Wisconsin

Wisconsin,  is a state of the United States. It can be found in the north-central part of the United States. Two of the five Great Lakes and four other states (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota) border Wisconsin. The capital of Wisconsin is Madison. The biggest city in Wisconsin is Milwaukee.




Origins


The word Wisconsin comes from the name that one of the Algonquian speaking American Indian groups living in the area gave to the Wisconsin River. They named the Wisconsin River at the time that the European contact happened. Jacques Marquette, a French explorer, was the first European (or person from Europe) to get to the Wisconsin River and write down the name. He reached the Wisconsin River in 1673. He wrote the name of the river as Meskousing in his journal. Over time, other explorers from France warped this name into Ouisconsin. This is now the French name for the Wisconsin River. As of 1845, the government of the Wisconsin Territory gave the name Wisconsin to the Wisconsin River.




Geography


The Montreal River flows along the border of Wisconsin. Lake Superior and Michigan border Wisconsin to the north. Lake Michigan is to the east of Wisconsin, and Illinois is found directly south of Wisconsin. Other rivers that make up the border of Wisconsin include the Mississippi River and St. Croix Rivers to the west and the Menominee River to the northeast.
Wisconsin has a lot of different kinds of geography and is very diverse. Wisconsin is made up of five main areas of geography. The Lake Superior Lowland to the north is an area of land that is right against Lake Superior. The Northern Highland area of Wisconsin is to the south of the Lake Superior Lowland. This area contains hardwood trees and other kinds of forests. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (1,500,000 acres big), is found in this area. The highest point in Wisconsin, Timms Hill, is in the Northern Highland area. The Central Plain area is found in the central part of Wisconsin. Lots of sandstone formations, such as the Dells of the Wisconsin River, are found in the Central Plain area. The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands area is found in the southeastern part of Wisconsin. Many of the biggest cities in Wisconsin are in the Eastern Ridges and Lowlands area. The Western Upland area is in the southwestern part of the state. This area includes features like bluffs along the Mississippi River and forests and farmland (land put aside for farming).




Climate


The highest temperature ever recorded in Wisconsin was in the Wisconsin Dells. It was recorded on July 13, 1936. The temperature reached 114 °F (46 °C). The lowest temperature in Wisconsin ever written down was in the village of Couderay. The temperature there was only –55 °F (-48 °C). This was recorded on both February 2 and February 4, 1996.






Cities and towns


Wisconsin has cities and towns of many different sizes.. Nearly 70 percent of people living in Wisconsin live in urban areas (cities like Madison and Milwaukee). 33 percent of the population of Wisconsin lives in the Greater Milwaukee area.Milwaukee is found at the northern end of a string of cities and towns along Lake Michigan. With over 11,000,000 people living in Milwaukee, that makes Milwaukee the 22nd-largest city in the country. Madison is also another important city in Wisconsin. With a population of just over 225,000 people, it is a city that grows very fast. A suburb of Madison, Middleton, was also ranked the "Best Place to Live in America" in 2007 by Money Magazine. There are a bunch of medium-sized cities and towns (meaning their populations are between 25,000 and 100,000 people) in Wisconsin. 12 cities in Wisconsin with a population of 50,000 or more.