Higher Education  

Wisconsin has 43 colleges and universities, as well as 23 two-year and community colleges. The state-supported University of Wisconsin has campuses in Madison (main campus), Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Kenosha (Parkside), River Falls, Stevens Point, Memominee (Stout), Superior, Platteville, Milwaukee and Whitewater. Private institutions in Wisconsin include Marquette University, in Milwaukee; Carroll College, in Waukesha; Lawrence University, in Appleton; Beloit College, in Beloit; Carthage College, in Kenosha; Ripon College, in Ripon; St. Norbert College, in De Pere; and the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Geography

Covering an area of 145,439 square kilometers, Wisconsin can be divided into five main regions: the Superior Uplands, the Lake Superior Lowlands, the Western Uplands, the Great Lakes Plain, and the Central Plain. In the northern half of the state, the Superior Uplands features forested hills and hundreds of small lakes. The Lake Superior Lowlands includes the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior and the sandy shoreline along Lake Superior. Deep valleys and narrow ridges along the Mississippi River characterize the Western Uplands. The Great Lakes Plain, extending from the north to Wisconsin's eastern border, contains the state's richest farmland. A crescent-shaped area of land in the center of Wisconsin, the Central Plain includes a stretch of the Wisconsin River gorge called the Wisconsin Dells. Lakes Superior and Michigan both form parts of the state's boundaries. Major rivers include the Mississippi, the Wisconsin, the Saint Croix, the Chippewa, the La Crosse, and the Rock. Important cities include Milwaukee, Madison (capital), Green Bay, Racine, and Kenosha. The population of Wisconsin is over 5.1 million.

Climate

Warm summers and long, cold winters are the norm for Wisconsin. Average January temperatures range from -12.2° C in the north to -5.6° in the southeast. Temperatures in July range from 19° C in the north to 22° C in the southwest. Northern Wisconsin receives an average of 125-150 cm of precipitation annually, while southern Wisconsin receives an average of 76 cm. Annual snowfall average 76 cm in the south, but snow may accumulate up to 254 cm in Irony County in the north.

Cultural Profile

Museums in Milwaukee include the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Milwaukee Art Museum. Other museums in the state include the Elvehjem Museum of Art and the Madison Art Center, both in Madison; the Theodore Lyman Wright Art Center, at Beloit College; the Blakely Museum, in Fond du Lac; the Museum of Medical Progress, in Prairie du Chien; the Rhinelander Museum, in Rhinelander; Circus World Museum, in Baraboo; and the Farm and Draft Museum, in Cassville.

Performing arts organizations in Milwaukee include the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Florentine Opera Company, the Skylight Comic Opera, the Milwaukee Ballet Company, and the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. A variety of music, dance, and dramatic performances are also presented regularly in communities and at colleges and universities throughout Wisconsin.

Recreation

Wisconsin has two national forests (Chequamegon and Nicolet), one national lakeshore, fifty-five state parks, and ten state forests. Other interesting places to visit in Wisconsin include Old World Wisconsin, near Eagle; Pendarvis, in Mineral Point; Stonefield Village, near Cassville; Villa Louis, in Prairie du Chien; Eagle Cave, near Blue River; Green Meadows Farm, near Waterford; Lake Geneva, in south-central Wisconsin; and Taliesin, near Spring Green. Popular outdoor activities in Wisconsin include canoeing, sailing, motorboating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, camping, snow skiing, bicycling, and hiking.

Interesting Facts

Wisconsin ranks first in the US for the number of milk cows (1,500,000) and produces more than 15% of the entire country's milk supply. In 1867, the first practical typewriter was invented in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Famous Wisconsinites include John Bardeen (physicist), Marguerite Henry (writer), Woody Herman (jazz musician and bandleader), Frederic March (actor), John Muir (naturalist and explorer), Georgia O'Keeffe (painter), William Rehnquist (chief justice of the US supreme court), Spencer Tracy (actor), Orson Welles (actor and director), Gene Wilder (actor), Laura Ingalls Wilder (novelist), Thornton Wilder (novelist and dramatist), and Frank Lloyd Wright (architect).