Wisconsin

From Wisconsin’s peaks and hills to its coastline, one thing is true: this state is a delightfully surprising state to visit. Its waters are gorgeous, its dense forests enthralling, and its big and small cities endlessly charming. It is impossible not to fall in love with this beautiful state.

Find out more about Wisconsin here.

Geography

Located in the Upper Midwestern part of the United States, Wisconsin is a mid-sized state being the 23rd largest state in the country. It is also moderately populated, ranking as the 20th most populated state in the country. The state is bordered by Lake Superior on its north, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan from its West to Northeast corners.

Wisconsin’s geography is delightfully diverse due to glacier movements and behavior during the Ice age. All with the exception of the Driftless Area which true to its name, actually escaped the flattening effects of glaciation during the last ice age. The Driftless Area can be described as steep and forested with deeply carved river valleys and sprig-fed waterfalls. All of which looks as wonderful as it sounds.

Tucked almost perfectly within the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, Wisconsin is truly blessed with wonderful landscapes, complemented by the glistening bodies of water cornering it. Wisconsin has beautiful state parks, glacial lakes, farm lands, sandstone formations, forests, ridges, and charming cities. All of these combined does make Wisconsin just the perfect state to visit for your next adventure.

History

Interestingly enough, the etymology of Wisconsin comes from the name of the Wisconsin River prior to the arrival of the Europeans. Algonquian-speaking Native American groups living in the region referred to the same river as “Meskousing” or “Meskowskin”. It was the French people who arrived in the territory that turned it into Ouisconsin. As more English speakers poured into the area, they anglicized the spelling from Ouisconsin to Wisconsin.

Like many other states, various indigenous and cultural groups have been living in Wisconsin for more than ten thousand years. For Wisconsin, in particular, evidence suggests that the area has been lived in for, at least, 14,000 years. The state may have attracted settlers much earlier because of the incredible fertility of the land brought by the flow of the bodies of water surrounding the state.

Europeans would only arrive in Wisconsin in 1634 through the French explorer Jean Nicolet. The fur trade between the Europeans and the Native Americans would soon begin from this exploration. In the middle of the 18th century, Britain would gradually take over Wisconsin during the French and Indian War. They would first take control of Green Bay at 1761 and eventually, gaining full power over the state by 1763. Similar to the French, the British people were very much and perhaps, only interested in the fur trading industry in Wisconsin.

By 1783, however, Wisconsin would be under the territorial possession of the United States after the American Revolutionary War.

Weather

Wisconsin has a humid continental climate for most of its parts. Its southern and southwestern portions, on the other hand, have a more humid continental climate. The southern and southerwestern portions typically experience the hot summers so if you are planning to visit in the summer months, be prepared to sweat a little (or more).

For those visiting in colder winter months, be sure to bring some extra layers as Wisconsin is known to receive large amounts of snowfalls (averaging around 40 inches in the southern portions up to 160 inches) as you go nearer the Lake Superior snowbelt region.