Wisconsin, WI

Wisconsin (French: Ouisconsin) is a state located near the center of the North American continent. It touches two of the five Great Lakes and is one of the fifty states that constitutes the United States of America.

Wisconsin's capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee. Jim Doyle is the current Governor of Wisconsin, having held that office since January 6, 2003.

Since its founding, Wisconsin has been ethnically heterogeneous, with Yankees being among the first to arrive from New York and New England.

They dominated the state's heavy industry, finance, politics and education. Large numbers of European immigrants followed them, including Germans, mostly between 1850 and 1900, Scandinavians (the largest group being Norwegian) and smaller groups of Belgians, Dutch, Swiss, Finns, Irish and others; in the 20th century, large numbers of Poles and African Americans came, settling mainly in Milwaukee. Today, 42.6% of the population is of German ancestry, making Wisconsin one of the most German-American states in the United States.

umerous ethnic festivals are held throughout Wisconsin to celebrate its heritage. Such festivals are world renowned, and include Oktoberfest, Festa Italiana, Bastille Days, Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution Day), Summerfest, Brat(wurst) Days (Sheboygan, WI), Cheese Days (Monroe, WI, Mequon, WI), African World Festival, Indian Summer, Irish Fest and many others.

Origin of the name

It may come from an ancient Ojibwe word, Miskwasiniing, meaning "Red-stone place," which was probably the name given to the Wisconsin River, and was recorded as Ouisconsin by the French.

The spelling was revised to its current form in 1845 by Wisconsin's territorial lesgislature. The modern Ojibwe name, however, is Wiishkoonsing or Wazhashkoonsing, meaning "muskrat-lodge place" or "little muskrat place."

Other theories are that the name comes from words meaning "Gathering of the Waters" or "Great Rock."

Originally, Ouisconsin was applied to the Wisconsin River, and later to the area as a whole when Wisconsin became a territory.

Geography

The state is bordered by the Montreal River; Lake Superior and Michigan to the north; by Lake Michigan to the east; by Illinois to the south; and by Iowa and Minnesota to the west.

The state's boundaries include the Mississippi River and St. Croix River in the west, and the Menominee River in the northeast. With its location between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, Wisconsin is home to a wide variety of geographical features.

The state is divided into five distinct regions. In the north, the Lake Superior Lowland occupies a belt of land along Lake Superior. Just to the south, the Northern Highland has massive mixed hardwood and coniferous forests including the 1.5 million acre (6,000 km²) Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, as well as thousands of glacial lakes, and the state's highest point, Timms Hill.

In the middle of the state, the Central Plain possesses some unique sandstone formations like the Dells of the Wisconsin River in addition to rich farmland. The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands region in the southeast is home to many of Wisconsin's largest cities.

In the southwest, the Western Upland is a rugged landscape with a mix of forest and farmland, including many bluffs on the Mississippi River. This region is part of the Driftless Area, which also includes portions of Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota. This area was not covered by glaciers during the most recent ice age, the Wisconsin Glaciation.

Overall, 46% of Wisconsin's land area is covered by forest. The varied landscape of Wisconsin makes the state a vacation destination popular for outdoor recreation. Winter events include skiing, ice fishing and snowmobile derbies. Wisconsin has many lakes of varied size; in fact Wisconsin contains 11,188 square miles (28,977 km²) of water, more than all but three other states (Alaska, Michigan & Florida).

The distinctive Door Peninsula, which extends off the eastern coast of the state, contains one of the state's most beautiful tourist destinations, Door County.

The area draws thousands of visitors yearly to its quaint villages, seasonal cherry picking, and ever-popular fish boils.

Climate

Wisconsin's climate is suitable for growing crops with a wet season falling in spring and summer, bringing with it almost two-thirds of yearly precipitation. It brings extremely cold snowy winters, for which Wisconsin is well-known.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Wisconsin was in the Wisconsin Dells, on July 13, 1936, and was 114 °F (46 °C).

The lowest temperature ever recorded in Wisconsin was in Couderay, on both February 2 and 4, 1996, and was –55 °F (-48 °C).

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Wisconsin".