Season 30, Day 14 - "Upper Cuts"
It's Peninsula week, and today's quiz is inspired by the Upper Peninsula.
Upper Peninsula
The Upper Peninsula is the northernmost of the two major landmasses that make up the state of Michigan. It’s often called the U.P. or Yoop, and residents are known as Yoopers. Separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, it has shores on three of the five Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, and Huron) and also has a land border with Wisconsin. Due to the lake effect, the Upper Peninsula experiences heavy snowfall; the Keweenaw Peninsula (the northernmost part of the U.P.) is said to be the snowiest place east of the Rockies. The Upper Peninsula became part of the state of Michigan as a result of the Toledo War, an 1830s border dispute with Ohio. At one point, the Upper Peninsula was responsible for 90% of the nation’s copper; the peninsula’s mines would end up producing more wealth than the California Gold Rush (mining sharply declined in the 20th century, with the last copper mine closing in 1995). The peninsula’s largest cities are Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, and Escanaba. Though it makes up 29% of Michigan by area, only 3% of the state’s population lives there, with much of it covered by the Ottawa and Hiawatha National Forests. The Upper Peninsula has a large Finnish population, which can be seen in the local traditions and cuisine. There have been proposals in the past for the U.P. to secede from the rest of Michigan to become the state of Superior, but these plans have never gained serious traction.