(MI) The Michigan News – Michigan is defined by the Great Lakes. Our two peninsulas border four of the five Great Lakes and we are
the only state completely within the Great Lakes watershed. As Attorney General, one of Mike Cox’s
primary environmental priorities has been protecting our Great Lakes.
Michigan is surrounded by the Great Lakes, “great” because they contain approximately 20% of the Earth’s –
and 95% of the United States’ — fresh water. More than 40,000 square miles of Michigan’s surface area is
water. Additionally, Michigan possesses more than 11,000 inland lakes and is home to 56,000 miles of
rivers and streams. Michigan’s 3,100 miles of Great Lakes’ coastline is the longest freshwater coast in the
Nation, and second only to Alaska in total coastline. More