestry). With the exhaustion of readily available minerals, the area's economy declined in the 20th century, largely becoming dependent on logging and tourism. The Upper Peninsula contains 29% of the land area of Michigan but only 3% of its total population; at the height of the mining and timber era in the early 20th century it had as much as 11% of the state's population. Residents are nicknamed Yoopers (derived from "UP-ers") and have

790-696: A reservation on the Wolf River (Fox River tributary) . The Menominee believe that they were created at the mouth of the Menominee River when the Ancestral Bear emerged from the river mouth and was transformed into the first Menominee by the Creator. The Chippewa lived in the upper portion of the river basin and referred to the river as Me-ne-cane Sepe or "Many Little Islands River". In the Jesuit Relations ,

869-416: A strong regional identity, enhanced by the perception that the rest of the state neglects them. Proposals have been made to establish the Upper Peninsula as a separate state but have failed to gain traction. Its largest cities are Marquette , Sault Ste. Marie , Escanaba , Menominee , Houghton , and Iron Mountain . Because of the surrounding waters and northern latitude, it receives more snow than most of

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948-498: A variant on the pancake with a custard flavor; viili (sometimes spelled "fellia"), a stretchy, fermented Finnish milk; and korppu , hard slices of toasted cinnamon bread, traditionally dipped in coffee. Some Finnish foods such as juusto (squeaky cheese, essentially a cheese curd , like Leipäjuusto ) and saunamakkara (a ring-bologna sausage) have become so ubiquitous in Upper Peninsula cuisine that they are now commonly found in most grocery stores and supermarkets. Maple syrup

1027-470: Is a highly prized local delicacy. Fresh Great Lakes fish, such as the lake trout , whitefish , and (in the spring) smelt are widely eaten. There is minimal concern about contamination of fish from Lake Superior waters. Smoked fish is also popular. Thimbleberry jam and chokecherry jelly are a treat. The Upper Peninsula is rich in mineral deposits, including iron, copper, nickel, and silver. Small amounts of gold have also been discovered and mined. In

1106-676: Is in Alger County ; Summer Island is Delta County ; and Isle Royale is part of Keweenaw County .The peninsula is divided between the flat, swampy areas in the east, part of the Great Lakes Plain , and the steeper, more rugged western half, called the Superior Upland , part of the Canadian Shield . The rock in the western portion is the result of volcanic eruptions and is estimated to be at least 3.5 billion years old (much older than

1185-539: Is its land area, about 29% of the state. It is bounded on the north by Lake Superior , on the east by St. Marys River , on the south by the Niagara Escarpment , Lake Michigan and Lake Huron , and on the west by Wisconsin and (counting the water border on Lake Superior) by Minnesota . It has about 1,700 miles (2,700 km) of continuous shoreline with the Great Lakes . There are about 4,300 inland lakes,

1264-478: Is its northernmost section. About one-third of the peninsula is government-owned recreational forest land today, including the Ottawa National Forest and Hiawatha National Forest . Although heavily logged in the 19th century, the majority of the land was forested with mature trees by the 1970s. There was a boundary dispute over the border with Wisconsin. The northwesternmost portion of the border follows

1343-401: Is popular among students of Michigan Technological University (the university actually owns the mountain). Further up the peninsula in the small town of Lac La Belle is Mt. Bohemia . A skiing purist's resort, Bohemia is a self-proclaimed "experts only" mountain, and it does not groom its heavily gladed slopes. Other ski areas are Pine Mountain located in Iron Mountain, Norway Mountain in

1422-504: The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News . The Mining Journal , based in Marquette, is the only daily newspaper that publishes a Sunday edition, which is distributed, with the exception of Chippewa and eastern Mackinac counties, across the entire UP (the other six days are distributed in its local area only). The Keweenaw Peninsula is home to several ski areas. Mont Ripley , just outside Houghton,

