| Wisconsin River | |
|---|---|
 Below the Alexander dam at Merrill | |
 Wisconsin and the Wisconsin River | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Wisconsin |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Lac Vieux Desert |
| • elevation | 1,683 ft (513 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin |
• coordinates | 42°59′22″N 91°09′14″W / 42.98944°N 91.15389°W |
| Length | 420 mi (680 km) |
| Basin size | 12,280 sq mi (31,800 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 12,000 cu ft/s (340 m3/s) at mouth |
| Official name | Lower Wisconsin Riverway |
| Designated | 14 February 2020 |
| Reference no. | 2417[1] |
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 was first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskousing" from his Indian guides - most likely Miami for "river running through a red place."[2]
Before roads into Wisconsin, the river was canoed, hunted and fished by Indians.[3] Loggers used the upper reaches of the river and its tributaries to drive logs to their sawmills and the lower reaches to float rafts of sawn boards to markets as near as Portage and as far as St. Louis.[4] Today dams along the river generate hydroelectric power and people fish, boat, water-ski and sight-see on the river.[5]
- ^ "Lower Wisconsin Riverway". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ "Wisconsin's Name: Where it Came From and What it Means". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ "History - Lower Wisconsin State Riverway". Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
- ^ Glover, W.H. (December 1941). "Lumber Rafting on the Wisconsin River". Wisconsin Magazine of History. 25 (2): 155–170. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
- ^ "Recreation - Lower Wisconsin State Riverway". Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2024-07-05.