sault ste marie

darstar · 02-08-2016, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ManoftheNorth

It's really not, if you are comparing any metric aside from city limits population. Traverse City has a tiny city limit of only 8.33 sq mi, compared to 11.39 sq mi for Marquette and a massive 86.20 sq mi for Sault Ontario, which includes a lot of rural land (Ontario is a lot more generous in allowing their cities to expand in land area compared to Michigan, SSM Ontario would be the second biggest city by land area in the State if it were a Michigan city). Compare the Micropolitan areas of Traverse City and Marquette, and things look pretty different, with TC at 143,372 people and Marquette only 67,077. Metropolitan areas are organized differently in Canada than the United States, but Sault Ontario is only at 79,800 if you consider it's metro region (there isn't much just outside of Sault Ontario).

Marquette County is the largest in the State., I consider the entire county when comparing other places, and rightly so, remember it's the UP ! 1/3rd the land mas 2 per cent the population.Just outside TC ( there has always been a revivaly between the cities ) you find much higher density, and you have all the Lakeshore places for tourist play , etc......and horrible traffic. Marquette on the other hand is about it in Western Upper Michigan. I like to think of all that's on the shores of Superior, not LM. Thunder Bay is the largest city by limits on Superior, add in Superior, Wi, plus a lot more smaller places ( only second in area to Mpls/St Paul ) and Duluth metro is largest. Then Sault Ca. , so , Marquette comes in fourth. I am a true believer of the Northern Tier concept., for that reason cities in Troll Land need not apply.

TC has made its mark on being a destination city, Marquette not so much, but it is changing. Had the Air Base not pulled up roots, Marquette would be today twice its size. They lost 10,000 people when iSawyer closed. The airport/ land is still owned by the Federal Government . It is International airport, with the thickest concrete runways in the world ( amoung a very few others ) where the heaviest of aircraft can land. There has been talk of the AirF coming back in some "special form " known to the public. ( There are top secret operations in the County that never closed, ) Now that we have the only nickel mine in the US, all owned along with rail service by Ca. The Duke group plans to make The new Hospital complex another " Mayo " in the North.

Bottom line is the western UP , is the real taste of the UP , properly disconnected from Lower Michigan. ...but then you folks have the Mac Bridge, Michigans pride and joy , and of coarse the all important Locks at the Soo too.....Everyday Marquette gets international freighters at the docks, many from Ca. And Algoma Steel.....I like to think of the UP as part of all that's great in the Northern Tier.Lower Michigan is another world away...as it should be !