Marquette County, Michigan

Marquette County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 64,634. The county seat is Marquette. Marquette County is the largest county in land area in Michigan, and the most populous county in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The Huron Mountains are located in the county. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,425 square miles (8,871 km²), of which, 1,821 square miles (4,716 km²) of it is land and 1,604 square miles (4,155 km²) of it (46.83%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Alger County (east)

Delta County (southeast)

Menominee County (south)

Dickinson County (south)

Iron County (southwest)

Baraga County (west)

Houghton County (northwest, water boundary only, in Lake Superior)

Keweenaw County (north, water boundary only, in Lake Superior)

Northern Michigan University is a four-year university, established in 1899, located in Marquette, Michigan, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The school is home to over 9,000 students and offers over 100 academic programs leading to degrees at the levels of bachelor, associate, certificate, as well as several graduate programs. Their Teaching, Learning and Communication (TLC) program, which is the largest of its kind in the country, gives every student an IBM ThinkPad or Apple MacBook. NMU has the world's largest wooden dome, the Superior Dome. It is also home to the United States Olympic Education Center, or USOEC, one of only four US Olympic training centers and the only one affiliated with a university. Athletes receive scholarships and utilize the school's facilities training in several sports: Men's and Women's Weightlifting; Boxing; Men's and Women's Speedskating; Greco-Roman Wrestling; and Women's Freestyle Wrestling.

The county government operates the jail, KI Sawyer International Airport, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.