The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac. It is bounded primarily by Lake Superior to the north, separated from the Canadian province of Ontario at the east end by the St. Marys River, and flanked by Lake Huron and Lake Michigan along much of its south. Although the peninsula extends as a geographic feature into the state of Wisconsin, the state boundary follows the Montreal and Menominee rivers and a line connecting them.

The Upper Peninsula contains 29% of the land area of Michigan but only 3% of its total population. Residents are nicknamed Yoopers (derived from “UP-ers”) and have a strong regional identity, enhanced by the perception that the rest of the state neglects them. Proposals have been made to establish the UP as a separate state, but have failed to gain traction. Its largest cities are Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, Escanaba, Menominee, Houghton, and Iron Mountain. Because of the surrounding waters and northern latitude, it receives more snow than most of the eastern U.S. The heavily forested land, soil types, short growing season, and logistical factors (e.g. long distance to market, lack of infrastructure) make the Upper Peninsula poorly suited for agriculture. The region is home to a variety of wildlife, including moose, wolves, coyotes, deer, foxes, bears, bobcats, eagles, hawks, owls, and smaller animals.

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Make It Go in the Snow [PB]

SKU 978-1-61599-814-2

$21.95

People and Ideas in the History of Snowmobile

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Product Details

UPC: 978-1-61599-814-2

Brand: Modern History Press

Binding: Paperback

Audiobook: Audible, iTunes

Edition: 1st

Author: Larry Jorgensen

Pages: 194

Publication Date: 08/01/2024

Through the years, the challenge of powered transportation in the snow has been met with ideas from explorers, creative inventors and small companies, all with new ideas - often unique and sometimes successful. The name "snowmobile" was trademarked in 1917, but there were snow travel ideas before that date and certainly thousands more since.

Winter explorers and trailblazers sought to replace their dogsleds and snowshoes as they explored difficult locations, including remote locations, on the north and south poles. Early inventors of snow vehicles often scavenged parts from many mechanical devices, trying many power and propulsion methods, from 2- and 4-stroke engines to air propulsion, and even a "snow biting" screw auger concept.

The snow travel ideas from some early inventors were simply designed to solve their own needs; others came from entrepreneurs who believed folks would be impressed and want to buy their creations. Some of their ideas evolved into companies such as Polaris, Arctic Cat and Ski-Doo, which prospered and now can trace their roots back to that first snowmobile idea.

Make It Go In The Snow provides a fun look at the history of a few of the many thousands of snow travel ideas and those enthusiasts who gave them birth. Captured and recorded are a wide variety of snowmobile ideas, without offering judgment on any individual venture. Join me as I pay tribute to all those ideas; past, present and future. But keep watching, because more snow excitement is waiting to be created.

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First inhabited by Algonquian-speaking native American tribes, the area was explored by French colonists, then occupied by British forces, before being ceded to the newly established United States in the late 18th century. After being assigned to various territorial jurisdictions, it was granted to the newly formed state of Michigan as part of the settlement of a dispute with Ohio over the city of Toledo. The region’s exploitable timber resources and the discovery of iron and copper deposits in the 19th century brought immigrants, especially French Canadian, Finnish, Swedish, Cornish, and Italian. (The peninsula includes the only counties in the United States where a plurality of residents claim Finnish ancestry.[1]) With the exhaustion of readily available minerals, the area’s economy declined in the 20th century, largely becoming dependent on logging and tourism.