Montmorency County, Michigan

Montmorency County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,153, making it the second-least populous county in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, behind its southern neighbor, Oscoda County. The county seat is Atlanta.

Montmorency County is part of Northern Michigan, and is part of the Lake Huron watershed. The Thunder Bay River, which drains much of the county, flows to Lake Huron's Thunder Bay at Alpena.

History

thumb|left|1842 map, showing Montmorency County as Cheonoquet, the county's name from 1840 to 1843. after a well-known [[Chippewa (also known as Ojibwa) Chief, whose name (Gichi-aanakwad) meant Big Cloud. Cheonoquet took part in Indian treaties in 1807, 1815, 1825 and 1837. Renamed Montmorency County on March 8, 1843, Although it lies on Michigan's Lower Peninsula, Montmorency County is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Most of the county is covered by state forest land. There is an abundance of lakes, such as Long Lake. Glaciers shaped the area, creating a unique regional ecosystem. A large portion of the area is the Grayling outwash plain, a broad outwash plain including sandy ice-disintegration ridges, jack pine barrens, some white pine-red pine forest, and northern hardwood forest. Large lakes were created by glacial action.

Adjacent counties

Presque Isle County - northeast
Alpena County - east
Alcona County - southeast
Oscoda County - south
Crawford County - southwest
Otsego County - west
Cheboygan County - northwest

Major highways

Communities

thumb|300px|[[United States Census|U.S. Census data map showing local municipal boundaries within Montmorency County]]

Village

Hillman (partial)

Civil townships

Albert Township
Avery Township
Briley Township
Hillman Township
Loud Township
Montmorency Township
Rust Township
Vienna Township