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Lansing
Capital of Michigan, in the Lower Peninsula
Lansing sits near the middle of Michigan's Lower Peninsula on the Grand River, in flat to gently rolling farm country. When Michigan needed a permanent capital in 1847, legislators picked this nearly empty inland township over established Detroit, partly for defense and partly to spur development of the interior — and a capital city was built from the forest outward.
The Grand River, the longest in the state, winds through downtown. Lansing grew into an auto-manufacturing center alongside its government role, and neighboring East Lansing is home to Michigan State University. The surrounding land is classic southern-Michigan agricultural plain, dotted with lakes left by the glaciers.