Recently in a trivia tournament, there was a tiebreaker question asking for what year Michigan’s capital was moved from Detroit to Lansing, which I would have failed. I wasn’t sure if this happened before – or after Michigan became a state on Jan. 26, 1837. For inquiring minds, Michigan’s capital was moved to Lansing in 1847.

So this got me to thinking about some other good “Pure Michigan” trivia questions. Read on!

Freighters are a common sight on the Great Lakes during the shipping season.

1. The current county seat of Calhoun County was once a front-runner to become Michigan’s state capital, and only lost out to Lansing by one vote. What is that city?
2. Besides Cass County, name two locations or geographic entities (not buildings or streets) named for Lewis Cass located in Michigan. For a bonus point, name one more. For another bonus point, name one more than that.
3. From which Northern Michigan city would you be able to take a public ferry to Bois Blanc Island, which is adjacent to Mackinac Island?
4. What lake near Traverse City is Michigan’s deepest and longest inland lake?
5. In what year did the Mackinac Bridge open to the public?
6. What city in the U.P., which was once a copper mining boom town, was originally called “Red Jacket,” for a Seneca Native American chief?
7. Which Michigan state park, located on an island, was the state’s first official state park?
8. In which northern Michigan city would you find the largest open-pit limestone quarry in the world?
9. Which famed American writer frequently included Northern MI locales in his writings and particularly his short story”The Big Two Hearted River” which refers to a river in the northeastern U.P.?
10. After Lake Superior, what is the largest of the “Great Lakes” by total lake volume?
11. Of the Michigan counties that share their names with counties in Ireland, which one is home to the city of Cadillac?
12. What city and county in the U.P. is named for a former geologist and prominent explorer of the Keweenaw region of the U.P.?

Tiebreakers:

What is the straight line distance between Cassopolis, MI and Cass City, MI?

What is the straight line distance between Calumet, MI and Cass City, MI?

What is the current population of Marshall, MI as of the 2010 Census?

What is the total acreage of Cass Lake?

In what year was Lewis Cass born?

How old was Douglass Houghton when he died?

How many miles long is Torch Lake?