Title: Wisconsin River - Wikipedia
Headings: Wisconsin River
Wisconsin River
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Contents
Geology
History
Navigable river of the United States
Lower Wisconsin River State Riverway
Cities and villages along the river
See also
Notes
External links

Content: Wisconsin River - Wikipedia
Wisconsin River
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Major river in Wisconsin, United States
Wisconsin River
Wisconsin and the Wisconsin River
Location
Country
United States
Physical characteristics

Source

• location
Lac Vieux Desert
• elevation
1,683 ft (513 m)

Mouth

• location
Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Length
420 mi (680 km)
Basin size
12,280 sq mi (31,800 km 2)

Discharge

• average
12,000 cu ft/s (340 m 3 /s) at mouth


Ramsar Wetland
Official name
Lower Wisconsin Riverway
Designated
14 February 2020
Reference no. 2417


Dells of the Wisconsin River, May 2002. A dam in Stevens Point
Highway 82 bridge over the Wisconsin River
Boating on the Wisconsin River
Delta at the Mississippi River, seen from Wyalusing State Park
The Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At approximately 430 miles (692 km) long, it is the state's longest river. The river's name, first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskousing", is rooted in the Algonquian languages used by the area's American Indian tribes, but its original meaning is obscure. French explorers who followed in the wake of Marquette later modified the name to "Ouisconsin", and so it appears on Guillaume de L'Isle 's map (Paris, 1718). This was simplified to "Wisconsin" in the early 19th century before being applied to Wisconsin Territory and finally the state of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin River originates in the forests of the North Woods Lake District of northern Wisconsin, in Lac Vieux Desert near the border of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It flows south across the glacial plain of central Wisconsin, passing through Wausau, Stevens Point, and Wisconsin Rapids. In southern Wisconsin it encounters the terminal moraine formed during the last ice age, where it forms the Dells of the Wisconsin River.