Water, Water, Everywhere...

Water is very important to people in Michigan.  We have an abundance of it.  Sometimes we have so much that we take it for granted.

• We are known as the Great Lakes State - parts of four of the five Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie) are within our boundaries. 
• We have over 3000 miles of shoreline on the Great Lakes - this makes Michigan the state with the longest freshwater shoreline and in the top 10 states for overall shoreline.
• Anywhere you stand in Michigan is within 85 miles of a Great Lake
• Our license plates once said "Water Wonderland".
• We have over 36,000 miles of rivers and streams
• We have over 26,000 lakes of over 1 acre, over six thousand of these are over 10 acres in size.
• There is no place in Michigan that is more than six miles from a lake or river.

These pictures are of Great Lakes and not-so-great lakes.  They are of rivers, ponds, streams, and puddles. They are from national parks, state parks, local parks and backyards.  They show water in all seasons- Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.  They are from the Upper Peninsula and the Lower Peninsula.  They are Michigan's waters.  Drink them in.  Keep them clean. Respect them.  Preserve them.  They make our state what it is.  They influence who we are.