Northern Michigan

Northern Michigan
Northern Lower Michigan
Lower Peninsula of Michigan
Country	United States
State	Michigan
Population	506,658
Timezone	Eastern: UTC −5/−4
Northern Michigan is highlighted in light green.

Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan or Upper Michigan (known colloquially to residents of more southerly parts of the state and summer residents from cities such as Chicago as ""), is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popular tourist destination, it is home to several small- to medium-sized cities, extensive state and national forests, lakes and rivers, and a large portion of Great Lakes shoreline. The region has a significant seasonal population much like other regions that depend on tourism as their main industry. Northern Lower Michigan is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale, which, obviously, are also located in "northern" Michigan. In the northern-most 21 counties in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, the total population of the region is 506,658 people.

The southern boundary of the region is not precisely defined. Some residents in the southern part of the state consider its southern limit to be just north of Flint, Port Huron, and Grand Rapids, but more northern residents restrict it to the area north of Mount Pleasant: the "fingers" of the mitten-like shape of the Lower Peninsula. The 45th parallel runs across Northern Michigan. Signs in the Lower Peninsula that mark that line are at Mission Point Light. (just north of Traverse City), Suttons Bay, Cairn Highway in Kewadin, Alba, Michigan on U.S. 131 Highway (approximately 2 miles North of county road 42, signs on both sides of the highway), Gaylord,Atlanta and Alpena. These are six of 29 places in the U.S.A. where such signs or monuments are known to exist. One other such sign is in Menominee, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula.