Michigan was admitted into the Union in 1837 as the 26th state, a free one.
Experts aren’t sure, but Michigan might have been named after Lake Michigan, which got its name from a Native American word that roughly translates to “big lake.” Experts don’t agree on why Michigan is called the Wolverine State ... especially since not many wolverines live there! One theory is that fur traders used to exchange animal pelts, including wolverines’, in Michigan. Another idea involves an 1835 land skirmish with Ohio. At the time, people from Ohio called their Michigan neighbors “wolverines” as an insult. Michigan is home to many types of animals—especially the widespread white-tailed deer (the state animal). Once wiped out by hunters, native elk and moose have made comebacks after herds were relocated from Wyoming and Canada, respectively. Michigan is also home to 360 bird species, including the rare Kirtland’s warbler. Raptors such as osprey, short-eared owls, and peregrine falcons live in Michigan as well, as do many water birds such as trumpeter swans, great blue herons, and piping plovers. Red-bellied snakes, spiny soft-shell turtles, and five-lined skinks are a few of the reptiles that slink and creep through the state. Marbled salamanders, bullfrogs, and green frogs are among Michigan’s amphibians. With more than half the state covered in forests, Michigan is filled with white pine (the state tree), American mountain ash, boxelder, sugar maple, and red mulberry. Michigan rose, orange coneflower, evening primrose (check it out blooming at night!), and yellow monkey flower are some of the wildflowers that grow in the Wolverine State. Ashleigh
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