The state of Michigan is located in the northern part of the region,designated on the geographical maps of the United States of America as the Midwest. Its territory is rich in minerals and other natural resources. The state is interesting both for its history and for its natural recreational potential, attracting many tourists every year to the shores of the Great American Lakes.
From the history
As a certain territory withThe Michigan state was formed only in the beginning of the nineteenth century. Prior to that, the French, the British, and the tribes of the indigenous inhabitants of these places were competing for control of it. During the War of Independence of the United States, the plain between the Great Lakes was captured by the English. The status of the full state of the United States of America Michigan acquired only in 1837, two years after the adoption of its own constitution and the settlement of territorial disputes with neighboring states. He was destined to become the twenty-sixth by the state that became part of the United States. The middle of the nineteenth century was marked by the rapid economic development of the Midwest. Not least, this was due to the construction of a waterway linking the Great American Lakes through the Erie Canal with the Hudson River. This federal project attracted significant material, financial and human resources to the region. During the Civil War, the state of Michigan fought on the side of the North.
Geography and natural resources
The state of Michigan has, if not unique,a highly peculiar geographical location. Its territory is divided into two large parts, washed by the waters of four of the five Great American lakes. The natural system of these unique reservoirs is one of the world's largest freshwater storage facilities. Its total volume is comparable only with the Siberian Lake Baikal. The two peninsulas, which form the main part of the state of Michigan, are separated by a water barrier. They are connected only by the Makino bridge, built in 1957 in the narrowest part of the strait between two lakes. The state has deposits of iron ore, which is a necessary basis for the development of metallurgy and heavy industry. On the territory of Michigan there are reserves of hydrocarbon energy carriers - oil and gas.
Economy and Industry
Behind the states of the Midwest, the status of industrialthe heart of America has established itself since the middle of the nineteenth century. It was in the northern part of the country during the significant historical period that the basis of the US economic power was concentrated. The state of Michigan plays in it not the least role. In the history of the world economy, he entered because in the early twentieth century, for the first time, the principle of conveyor production was applied in practice. This technology, first worked out in the assembly process of Ford's automobile factories in Detroit, radically changed not only the economy of the United States, but also the face of the entire human civilization.
The Automobile Capital
Detroit, of course, is the largest and most famousa city in the state of Michigan. But today about its title of automobile capital it is necessary to speak only in the past tense. Even in the eighties of the last century there was a tendency for the decline in automobile production. This does not mean that cars were produced less. But there was a systemic restructuring of the industry, as a result of which most of the assembly industries moved to other regions of the world. And in the vicinity of Detroit there were the headquarters of the leading automobile concerns and the infrastructure for ensuring technological development of production. Enterprise management remained in Detroit, but the two millionth city is currently experiencing far not the best of times. It has a high level of unemployment, crime and social tension. Many historical buildings and entire blocks are in ruins and are gradually being destroyed.
Tourism
The state of Michigan, whose cities are already onfor two centuries are the largest industrial centers of the country, is famous not only for the technological level of its industry. A significant segment of the state's economy is associated with its natural recreational potential. The unique geographical area of the Great American Lakes attracts many tourists from the depths of the continent and from other countries. To serve them, a developed service infrastructure has been created, spread out along the entire coast. In recent years and decades, significant funds have been invested in the protection of the unique ecosystem of the Great Lakes. And these investments gave the expected result - the ecological situation in the region has improved noticeably. However, this is also due to the curtailment of a number of industrial production in the industrial area of Detroit.
