1. Michigan OhioWest Virginia Kentucky IndianaIllinoisMissouri

2. Motto : Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice (If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look around you) Nickname : Wolverine state, The Great Lakes State, The Automotive State, Water-Winter Wonderland Origin of Name : From Indian word "Michigana" meaning "great or large lake" Capital : Lansing Population : 9,938,444 Apple Blossom Wolverine Petrosky Lighthouse – Mackinac Island GM Assembly Plant - Detroit University of Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor Area = 97,990 sq mi Mackinac Bridge – Longest Suspension Bridge in North America

3. Motto : With God, all things are possible Nickname : Buckeye state Area = 44,825 sq mi Origin of Name : From an Iroquoian word meaning great river Capital : Columbus Population : 11,353,140 Scarlett Carnation Buckeye Freedom Square - Cincinnati Rock and RollHall of Fame - Cleveland Lake Erie - Cleveland Ohio River - Cincinnati Kent State – May 4, 1970

4. Motto : Montani semper liberi (Mountaineers are always free) Nickname : Mountain state Area = 24,230 sq mi Origin of Name : Like Virginia: in honor of Elizabeth, Virgin Queen of England Capital : Charleston Population : 1,808,344 Rhododendron Shenandoah River Valley West Virginia Coal Mine Blue Ridge Mountains New River Gorge

5. Motto : United We Stand, Divided We Fall Nickname : Bluegrass state Area = 40,434 sq mi Origin of Name : From an Iroquoian word "Ken-tah-ten" meaning "land of tomorrow" Capital : Frankfort Population : 4,041,769 Goldenrod Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Fort Knox Thoroughbred Churchill Downs Kentucky Bluegrass

6. Motto : The Crossroads of America Nickname Hoosier state Origin of Name : The meaning is "land of Indians" Capital Indianapolis Population 6,080,485 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Peony Connor Prairie Historical Site - Noblesville Area = 36,418 sq mi

7. Motto State sovereignty, national union Nicknames : Prairie State, Land of Lincoln Origin of Name : From an Indian word and French suffix, meaning "tribe of superior men" Capital Springfield Population 12,419,293 Purple Violet Sears Tower - Chicago Chicago River - Chicago Lincoln's Boyhood Home - Springfield Area = 57,918 sq mi

8. Motto : Salus populi suprema lex esto (The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law) Nickname : Show-me state Area = 69,704 sq mi Origin of Name : Named after a tribe called Missouri Indians, meaning "town of the large canoes" Capital : Jefferson City Population : 5,595,211 Hawthorn Bloom Gateway Arch – St. Louis Branson Missouri Mule Mississippi Riverboat Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Meet – St. Louis