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West Michigan facts for kids
This page is about the geographic region of Western Michigan. For the university, see Western Michigan University. For the university's athletic program, see Western Michigan Broncos.
| Western Michigan | |
| Lower Peninsula of Michigan | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Michigan |
 A broad definition of West Michigan.
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West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrarily selected region in the U.S. state of Michigan in its Lower Peninsula. Generally, West Michigan refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon- Holland area, however there is no official definition for what constitutes "West Michigan."
Contents
Definition
In general, "West Michigan" often refers to the area bounded by the cities of Muskegon (in the north), Grand Rapids (in the northeast), Kalamazoo-Battle Creek (in the southeast) and St.Joseph-Benton Harbor (in the southwest). However, definitions of the boundaries of the region vary widely; in some contexts, the term "West Michigan" is applied only to the counties of Allegan, Kent, Muskegon, and Ottawa, which together compose the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Muskegon SMSA. Other definitions include the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek and Benton Harbor-St. Joseph regions, which can be considered distinct regions or parts of other regions such as Michiana, Southern Michigan, or Southwest Michigan, in the case of Benton Harbor-St. Joseph.
The northern boundary of the region is also poorly defined; the population density, land use, economic and cultural character, and physical geography most often associated with West Michigan fades in northern Muskegon and Kent Counties, however areas as far north as Ludington and White Cloud may be included because of their close economic ties to the cities to the south. Other areas, such as Montcalm County in the northeast corner of the region, are transitional areas that straddle Michigan regions but are included for classification purposes. In the case of Montcalm County, the area around Greenville in the county's southwest corner is closely tied economically with Grand Rapids, while the area around Vestaburg and Edmore in the northeastern corner of county are more closely associated with the cities of Mount Pleasant and Alma, which are included in almost any definition of Central Michigan.
Geography
- See also List of Michigan state parks and geography of Michigan.
- The area is considered to be part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.
- In northwest Kent County is Fruit Ridge, which is a prime fruit-growing region; that accounts for 65% of all Michigan apple production.
Municipalities
The following table contains the largest municipalities of West Michigan according to the 2010 Census. This list holds for nearly every geographic definition of West Michigan. If Battle Creek were included, it would be ranked fourth.
| Rank | Municipality | County | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Rapids | Kent | 188,040 |
| 2 | Kalamazoo | Kalamazoo | 74,262 |
| 3 | Wyoming | Kent | 72,125 |
| 4 | Kentwood | Kent | 48,707 |
| 5 | Georgetown Charter Township | Ottawa | 46,985 |
| 6 | Portage | Kalamazoo | 46,292 |
| 7 | Muskegon | Muskegon | 38,401 |
| 8 | Holland Charter Township | Ottawa | 35,636 |
| 9 | Holland | Ottawa/Allegan | 33,051 |
| 10 | Plainfield Charter Township | Kent | 30,952 |
| 11 | Gaines Charter Township | Kent | 25,146 |
| 12 | Norton Shores | Muskegon | 23,994 |
| 13 | Walker | Kent | 23,537 |
| 14 | Kalamazoo Charter Township | Kalamazoo | 21,918 |
| 15 | Oshtemo Charter Township | Kalamazoo | 21,705 |
| 16 | Allendale Charter Township | Ottawa | 20,708 |
| 17 | Byron Township | Kent | 20,317 |
| 18 | Muskegon Charter Township | Muskegon | 17,840 |
| 19 | Park Township | Ottawa | 17,802 |
| 20 | Cascade Charter Township | Kent | 17,134 |
| 21 | Grand Rapids Charter Township | Kent | 16,661 |
| 22 | Grandville | Kent | 15,378 |
| 23 | Grand Haven Charter Township | Ottawa | 15,178 |
Five of the above cities, Wyoming, Kentwood, Portage, Norton Shores, and Walker, are former suburban townships that incorporated in the 1960s in order to prevent annexation by an adjacent city. The presence of these cities in the top ten reflects both the large geographic area of these cities, as well as the long and continuing growth of suburban areas in West Michigan.
