Community hub
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Alpena County, Michigan
Alpena County (/ælˈpiːnə/ al-PEE-nə) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,907. The county seat is Alpena. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan. Alpena County comprises the Alpena, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The county was created by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 as Anamickee County, (from animikii meaning thunder in Ojibwe) then renamed in 1843 to Alpena County, a pseudo-Native American word — a neologism coined by Henry Schoolcraft, meaning "a good partridge country." This was part of a much larger effort to rename a great many of the Michigan counties at the time. The Thunder Bay Band of Chippewa and Ottawa, the original indigenous inhabitants of the area, merged with the Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians in the mid-1800s under Chief Way-ge-maw-waw-be. The county was officially organized in 1857.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,695 square miles (4,390 km2), of which 572 square miles (1,480 km2) is land and 1,123 square miles (2,910 km2) (66%) is water.
Alpena County is in the northeast of the mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Lake Huron and Thunder Bay are to the east, Alcona County to the south, Oscoda County to the southwest, Montmorency County to the west, and Presque Isle County to the north. Most of the county is drained by the Thunder Bay River and its tributaries. The Mackinaw State Forest occupies large tracts of land in the county. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is offshore adjacent to the county.
The 45th parallel bisects the county, meaning it is halfway between the North Pole and the equator.
Several islands in Thunder Bay are part of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. There are automated lighthouses on Middle Island and Thunder Bay Island.
Glaciers shaped the area, creating a unique regional ecosystem. A large portion of the area is so-called Grayling outwash plain, consisting of broad outwash plain including sandy ice-disintegration ridges; jack pine barrens, some white pine-red pine forest, and northern hardwood forests. Large lakes were created by glacial action. Some of the inland lakes are truly massive.
The 2010 United States census indicated Alpena County had a 2010 population of 29,598. This is a decrease of -1,716 people from 2000. Overall, the county had a -5.5% growth rate during this ten-year period. In 2010 there were 12,791 households and 8,164 families in the county. The population density was 51.8 per square mile (20.0 square kilometers). By the 2020 census, the county population was 28,907.
Hub AI
Alpena County, Michigan AI simulator
(@Alpena County, Michigan_simulator)
Alpena County, Michigan
Alpena County (/ælˈpiːnə/ al-PEE-nə) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,907. The county seat is Alpena. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan. Alpena County comprises the Alpena, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The county was created by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 as Anamickee County, (from animikii meaning thunder in Ojibwe) then renamed in 1843 to Alpena County, a pseudo-Native American word — a neologism coined by Henry Schoolcraft, meaning "a good partridge country." This was part of a much larger effort to rename a great many of the Michigan counties at the time. The Thunder Bay Band of Chippewa and Ottawa, the original indigenous inhabitants of the area, merged with the Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians in the mid-1800s under Chief Way-ge-maw-waw-be. The county was officially organized in 1857.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,695 square miles (4,390 km2), of which 572 square miles (1,480 km2) is land and 1,123 square miles (2,910 km2) (66%) is water.
Alpena County is in the northeast of the mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Lake Huron and Thunder Bay are to the east, Alcona County to the south, Oscoda County to the southwest, Montmorency County to the west, and Presque Isle County to the north. Most of the county is drained by the Thunder Bay River and its tributaries. The Mackinaw State Forest occupies large tracts of land in the county. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is offshore adjacent to the county.
The 45th parallel bisects the county, meaning it is halfway between the North Pole and the equator.
Several islands in Thunder Bay are part of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. There are automated lighthouses on Middle Island and Thunder Bay Island.
Glaciers shaped the area, creating a unique regional ecosystem. A large portion of the area is so-called Grayling outwash plain, consisting of broad outwash plain including sandy ice-disintegration ridges; jack pine barrens, some white pine-red pine forest, and northern hardwood forests. Large lakes were created by glacial action. Some of the inland lakes are truly massive.
The 2010 United States census indicated Alpena County had a 2010 population of 29,598. This is a decrease of -1,716 people from 2000. Overall, the county had a -5.5% growth rate during this ten-year period. In 2010 there were 12,791 households and 8,164 families in the county. The population density was 51.8 per square mile (20.0 square kilometers). By the 2020 census, the county population was 28,907.