1501-569: The Green Bay Packers . This is a result of both proximity and the broadcast and print media of the area. The four counties that border Wisconsin are also in the Central Time Zone, unlike the rest of Michigan, which is on Eastern time. In some cases, commercial cartographers draw incorrect maps that inadvertently annex the Upper Peninsula into Wisconsin. The Upper Peninsula has a distinctive local cuisine. The pasty (pronounced "pass-tee"),

1580-640: The Jay Treaty . As an American territory, the Upper Peninsula was still dominated by the fur trade. John Jacob Astor founded the American Fur Company on Mackinac Island in 1808; however, the industry began to decline in the 1830s as beaver and other game were overhunted. When the Michigan Territory was first established in 1805, it included only the Lower Peninsula and the eastern portion of

1659-641: The Sturgeon , Pemebonwon and Pike rivers. It enters Green Bay on Lake Michigan from the north between Marinette, Wisconsin and Menominee, Michigan . Along its course the Menominee River has been converted into a series of large reservoirs . The waters contained in these reservoirs are some of the area's deepest and cleanest lakes . Many of the lands around those waters are managed for recreational use, which ensures conservation and restricts shoreline development of rows of cottages and docks . The lakes are pristine, with wild shores of forest lands. The name of

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1738-573: The U.P. or Yoop —is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan ; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac . It is bounded primarily by Lake Superior to the north, separated from the Canadian province of Ontario at the east end by the St. Marys River , and flanked by Lake Huron and Lake Michigan along much of its south. Although

1817-721: The Upper Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Michigan . Its entire course, with that of its tributary, the Brule River , forms part of the boundary between the two states. It is formed approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Iron Mountain, Michigan , by the confluence of the Brule and Michigamme rivers. As the Menominee flows southeast it picks up the Pine River and travels past Kingsford, Michigan and Niagara, Wisconsin . It then flows generally south, making broad meanders collecting

1896-530: The 19th century, mining dominated the economy, and the UP became home to many isolated company towns . For many years, mines in the Keweenaw Peninsula were the world's largest producers of copper (see Copper mining in Michigan ). The mines began declining as early as 1913, with most closing temporarily during the Great Depression . Mines reopened during World War II , but almost all quickly closed after

1975-564: The Algonquian branches of Ojibwe and Menominee . They arrived roughly around 800 C.E. and subsisted chiefly from fishing. Early tribes included the Menominee , Odawa , Ojibwe , Nocquet , and Potawatomi . Étienne Brûlé of France was probably the first European to visit the peninsula, crossing the St. Marys River around 1620 in search of a route to the Far East. French colonists laid claim to

2054-513: The French missionary priests referred to the river as Rivière de la Folle Avoine or "Wild Oats River", again a reference to the wild rice. The region through which the river flows was formerly a center of iron ore mining. Menominee River sediments are contaminated with arsenic at Marinette, Wisconsin, from industry. The Back Forty Mine is a proposed gold and zinc open-pit near Stephenson, Michigan to be constructed within 150 feet (46 m) of

2133-558: The French were dissatisfied with the British occupation, which brought new territorial policies. Whereas the French cultivated alliances among the Indians, the British postwar approach was to treat the tribes as conquered peoples. In 1763, tribes united in Pontiac's Rebellion to try to drive the British from the area. American Indians captured Fort Michilimackinac , at present-day Mackinaw City , then

2212-468: The Great Lakes, depositing a variety of fresh and salt water fish and invertebrates, most notably the zebra mussel , Dreissena polymorpha . There are also many plant species that have been transported to the Great Lakes, including purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria and Phragmites australis , both of which are considered to be a threat to native hydrophyte wetland plants. The emerald ash borer

2291-579: The Keweenaw Peninsula the snowiest place east of the Rockies . Herman averages 236 inches (5.99 m) of snow every year. Lake-effect snow can cause blinding whiteouts in just minutes, and some storms can last for days. Hancock is found frequently on lists of the snowiest cities in America. The banana belt along the Wisconsin border has a more continental climate since most of its weather does not arrive from

