Michigan The Great Lakes State

Michigan The Great Lakes State is the 2nd map in this style that I have completed.  Work on this map started in mid-2025 after I completed The British and Irish Isles.  After creating such a large map for my first go, I wanted to reign it in a bit and work on something smaller.  At 16x20in, this map is just over 1/3 the size of the previous, making for quicker work.

Michigan is the state I grew up in, the Metro Detroit area specifically.  Aside from just living there, Michigan has many features that make it a great candidate for a detailed map.  Michigan has the 2nd longest coast of any state, behind Alaska.  Because of this, Michigan also has the most lighthouses of any state in the county, with most counts putting it at 129, all of which are included on this map.

The great lakes are also home to multiple thousands of shipwrecks.  This would most likely be too many to draw, however I have added the most famous one, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank on November 10th, 1975. 

At 729 feet, not only is it the longest ship to sink in the Great Lakes, it is also 2 feet longer than the tallest building in Michigan, the Renaissance Center in Detroit.

Michigan is also home to a National Park, far in the North of the state, Isle Royale.  It is the 5th largest fresh water island in the world.

The cartouche contains many details related to Michigan as well.  The shield surrounding it is copper colored, made to represent the massive copper deposits in the Upper Peninsula.  It contains the Michigan Coat of Arms, adopted in 1835, and placed on the flag in 1911.  The flower on the bottom is an Apple Blossom, the Michigan State Flower.