The southern part of the state of
Michigan, containing two-thirds of the land area of that state and all but about 1% of the
population. The Lower Peninsula is
shaped like a hand in a mitten, sharing land borders on the south with
Ohio and
Indiana and being bounded by
water on all other sides. Being surrounded by water, residents refer to the east and west 'coasts'.
Lake Erie, the
Detroit River,
Lake St. Claire and the
Huron River define the southern part of the east coast, while
Lake Huron and
Saginaw Bay give the east coast it's distinct shape. On the north, the Lower Peninsula is separated from the other portion of Michigan, the
Upper Peninsula, by the Straits of Mackinac. On the west is
Lake Michigan.
The southern third of the Lower peninsula is natively deciduous forest cover and is very productive agricultural land. Most of the population of the state is in the industrial cities of this region. The northern two thirds is covered by pine forests and small lakes, and is rather sparsely populated.