2370-674: The Les Cheneaux Club, which attracted summer cottagers seeking to escape the heat and humidity of Chicago and other midwestern cities. The Club grounds contain a number of large summer homes which remain the most conspicuous feature of Marquette Island. Among the early members of the Club was the family of Aldo Leopold , who spent his childhood summers in the woods and waters of the Les Cheneaux Islands. Five separate parcels of Island property have been dedicated as nature preserves. In 2022

2449-574: The Lower Peninsula are commonly called " trolls " by Upper Peninsula residents, as they live " Under the Bridge ".) This regionalism is not only a result of the physical separation of the two peninsulas, but also the history of the state. Residents of the western Upper Peninsula take on some of the cultural identities of both Wisconsin and Michigan. In terms of sports fandom, residents may support Detroit professional teams or those of Wisconsin—particularly

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2528-562: The Toledo Strip to Ohio. A constitutional convention of the state legislature refused, but a second convention, hastily convened by Governor Stevens Thomson Mason , consisting primarily of his supporters, agreed in December 1836 to the deal. In January 1837, the U.S. Congress admitted Michigan as a state of the Union. At the time, Michigan was considered the losing party in the compromise. The land in

2607-667: The UP a year-round tourist destination. During the Cold War , the U.P. was home to two U.S. Air Force bases, Kincheloe south of Sault Ste. Marie , and K.I. Sawyer , south of Marquette . Both were bases of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), with B-52H bombers ; Kincheloe closed in 1977, and Sawyer in 1995. In 2004, microbreweries began opening across the Upper Peninsula; 14 opened by 2014, and 23 by 2019. In 2019, their annual economic impact totaled $ 346 million. As of 2018 , three of Michigan's fifty largest breweries were in

2686-652: The UP has common garter snakes , red bellied snakes , pine snakes , northern water snakes , brown snakes , eastern garter snakes , eastern fox snakes , eastern ribbon back snakes , green snakes , northern ringneck snakes , eastern milk snakes (Mackinac and Marquette counties) and eastern hognose snakes (Menominee County only), plus snapping turtles , wood turtles , and painted turtles (the state reptile), green frogs , bullfrogs , northern leopard frogs , and salamanders . Lakes and rivers contain many fish such as walleye , muskie , northern pike , trout , salmon , bullhead catfish , and bass. Invasive species like

2765-497: The UP, but not elsewhere in the state. Critics of the DNRE's position on the species, including the founder of the MCCR, say that the department is attempting to "avoid paying for a cougar management program". There also many invasive species that are primarily brought in the ballast water of foreign ships, usually from the ocean bordering northeastern Asia. This water is dumped directly into

2844-466: The Upper Peninsula grew throughout the 19th century as European settlers moved into the region, then boomed around the turn of the century, and experienced gradual decline overall during most of the 20th century. The decline was uneven, however: the population in the largest cities – Marquette, Sault Ste Marie, and Escanaba – grew somewhat, while smaller cities and non-urban areas have generally declined in population. The six westernmost counties experienced

2923-467: The Upper Peninsula was described in a federal report as a "sterile region on the shores of Lake Superior destined by soil and climate to remain forever a wilderness." This belief changed when rich mineral deposits (primarily copper and iron) were discovered in the 1840s. The Upper Peninsula's mines produced more mineral wealth than the California Gold Rush , especially after shipping was improved by

3002-423: The Upper Peninsula, particularly near Marquette and the community of Jacobsville . The sandstone was used in many buildings, both locally and around the United States. Since logging of white pine began in the 1880s, timber has been an important industry. Stands of hemlock and hardwood in the western reaches of the forest experienced larger scale selection-cutting beginning in the mid-20th century. Because of

