Michigan is known as the "Great Lakes State" because it is bounded by four of the five Great Lakes. The state consists of two peninsulas separated by Lake Michigan (or technically, by the Straits of Mackinac that join Lake Michigan to Lake Huron). The Upper Peninsula (known as "the U.P.") is primarily rural, with huge tracts of forest and wetlands and small, scattered towns. The Lower Peninsula is home to Michigan's major cities, including Detroit and state capital Lansing. The two peninsulas are joined by the five-mile-long Mackinac Bridge.