Michigan (oh wait, this is a Compared video?)
The Lower Peninsula, let’s call it LP, and Upper Peninsula, let’s call it UP…of Michigan.
Michigan is the ONLY state in THESE United States which consists of two, distinct peninsulas like
this, and in this video we’ll look at their similarities and differences. A peninsula, by the
way, is a piece of land almost entirely surrounded by water. It just, ya know, sticks out there. Now
Michigan’s peninsulas are surrounded by three of the five Great Lakes, the largest group of
freshwater lakes on the planet. Are you thirsty? 21% of all the world’s fresh water is in them.
Both border Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Lake Michigan is to the west of the LP and
south of the UP, and Lake Huron is to the east of the LP, with a bit of it bordering the UP to
the south. To the north of the UP? THE largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area,
the spectacular Lake Superior. You know what? It IS Superior, man.
Hey did you know you can use your hands to create the shape of Michigan’s two peninsulas? It’d look
like this. This pinky finger represents the Keweenaw Peninsula, which juts out into Lake
Superior. Michiganders often call the LP “The Mitten,” because, well, it kind of looks like
a mitten. See? Michiganders will even use their hand to point out places in the LP.
I’ve been to these parts of the LP, by the way. Oh, and Detroit is at the bottom of the thumb.
Both have beautiful natural scenery and lots of woods. Both have two national forests,
as matter of fact, although most of the forested areas of the LP are in its northern region.
Both peninsulas get plenty of precipitation, but the precipitation is heavier in both of
their western regions, mostly due to all the lake-effect snow they get there. Basically,
lake effect snow happens when cold dry air passes over lots of warmer water. This is
why Grand Rapids usually gets a lot more snow than Detroit. But uh yeah, both the LP and UP
get plenty of snow each year and have very cold winters, although both have four distinct seasons.
Both have a humid continental climate.
But yeah, um, other than the fact that both have similar climates and border the Great Lakes and
you can use your hands to make the shapes of them, that’s about ALL they have in common,
so for the rest of this video, it’s all differences, baby.
First of all, the LP is bigger. It covers almost 2 and a half times the land area of the UP.
The LP has a LOT more people. More than 32 times
as many people! (LP- 9.8 million people, UP- 302,000 people) Just around 3% of Michigan’s
total population lives in the UP, and its population has been declining in recent years.
The biggest city in the LP is Detroit. Its metro population is more than 66 times larger
than the metro population of Marquette, which is the biggest town in the UP. Yeah,
the UP doesn’t really have “cities.” It has towns and villages. In fact,
there are 97 towns and cities in the LP that have a bigger population than Marquette.
The LP is more ethnically and religiously diverse. Related to this,
the LP is much more urban. Related to THAT, the UP leans more to the right politically.
The LP has much more agriculture. Major industries in the UP include mining, logging, and tourism.
Major industries in the LP include healthcare, bioscience, and manufacturing. Particularly,
automobile manufacturing, especially in or near Detroit. And yep, the LP is part of the
Rust Belt, a region of the country known for declining industry and run down factories.
Tourism is also big in the LP, but their tourists tend to come from all over the world,
whereas in the UP tourists tend to come from all over the Upper Midwest,
especially the Chicago area or…you guessed…the LP.
By this point in the video, uh…it may be no surprise to you that the UP is hillier,
more forested, and has more wilderness. Heck, the UP even has small mountains. The Huron Mountains,
for real, which is where Michigan’s highest peak, Mount Arvon, is located.
The UP has moose up there. Well there used to be moose in the LP until humans scared them off
in the 1890s. While the UP is also known for having a lot of black bears as well,
many people don’t realize the LP’s northern region has around 2,000 of them.
The UP has a national park, the LP does not. The UP’s national park is actually
way up here on an island. It’s one of the least visited national parks in the country.
And yes, driving around the UP often feels like you are far from civilization. The cell
service is often spotty. It barely has any interstate highway going through,
for crying out loud…just this little stretch of Interstate 75 that runs from Mackinaw City to
Sault Ste. Marie. Supposedly Copper Harbor, located here on the UP, is the furthest
distance you can get from any Interstate Highway in the continental United States.
UP residents are often referred to as “Yoopers,” and even have a distinct dialect. LP residents are
often referred to as “Trolls.” Ok, so really only Yoopers call LP residents Trolls, since
trolls live under bridges and LP residents live south of the Mackinac bridge, or “under” it. That
Yooper dialect is likely rooted in the fact that so many Finnish immigrants first settled up there.
Obviously, being further north the UP gets colder in the winters and LP gets warmer in
the summers. That said, many LP residents indeed go north to the UP during the summer months since
summers are wonderful up there. Well, except for the giant mosquitoes and black flies. Indeed,
the winters are BRUTAL in the UP, but the Yoopers take it in stride. Many
even use snowmobiles to get around when everything is frozen over.
Overall, the cost of living is lower in the UP. However, the poverty rate also tends to
be slightly higher in the UP, and the median household income tends to be lower there as well.
More LP residents have college degrees.
Overall, the violent crime rate is higher in the LP. In the UP you’re
probably more afraid of being attacked by a bear than a human.
So how long have humans been around in both peninsulas?