3081-519: The Upper Peninsula. In 1819, the territory was expanded to include the remainder of the Upper Peninsula, all of what later became Wisconsin , and part of Minnesota (previously included in the Indiana and Illinois Territories). When Michigan applied for statehood in the 1830s, the proposal corresponded to the original territorial boundaries. However, there was an armed conflict known as the Toledo War with

3160-599: The Upper Peninsula: Keweenaw Brewing Company , Blackrocks Brewery , and the Ore Dock Brewing Company . There are 15 counties in the Upper Peninsula. State prisons are located in Baraga , Marquette , Munising , Newberry , and Kincheloe . During most of the " System of 1896 ", the Upper Peninsula was overwhelmingly Republican even by the standards of Michigan during this era. However,

3239-650: The alewife and sea lamprey can be found in the Great Lakes. The UP also contains many shellfish, such as clams , aquatic snails, and crayfish . The American Bird Conservancy and the National Audubon Society have designated several locations as internationally Important Bird Areas . After being nearly extirpated from the conterminous United States , gray wolves survived in the remote northeastern corner of Minnesota and Ontario. The repopulation of wolves in this region has occurred naturally as they have expanded their territory after they were protected under

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3318-440: The available habitat and the number of this predators the region can support. The department supports delisting as wolves have met and exceeded the biological recovery goals that would necessitate protection. There is significant discussion and studies over the presence of eastern cougars in the UP. Historically, the last of the species, or subspecies, was extirpated near Newberry in 1906, although there have been sightings of

3397-537: The channel from the present site of the Les Cheneaux Club golf course. A plaque was placed on this location by the Les Cheneaux Historical Association in 1982. The plaque describes the significance of this site as follows: "On this spot stood the log cabin of Chabowaway (sometimes called 'Shab-wa-way' or 'Shabway'), a leading chief of the Ottawa Indians. Here he and his ancestors lived for over

3476-411: The creatures over the years since. These reports increased in number over the first decade of the 21st century. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) formed a four-person team to investigate sightings in the state. The biologists with the DNRE currently do not believe that there is a breeding population anywhere in the state, rather that the sighted animals are visitors to

3555-410: The daylight hours are short—around 8 hours between sunrise and sunset in the winter. Lake Superior has the greatest effect on the area, especially the northern and western parts. Lake-effect snow causes many areas to get in excess of 100–250 inches (2.5–6.4 m) of snow per year—especially in the Keweenaw Peninsula and Gogebic County, and to a lesser extent Baraga, Marquette and Alger counties, making

3634-471: The eastern U.S. The heavily forested land, soil types, short growing season, and logistical factors (e.g. long distance to market, lack of infrastructure) make the Upper Peninsula poorly suited for agriculture. The region is home to a variety of wildlife, including moose, wolves, coyotes, deer, foxes, bears, mountain lions, bobcats, eagles, hawks, and owls. The first known inhabitants of the Upper Peninsula were tribes speaking Algonquian languages , specifically

3713-537: The eastern portion) and contains the region's ore resources. Banded-iron formations were deposited 2 billion years ago; this is the Marquette Range Supergroup . A considerable amount of bedrock is visible. Mount Arvon is within the Huron Mountains , located in Marquette and Baraga counties. The Porcupine Mountains are located in the extreme northwest of the peninsula. All of the higher areas are

3792-418: The federal Endangered Species Act in 1978. Michigan Department of Natural Resources's principal goals set in 2008 included maintaining a viable wolf population, facilitating wolf-related benefits, minimizing wolf-related conflicts and conducting “science-based and socially acceptable management of wolves”. Michigan removed wolves from the state's list of threatened and endangered species in 2009 having reached

3871-539: The highly seasonal climate and the short growing season, agriculture is limited in the Upper Peninsula, though potatoes, strawberries and a few other small fruits are grown. Tourism has become the main industry in recent decades. In 2005, ShermanTravel, LLC listed the Upper Peninsula as #10 in its assessment of all travel destinations worldwide. The peninsula has extensive coastline on the Great Lakes, large tracts of state and national forests, cedar swamps, more than 150 waterfalls, and low population densities. Because of

