Wisconsin Geography: Great Lakes, Driftless Area, and Northwoods

Wisconsin's geography reflects the sharp contrast between the glaciated north and the unglaciated Driftless Area of the southwest — two very different landscapes within one state.

Northern Highlands (Lake Superior and Northwoods)
The north of Wisconsin — the Canadian Shield margin with boreal forest, thousands of lakes, and the Lake Superior shoreline (Apostle Islands). The Northwoods (a cultural as much as geographic term) is the lake-and-forest vacation landscape of Vilas, Oneida, and Forest Counties. Wisconsin has more inland lakes than any other state in the contiguous US (15,000+).

Driftless Area (Western Wisconsin)
The most dramatic terrain in Wisconsin — the southwest corner of the state was untouched by glaciation. The result is a landscape of steep coulees (narrow, valley-carved hills), exposed sandstone and limestone bluffs, and clear trout streams in contrast to the flat or gently rolling glaciated terrain elsewhere in Wisconsin. The Mississippi River and Wisconsin River bluff country (Wildcat Mountain SP, Natural Bridge, Devils Lake) are in the Driftless Area.

Lake Michigan Shore
Wisconsin's 820-mile Lake Michigan shoreline — the Door Peninsula (Door County) extends 80 miles into Lake Michigan. The Green Bay (Baie des Puants — Bay of Stinking Water in French, named for the bay's unusual smell) is a semi-enclosed bay sheltered by the Door Peninsula. The lakeshore climate moderates temperatures and extends the growing season — the Door County cherry and apple orchards thrive in this microclimate.

Wisconsin River
The longest river entirely within Wisconsin (430 miles) — flowing from the northernmost source to the Mississippi River junction at Prairie du Chien. The Dells of the Wisconsin River (Wisconsin Dells) — bizarre sandstone formations carved by a glacial outburst flood — are the most visited natural attraction in Wisconsin (and the most commercialized).

Niagara Escarpment
A Silurian dolomite ridge running from Niagara Falls (NY) west through Wisconsin — the Door Peninsula and Washington Island sit on the escarpment. The escarpment's dolomite caps the cliffs of the Pothole Trail and the caves of Cave Point County Park in Door County.