Back شبه جزيرة ميشيغان الدنيا Arabic মিশিগানের নিম্নস্থ উপদ্বীপ Bengali/Bangla Untere Halbinsel German Península inferior de Míchigan Spanish Péninsule inférieure du Michigan French Neder-Michigan Frisian Penisola inferiore Italian ロウアー半島 Japanese 로어반도 Korean Paeninsula Michiganensis Inferior Latin
Lower Peninsula of Michigan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname: The Mitten | |
 Regions and major cities of the Lower Peninsula | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| Area | |
| • Total | 40,162 sq mi (104,020 km2) |
| Population (2015 est.) | |
| • Total | 9,584,261 |
| • Density | 240/sq mi (92/km2) |
The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the Straits of Mackinac. It is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border, which it shares with Indiana and Ohio.
Although the Upper Peninsula is commonly referred to as "the U.P.", it is uncommon for the Lower Peninsula to be called "the L.P.". Because of its recognizable shape, the Lower Peninsula is nicknamed The Mitten, with the eastern region identified as "The Thumb". This has led to several folkloric creation myths for the area, one being that it is a handprint of Paul Bunyan, a giant lumberjack and popular European-American folk character in Michigan. When asked where they live, Lower Peninsula residents may hold up their right palm and point to a spot on it to indicate the location.[1]
The peninsula is sometimes divided into the Northern Lower Peninsula—which is more sparsely populated and largely forested—and the Southern Lower Peninsula—which is largely urban or farmland. Southern Lower Michigan is sometimes further divided into economic and cultural subregions.
The more culturally and economically diverse Lower Peninsula dominates Michigan politics, and maps of it without the Upper Peninsula are sometimes mistakenly presented as "Michigan", which contributes to resentment by "Yoopers" (residents of "the U.P").[2][3] Yoopers jokingly refer to residents of the Lower Peninsula as "flat-landers" (referring to the region's less rugged terrain) or "trolls" (because, being south of the Mackinac Bridge, they "live under the bridge").[4]
- ^ Keilman, John (December 9, 2011). "Hand-to-hand combat". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ "Update: U.P. Added to White House Medicaid Map". Cadillac, MI: WWTV-TV. November 8, 2013. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
- ^ "The Upper Peninsula Is Not Optional". theupperpeninsulaisnotoptional.tumblr.com. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
- ^ Parrish, P. J. (2007). "Somebody's Daughter". A Thousand Bones. Simon and Schuster. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-4165-2587-5. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
A troll was what people from Michigan's Upper Peninsula called anyone who lived 'below the bridge,' the five-mile-long span that connected the Upper and Lower peninsulas.