Wisconsin State Map

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a state in the north-central portion of the United States that is a part of the Midwest and Great lakes regions. It has a coastline on two of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.

Date first visited by Europeans: The first European known to have entered the borders of what would become Wisconsin is Frenchman Jean Nicolet on the behalf of Samuel de Champlain, then governor of New France in 1634.

Date admitted to US: 1848

Capital: Madison

Largest City: Milwaukee

Terrain: Wisconsin has highlands in the northern region of the state, except for a small belt near the coast of Lake Superior. These highlands are covered in forests and many lakes formed by glaciation. The central part of the state, called the Central Plain, has many sandstone formations. The eastern part of the state is home to lowlands on the coast of Lake Michigan.

Area: 65,497 square miles

Area Rank: 23th

Population: 5,757,584

Population rank: 20th

Electoral Votes: 10

Wisconsin is known as ‘America’s Dairyland’ because of the dairy products, especially cheese, that it produces. Wisconsin produces about a quarter of America’s cheese, but is second in milk and butter production to California.

However, agriculture is not viable in all of the state. The densely forested areas attracted settlers not for farming, but for logging, in the 19^th century. It was not however, very safe and there were many accidents among loggers. The Peshtigo Fire of 1871 killed over a thousand people and was the deadliest forest fire in United States History.