Events
- ArtPrize in Grand Rapids
- National Baby Food Festival in Fremont
- Big Rapids Riverdays in Big Rapids
- Celebration on the Grand in Grand Rapids
- Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven
- Festival of the Arts in Grand Rapids
- Fruitport Old Fashioned Days in Fruitport
- Spring Lake Heritage Festival in Spring Lake
- Muskegon Air Show (now defunct)
- Muskegon Film Festival
- Muskegon Summer Celebration(now defunct)
- Red Flannel Festival in Cedar Springs
- Rothbury Music Festival in Rothbury
- Tulip Time Festival in Holland
- Unity Christian Music Festival in Muskegon
- Venetian Festival in St. Joseph
- Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck
Attractions
- Croton Dam
- Dutch Village
- Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
- Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
- Grand Haven Musical Fountain
- Grand Haven State Park
- Grand Rapids Art Museum
- Grand Rapids Children's Museum
- Hardy Dam
- Holland State Park, busiest state park in Michigan
- John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids
- Kalamazoo Air Zoo
- Kruizenga Art Museum
- Manistee National Forest
- Michigan's Adventure amusement park
- Newaygo State Park
- P.J. Hoffmaster State Park
- Public Museum of Grand Rapids
- Timber Ridge Ski Area
- Binder Park Zoo
Business
Prominent West Michigan corporations include:
- Amway/Alticor/Quixtar, an Ada multi-level marketing company.
- Bissell, a Walker vacuum cleaner maker
- Borroughs, a Kalamazoo office equipment manufacturer.
- Foremost Insurance, a Farmers Insurance Group company
- Gentex, a Zeeland auto-dimming automobile mirror manufacturer.
- Gerber Products Company, a Fremont baby food manufacturer
- Gordon Food Service, a Wyoming food supplier
- Herman Miller, a Zeeland office equipment manufacturer.
- Haworth, a Holland office equipment manufacturer.
- Howard Miller a Zeeland manufacturer of longcase clocks
- Kellogg's, a Battle Creek breakfast cereal producer.
- Meijer, a Walker hypermarket chain.
- Old Orchard Brands, a Sparta juice producer.
- Perrigo, an Allegan pharmaceutical company.
- Spartan Stores, a Byron Township grocery chain.
- Steelcase, a Grand Rapids office equipment manufacturer.
- Stryker, a Kalamazoo surgical equipment manufacturer.
- Whirlpool, a Benton Harbor manufacturer of major home appliances.
- Wolverine World Wide/Hush Puppies, a Rockford shoe maker
- X-Rite, a Grand Rapids manufacturer of color matching products
- Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, in Grand Rapids
Transportation
Major airports
- Gerald R. Ford International Airport
- Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport
- Muskegon County Airport
- West Michigan Regional Airport
Railways
- CSX
- Norfolk Southern Railway
- Grand Elk Railroad
- Coopersville and Marne Railway
- Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad
- Michigan Lake Shore Railroad
- Grand Trunk Western Railway
Major roads
Interstate highways
I-96, running from Muskegon to Detroit- I-196, splitting from I-96 in Grand Rapids and going west-southwest and merging with US 31 near Holland before intersecting I-94 near Benton Harbor
I-94, running from Billings, Montana to Port Huron, Michigan
US highways
US 12 Michigan Avenue and Chicago Road
US 31, running from Mackinaw City, Michigan to Mobile, Alabama- US 131, running from north of Middlebury, Indiana to Petoskey, Michigan
- Grand River Avenue, running from Grand Rapids to Detroit
- The S-Curve, a famously crooked stretch of US 131 in downtown Grand Rapids
Michigan highways
- M-6, also known as the South Beltline, bypasses Grand Rapids connecting to I-96 east of town and I-196 west of town
- M-37, running from the southwest corner of Battle Creek at exit 92 on I-94 to the Mission Point Light on Old Mission Point in Grand Traverse County.
- M-43, a highway in southwestern and central Michigan from South Haven to Webberville
- M-45 (Lake Michigan Drive), running east-west from Grand Rapids through Allendale and ending at Lake Michigan.
- M-46, a cross-peninsular road, running across the entire mitten of the Lower Peninsula including the Thumb, from Port Sanilac on the Lake Huron shore, through Saginaw near Saginaw Bay, and on to Muskegon on the Lake Michigan shore.
- M-40 running North and South from Mottville, Michigan to Holland, Michigan.
Other
- Eastern port of the Lake Express High Speed Car Ferry; Muskegon
- The SS Badger in Ludington