Well they first arrived in modern-day Michigan thousands of years ago. At the time of European
arrival, the main three Native American nations that lived in the area, sometimes called “The
Three Fires,” were the Chippewa, who mostly lived in what’s today the Upper Peninsula,
and the Ottawa and Potawatomi, who mostly lived in what’s today the Lower Peninsula. Other tribes
who lived in modern-day Michigan included the Huron, Sauk, Miami, and Menominee.
The French were the first Europeans to check out the area. Probably the first notable French dude
to check it out was Etienne Brule, and he first got there in 1618. The French settled
the modern-day UP generally sooner than the modern-day LP since the French were friendly
with the Huron but not the Iroquois Nation. Soon French missionaries settled in the region. They
built forts and, for the most part, got along peacefully with the local American Indian tribes.
By the late 1600s, the fur trade had become pretty big in the area. Meanwhile,
the British began encroaching on the land, forming their own alliances with American Indian tribes.
Well Britain and France ending up clashing, of course, and this ultimately led to what’s known
as the French and Indian War, which Britain won in 1763. Now future Michigan was under British rule.
However, the British generally didn’t treat American Indians as well as the French did,
and tensions between them sharply increased, especially after Britain built their OWN forts
in the area and started breaking treaties they had written up among various tribes. This was a major
cause of Pontiac’s War, or Pontiac’s Rebellion. After winning that one, the British had to
deal with their own American colonies rebelling just a few years later, but they lost that one,
and then modern-day Michigan was now part of a new country called the United States.
Michigan still bordered British land to the north and east in what is today Canada, and
um, yeah the British didn’t respect those borders so much. Right near the border was Fort Detroit,
which today is the site of, ya know, Detroit. While it was on American land,
the British had retaken the fort during the Northwest Indian War to aid the American
Indians fighting the United States. Ultimately, however, the United States won and Britain
finally abandoned Fort Detroit with the signing of Jay Treaty in 1794.
In 1800, the western part of the modern-day Lower Peninsula and most of the modern-day
Upper Peninsula became part of Indiana Territory, believe it or not. However,
on January 11, 1805, Michigan became a separate territory, with only that
little sliver there of the modern-day UP. The rest of it was still in Indiana Territory and
then part of Illinois Territory a few years later. However, flash forward a few more
years and Michigan had all THIS territory, and then THIS much territory. Woahness.
But you might be wondering at this point….wait, why the heck does Michigan even have the
peninsula? Well, long story really short…The Toledo War, which I cover in this video. But
long story kinda short cartographers messed up drawing the border between Ohio and Michigan,
leading to a border dispute. Michigan said THIS line was its southern border, Ohio said
THIS line was its northern border. Still, things were relatively peaceful there until December 11,
1833, when Michigan wanted to become a state with THEIR preferred border with Ohio. Well Ohio wasn’t
having any of that so both states sent their militias. It wasn’t actually a “war,” though,
since there was only one small skirmish and one injury- some dude got stabbed
in the leg. Anyway, it did catch the attention of the federal government,
who stepped in to help facilitate a compromise. That compromise? Ohio would get the Toledo Strip,
but Michigan would get the Upper Peninsula and finally get to become a state. Wisconsin,
sadly, didn’t even get a say in the whole deal.
So yeah, ever since the part of Michigan where most people settled was the LP,
first because that’s where the better farmland was,
and then later because that’s where most of the industry was. And it’s warmer down there.
Incredibly, the only way to travel between the LP and UP for most of Michigan’s history was by boat.
It wasn’t until November 1, 1957, that the two peninsulas were finally linked by a road after
the opening of the Mackinac Bridge, aka the Mighty Mac, which spans the entire Straits of
Mackinac at a length of nearly 5 miles (8km). It’s the longest suspension bridge with two
towers between anchorages in the entire Western Hemisphere. Nearby, in Lake Huron, is the resort
area of Mackinac Island, which also marks the division of the two peninsulas. The entire island
is listed as a National Historic Landmark and is a very popular tourist destination.
There’s famously a ban there on nearly all motor vehicles, which makes it a pretty quiet place.
A lot of people don’t realize just how big Michigan is. It’s the largest state
east of the Mississippi River. To put it in perspective, it takes 9 hours and 23
minutes to drive from Ironwood, on the western edge of the UP down to
Detroit. Ironwood is almost as far west as St. Louis and New Orleans,
while Detroit is further east than Atlanta, about the same longitude as Columbus, Ohio.
Speaking of which, while all of the LP and most of the UP are in the Eastern Time Zone,
this little strip of the UP where Ironwood is located is actually in the Central Time Zone.
And now’s the portion of the video where
I ask a Michigander about that rivalry between the UP and LP.
Nick: What rivalry? And no one calls it the LP by the way.
Oh, ok.
In conclusion, despite being in the same state, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula
often seem worlds apart. Indeed, at times it seems like they are two different states. But
despite all their differences, they ain’t never separatin’. There is MORE than the Mackinac
Bridge keeping these two peninsulas together. There seems to be a bond that cannot be broken.
oh hey sorry uh I didn't notice you there I'm Mr. Beat and I'm listening to Black Sabbath that's a
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Thanks to Michigander…or is it Michiganian…Nick from Science Asylum for the cameo. Check out his
channel! And hey other Michiganders, where you at? I’d love to hear from you. What did
I leave out? What did I get wrong? Did I get anything right? I sure hope so. Let
me know down below. Also, I’m planning on comparing cities next for this series. Can
you guess which two? If you can, I will think about giving you a billion dollars.