[4] Located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Houghton is the largest city in the Copper Country region.

Michigan Tech hosts a yearly Winter Carnival in February, drawing thousands of visitors from around the world.

Native Americans mined copper in and around what would later be Houghton thousands of years before European settlement.

[6][7] "French explorers had noted... [its] existence [in the area] as early as the seventeenth century, [and in] 1772 Alexander Henry had prospected for copper on the Ontonagon River near Victoria.

"[6] Many Cornish and Finnish immigrants arrived in the Houghton area to work in the copper mines in the mining boom that made Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula; both groups have had a great influence on the culture and cuisine of the local area.

[citation needed] The postwar boom and increasing demand for copper wiring fueled the development of Houghton in the 1860s and 1870s.

[13] Houghton gained in importance as a port with the opening of the Keweenaw Waterway in 1873,[6] the waterway being the cumulative dredging and extension of the Portage Lake, Portage Shipping Canal and Lily Pond so as to isolate the northern part of the Keweenaw Peninsula into Copper Island.

[citation needed] During the bitter Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914, the Michigan National Guard was called in after the sheriff petitioned the governor.

[citation needed] Houghton was the birthplace of professional ice hockey in the United States when the Portage Lakers were formed in 1903.

[16] In the winter of 2001, Houghton was the site of one of the first lumitalos (Finnish temporary snow houses) to be constructed in the United States.

[19] A pictorial postmark commemorating Winter Carnival 2007, "Ancient Worlds Come to Play in Snowy Drifts of Modern Day", was applied at the Winter Carnival temporary station in Michigan Technological University's Memorial Union Building, February 10, 2007.

The city is located on the south shore of the Keweenaw Waterway, on rolling wooded hills, less than a mile across Portage Lake[20] from Hancock.

Along Portage Lake is the Raymond Kestner Waterfront Recreation Area, the principal feature of which is a large "Chutes and Ladders" playground; it also includes Houghton Beach.

Along the waterfront, in the area that used to be occupied by the railroad tracks, runs the flat, paved[22] Waterfront Trail for cyclists and pedestrians; at one end of this is the Houghton RV Park,[23] at the other end the Nara Nature Park and midway along this corridor is Mattila Square.

[24] Veterans Park is just across the Portage Lake Lift Bridge from Hancock, and contains the memorial to the Houghton Company, which fought in the Civil War.

It holds the distinction of having the third-most (behind Duluth and International Falls in Minnesota) maxima below 32 °F (0 °C) of any incorporated city in the contiguous US, with the top temperature failing to rise above freezing an average of 100.9 days per year.

[29] Houghton's summer climate tends to be especially pleasant, as hot temperatures are often moderated by the cool waters of nearby Lake Superior.

Temperatures below 0 °F or −17.8 °C are also relatively infrequent due to the moderating effect of the lake, being reached only on 18.3 nights per year as against over fifty at International Falls.

Every summer, the city of Houghton hosts a festival known as "Bridgefest", to commemorate the building of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge; this is often held in conjunction with "Seafoodfest".

[33] Every fall, the Parade of Nations takes place in downtown Houghton to commemorate the ethnic diversity of Michigan Technological University.

"Strawberry Fest" is held in neighboring Chassell every summer, which not only celebrates the fruit, but also includes an art market with paintings, photos, sculptures, and crafts.

The Carnegie Museum, located in the former Portage Lake District Library building, contains photographs from the Raffaelli Historical Photo Collection,[34] other artifacts on the history of the local area, a mural depicting the history of Houghton, Ontonagon, Baraga and Keweenaw Counties[35] and exhibits of artwork.

Michigan Tech hosts a yearly Winter Carnival in which thousands of visitors come to see snow sculptures built by members of fraternities, sororities,[40] other student organizations,[41] as well as a few community groups, and participate in the week-long celebration.

Summer tourism is very popular, especially among those wishing to tour old mines, visit various historical sites, and camp.

[50] Cruise ships on the great lakes formerly (in the 1950s) used to frequently stop in Houghton, but this is now an exceedingly rare occurrence.

The Houghton, Michigan micropolitan area is a statistical aggregation of the United States census bureau.