3950-414: The island, and no roads on the island. Because of this, most island landowners own some sort of water frontage or dock access. The waters adjacent to Marquette Island are noted for freshwater fishing , particularly for lake perch . The island is named in honor of missionary/explorer Jacques Marquette . Marquette Island was the home of Chief Shab-wa-way , whose homesite was located directly south across

4029-443: The lakes. Summers tend to be warmer and winter nights much colder. Coastal communities have temperatures tempered by the Great Lakes. In summer, it might be 10 °F (5.6 °C) cooler at lakeside than it is inland, and the opposite effect is seen in winter. The area of the Upper Peninsula north of Green Bay through Menominee and Escanaba (and extending west to Iron River) does not have the extreme weather and precipitation found to

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4108-526: The land in the 17th century, establishing missions and fur trading posts such as Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace . Following the end of the French and Indian War (part of the Seven Years' War ) in 1763, the territory was ceded to Great Britain . Sault Ste. Marie is the oldest European settlement in Michigan and the site of Native American settlements for centuries. American Indian tribes formerly allied with

4187-1117: The largest decrease, from a 1920 population of 153,674 to a 2020 population of 79,392. Many ghost towns exist in the region . A " [REDACTED] " indicates an increase in population from the previous census, and a " [REDACTED] " indicates a decrease in population from the previous census. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan has three state universities ( Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Technological University in Houghton, and Northern Michigan University in Marquette) and five community colleges ( Bay Mills Community College in Brimley, Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba and Iron Mountain, Gogebic Community College in Ironwood, and Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College in Baraga). Early settlers included multiple waves of people from Nordic countries , and people of Finnish ancestry make up 16% of

4266-412: The largest of which is Lake Gogebic , and 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of streams. Its lowest elevation is along the shoreline of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, averaging 577 feet (176 m) above sea level. Its highest elevation is Mount Arvon , at 1,979 feet (603 m). Michigan's Upper Peninsula is bounded on land by Wisconsin to the southwest and west; and in territorial waters by Minnesota to

4345-423: The majority of the peninsula switched to Eastern Standard Time; only the four western border counties of Gogebic , Iron , Dickinson , and Menominee continue to observe Central Standard Time. Daylight saving time is observed peninsula-wide. The Upper Peninsula remains a predominantly rural region. As of the 2020 census the region had a population of 301,608, just more than 3% of Michigan's total population and

4424-438: The nearby towns of Cedarville and Hessel for the necessities of life. The Les Cheneaux Yacht Club, a social center of the islands, is located on Marquette Island. Although Marquette Island is large, it is not as expansive as its overall dimensions might suggest, because it is deeply gouged by freshwater bays such as Duck Bay, Hessel Bay, Peck Bay, and Wilderness Bay. There are no bridges or other means of automobile access to

4503-584: The newest such parcel, the 130-acre Kathy Bricker Nature Lover Preserve, was set aside. The new Preserve is a land parcel adjacent to the 1,683-acre Aldo Leopold Nature Preserve, the largest conservancy parcel on the Island. Both parcels are overseen by the Little Traverse Conservancy , a Northern Michigan private-sector land conservancy group. Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan —also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially

4582-754: The north. The coldest temperature officially recorded in the Upper Peninsula was −48 °F (−44 °C) in Humboldt in January 1915. Like the entire Lower Peninsula, most of the Upper Peninsula is within the Eastern Time Zone . However, the four counties bordering Wisconsin are in the Central Time Zone . In 1967, when the Uniform Time Act came into effect, the Upper Peninsula went under year-round Central Standard Time, with no daylight saving time . In 1973,

