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Located at 83.09 degrees longitude
and 42.38 degrees latitude, Detroit, Michigan is the
oldest city in the Midwest, 8th largest metropolitan
area and
10th largest
city in America. Founded in 1701,
Detroit
consists of 139 square miles today,
located strategically as a gateway to Canada on the
Detroit River north of
Windsor, Canada,
in southeastern Michigan. |
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Named according to its location at the Detroit River, it
was called the "City of the Strait" (Ville d'Etroit) by
the French trader and explorer Antoine de la Mothe
Cadillac. |
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Detroit's incorporation as a city of
the United States took place in 1815. After vigorous
growth for a
century
it became the birth place of
America's automobile industry in 1896. Today, the two
largest corporations in the world,
GM
and
Ford,
together with the newly
constituted
DaimlerChrysler AG
drive the global automotive industry. |
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Today,
Detroit
is known simply as
Motown.
In 1996,
Detroit
celebrated its 200th anniversary
under the American Flag as well as the American Automobile
Centennial. |
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The official 1990 Census population
was 1,027,974, while the 1992 population was estimated at
1,013,974. This makes
Detroit
the largest metropolitan area on
any international border in the world. |
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