4661-549: The opening of the Soo Locks in 1855 and docks in Marquette in 1859. The Upper Peninsula supplied 90% of America's copper by the 1860s. It was the nation's largest supplier of iron ore by the 1890s, and production continued to a peak in the 1920s but sharply declined shortly afterward. The last copper mine closed in 1995, although the majority of mines had closed decades before. Some iron mining continues near Marquette. The Eagle Mine ,

4740-508: The peninsula extends as a geographic feature into the state of Wisconsin , the state boundary follows the Montreal and Menominee rivers and a line connecting them. First inhabited by Algonquian-speaking native American tribes, the area was explored by French colonists, then occupied by British forces, before being ceded to the newly established United States in the late 18th century. After being assigned to various territorial jurisdictions, it

4819-422: The peninsula's population. The Finnish sauna and the concept of sisu have been adopted widely by residents of the Upper Peninsula. The television program Finland Calling was for a long period the only Finnish-language television broadcast in the United States; it aired on Marquette station WLUC-TV from March 25, 1962, until March 29, 2015. Finlandia University , America's only college with Finnish roots,

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4898-586: The population plurality in the northwestern portion of the peninsula. In the early 20th century, 75% of the population was foreign-born. From 1861 to 1865, 90,000 Michigan men fought in the American Civil War , including 1,209 from the Upper Peninsula. Houghton County contributed 460 soldiers, while Marquette County sent 265. Including extensive parts of the Great Lakes, the Upper Peninsula contains about 36,139 square miles (93,600 km ) of total area. Of that, about 16,378 square miles (42,420 km )

4977-686: The presence of cougars at the time. These results were disputed in a second journal article in 2007 by other researchers from Eastern Michigan University and the U.S. Forest Service . A citizen's group, the Michigan Citizens for Cougar Recognition (MCCR), independently tracked sightings and in 2009 listed Delta County as the location with the greatest number of reports in the state. The DNRE verified five sets of tracks and two trail camera photos in Delta, Chippewa, Marquette, and Menominee counties since 2008. DNRE officials acknowledge that there are cougars in

5056-410: The principal fort of the British in the Michilimackinac region, as well as others and killed hundreds of British. In 1764, they began negotiations with the British, resulting in temporary peace and changes in objectionable British policies. Although the Upper Peninsula nominally became United States territory with the 1783 Treaty of Paris , the British did not give up control until 1797 under terms of

5135-453: The recovery goal of 200 for five consecutive years in 2004. In 2012, FWS issued a rule that classified and delisted a sub-species called the Western Great Lakes wolves under the federal Endangered Species Act. Michigan had a legal wolf hunt in 2013. Wolves were returned to the list of federally threatened species in December 2014 as a result of a court ruling. The Department of Natural Resources found that an equilibrium has been achieved between

5214-421: The region's politics shifted from 1924, when the Upper Peninsula was the strongest region in Michigan for the insurgent candidacy of Progressive Robert M. La Follette . Menominee River The Menominee River is a river in northwestern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in the United States . It is approximately 116 miles (187 km) long, draining a rural forested area of northern Wisconsin and

5293-404: The remnants of ancient peaks, worn down over millions of years by erosion and glaciers. The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northernmost part of the peninsula (not counting Isle Royale, which is politically part of the UP). It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, part of a larger region of the peninsula called the Copper Country . Copper Island

5372-421: The river comes from an Ojibwe Algonquian term meaning " wild rice ", or "in the place of wild rice". They used the same name for the river as for the historic Menominee tribe who lived in the area and used the plant as a staple. The Menominee are the only Native American tribe living in Wisconsin today whose origin was in the present-day state. The federally recognized Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin have

5451-453: The skiing, camping, boating, fishing, snowmobiling, hunting, and hiking opportunities, many Lower Peninsula and Wisconsin families spend their vacations in the UP, and tourists visit from Detroit, Chicago, Grand Rapids , Milwaukee , and other metropolitan areas. The opening of the Mackinac Bridge in 1957 (see below) has made the Upper Peninsula easily accessible to tourists from the Lower Peninsula and southeast of Michigan, and has helped make

5530-434: The state of Ohio over the location of their mutual border. Meanwhile, the people of Michigan approved a constitution in May 1835 and elected state officials in late autumn 1835. Although the state government was not yet recognized by the United States Congress , the territorial government effectively ceased to exist. President Andrew Jackson 's government offered the remainder of the Upper Peninsula to Michigan if it would cede

5609-428: The state. As late as January 2007, the DNRE's official position was that no cougars lived in Michigan. Several residents in the state disagree with both current and previous positions on the part of the DNRE. Researchers at Central Michigan University and the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy in 2006 published the findings of a study using DNA analysis of fecal samples taken in the Upper and Lower peninsulas that showed

5688-690: The town of the same name, and the Porcupine Mountains Ski Area located in Ontonagon. Houghton is where professional ice hockey was first started in 1904. As of 2018, the western Upper Peninsula is home to about 173,887 people, while the eastern Upper Peninsula is home to about 133,499 people, a total of 307,386—only about 3% of the state's population—living in almost one-third of the state's land area. Residents are known as Yoopers (from "UP-ers"), and many consider themselves Yoopers before they consider themselves Michiganders . (People living in

5767-620: The war ended. The last copper mine in the Copper Country was the White Pine mine , which closed in 1995. Marquette County sits along the Marquette Iron Range , which sent out a significant portion of the iron ore mined in the United States for many years. As of 2020 , Marquette County is home to one remaining iron ore mine and one nickel and copper mine. From approximately 1870 to 1915, about 32 quarries mined Jacobsville Sandstone in

5846-682: The west, Ontario to the west, north and east, and the Door Peninsula of Wisconsin extends into Lake Michigan east of the western Upper Peninsula. Five Michigan Upper Peninsula counties include nearby major islands: Mackinac Island , Round Island and Bois Blanc Island in Lake Huron are in Mackinac County ; Sugar Island and Neebish Island in the St. Marys River , and Drummond Island in Lake Huron are in Chippewa County ; Grand Island

5925-476: The western UP a prominent part of the midwestern snowbelt . Records of 390 inches (9.9 m) of snow or more have been set in many communities in this area. The Keweenaw Peninsula averages more snowfall than any other location east of the Mississippi River . Because of the howling storms across Lake Superior, which cause dramatic amounts of precipitation, it has been said that the lake-effect snow makes

6004-408: The year 1882. Soon thereafter the cabin was burned by a company of hunters." Between 1883 and 1887, the property on Club Point (the northernmost peninsula of Marquette Island) passed from the heirs of Shab-wa-way, through several temporary owners into the ownership of William L. Benham who purchased Club Point in 1888. Benham, Alfred E. Bousfield, and other investors, mostly from Bay City, MI, formed

6083-471: Was first reported in the UP at Brimley State Park and is considered to be a serious ecological threat to the habitat and economy. The Upper Peninsula has a humid continental climate ( Dfb in the Köppen climate classification system). The Great Lakes have a great effect on the larger part of the peninsula. Winters tend to be long, cold, and snowy for most of the peninsula, and because of its northern latitude,

6162-403: Was granted to the newly formed state of Michigan as part of the settlement of a dispute with Ohio over the city of Toledo . The region's exploitable timber resources and the discovery of iron and copper deposits in the 19th century brought immigrants, especially Finnish , French Canadian , Swedish , Cornish , and Italian (the peninsula includes the only counties in the United States where

6241-512: Was located in Hancock, but has shut down as of spring 2023. Street signs in Hancock appear in English and Finnish to celebrate this heritage. Other sizable ethnic communities in the Upper Peninsula include French-Canadian , German, Cornish , Italian, and Ojibwe ancestry. People from the Upper Peninsula speak a dialect influenced by Scandinavian and French-Canadian speech. A popular bumper sticker,

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