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The Western Upland is a geographical region covering much of the western half of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It stretches from southern Polk County, Wisconsin in the north to the state border with Illinois in the south, and from Rock County in the east to the Mississippi River in the west.[ citation needed ]
Wisconsin's Western Upland is a rugged, hilly region deeply dissected by rivers and streams. The area is characterized by rocky outcroppings and numerous small caves, as well as sharp and frequent changes in altitude. The elevation in the region ranges from about 600 feet (180 m) above sea level in the Mississippi River Valley to more than 1,700 feet (520 m) above sea level at Blue Mound State Park, in Iowa County. The Mississippi, Wisconsin, Kickapoo, Black, and Chippewa rivers all carve deep gorges through the upland. Even most small creeks and streams have coulees penetrating some 200 to 300 feet (61 to 91 m) deeper than the surrounding land. Meanwhile, highlands like Military Ridge, the Baraboo Range, and a host of unnamed ridges have elevations that are in excess of 1,200 feet (370 m) above sea level. Before the last ice age, most of the land in the northern United States was similar to the land of today’s Western Upland, with rugged ridges and valleys. But as glaciers came to cover the continent, they toppled the ridges and filled in the valleys, creating smooth plains. The Western Upland of Wisconsin is part of the Driftless Area, a region that has avoided being covered by glaciers for the past several million years. This explains why the region has retained its rugged landscape.[ citation needed ]
Farmland is prevalent in the Western Upland anywhere where the slope of the land is gradual enough to permit it, generally on the ridge tops and the valley bottoms. Both fields and pastureland are common in the region. The hillsides and narrow ravines that are unsuitable for agriculture are covered in forests. Oak, hickory, maple, and birch trees dominate the woodlands of the Western Upland. Several small cities are scattered along the ridges and valleys. With a population of 59,498, the largest city in the Western Upland is Janesville in the extreme southeast corner of the region. La Crosse, with a population of 51,818, occupies a more central position along the Mississippi River. Other principal cities include Beloit, Monroe, Platteville, Dodgeville, Richland Center, Prairie du Chien, and Sparta.[ citation needed ]
Part or all of the land in the following counties is included in the Western Upland of Wisconsin:[ citation needed ]
Vernon County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,714. Its county seat is Viroqua.
La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census was 52,680. The city forms the core of and is the principal city in the La Crosse–Onalaska Metropolitan Area, which includes all of La Crosse County and Houston County, Minnesota, with a population of 139,627.
Coulee, or coulée is a term applied rather loosely to different landforms, all of which refer to a kind of valley or drainage zone. The word coulee comes from the Canadian French coulée, from French couler 'to flow'.
The Driftless Area, also known as Bluff Country and the Paleozoic Plateau, is a topographical and cultural region in the Midwestern United States that comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois. The Driftless Area is a USDA Level III Ecoregion: Ecoregion 52. The Driftless Area takes up a large portion of the Upper Midwest forest–savanna transition. The Blufflands refers to the eastern section of the Driftless area in Minnesota, due to the steep bluffs and cliffs around the river valleys. The western half is known as the Rochester Plateau, which is flatter than the Blufflands. The Coulee Region refers to the southwestern part of the Driftless Area in Wisconsin. It is named for its numerous ravines.
The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands is a geographical region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin, between Green Bay in the north, and the border with Illinois in the south. Lake Michigan lies to the east of the region.
The Dissected Till Plains are physiographic sections of the Central Lowlands province, which in turn is part of the Interior Plains physiographic division of the United States, located in southern and western Iowa, northeastern Kansas, the southwestern corner of Minnesota, northern Missouri, eastern Nebraska, and southeastern South Dakota.
The Black River is a river in west-central Wisconsin and tributary of the Mississippi River. The river is approximately 190 miles (310 km) long. During the 19th century, pine logs were rafted down the Black, heading for sawmills at La Crosse and points beyond.
Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district covers most of the Driftless Area in southwestern and western Wisconsin. The district includes the cities of Eau Claire, La Crosse, and Stevens Point, as well as many Wisconsin-based exurbs of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It borders the states of Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. Republican Derrick Van Orden has represented the district since 2023.
State Trunk Highway 131 is a 78.9-mile (127.0 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The highway is located in Wisconsin's Driftless Area, passing through Crawford, Vernon, Richland, and Monroe counties. It runs from WIS 60 near Wauzeka north to US Highway 12 and WIS 16 in Tomah. WIS 131 is maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).
The geology of Minnesota comprises the rock, minerals, and soils of the U.S. state of Minnesota, including their formation, development, distribution, and condition.
The U.S. State of Minnesota is the northernmost state outside Alaska; its isolated Northwest Angle in Lake of the Woods is the only part of the 48 contiguous states lying north of the 49th parallel north. Minnesota is in the U.S. region known as the Upper Midwest in interior North America. The state shares a Lake Superior water border with Michigan and Wisconsin on the northeast; the remainder of the eastern border is with Wisconsin. Iowa is to the south, South Dakota and North Dakota are to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario are to the north. With 87,014 square miles (225,370 km2), or approximately 2.26% of the United States, Minnesota is the 12th largest state.
Wildcat Mountain State Park is a state park of Wisconsin, United States, on the Kickapoo River in the Driftless Area. Sandstone bluffs topped with limestone, two of which are Wildcat Mountain and Mount Pisgah, provide views over the narrow valley of the river and its tributaries. The Kickapoo Valley Reserve is immediately adjacent and forms a continuous protected area. Wildcat Mountain State Park is open for year-round recreation including hiking, canoeing, fishing, and cross-country skiing. The 3,643-acre (1,474 ha) park is located in Vernon County near the town of Ontario, Wisconsin.
U.S. Highway 14 (US 14) in the U.S. state of Wisconsin runs northwest–southeast across the western to southwest portions of the state. It links La Crosse and the southwestern portion of the state with Madison and Janesville. US 14 is mostly two-lane surface road with the exception of a few multilane urban arterials and a freeway section around Madison that it mostly shares with US 12.
Wisconsin, a state in the Midwestern United States, has a vast and diverse geography famous for its landforms created by glaciers during the Wisconsin glaciation 17,000 years ago. The state can be generally divided into five geographic regions—Lake Superior Lowland, Northern Highland, Central Plain, Eastern Ridges & Lowlands, and Western Upland. The southwestern part of the state, which was not covered by glaciers during the most recent ice age, is known as the Driftless Area. The Wisconsin glaciation formed the Wisconsin Dells, Devil's Lake, and the Baraboo Range. A number of areas are protected in the state, including Devil's Lake State Park, the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and the Chequamegon–Nicolet National Forest.
Ocooch Mountains are a place name for the Western Upland area of Wisconsin also known as the Driftless Region, meaning un-glaciated, lacking glacial drift or the Paleozoic Plateau, referring to a geologic era, Greek for "ancient life". The lack of glaciated terrain accounts for high hills, bluffs, and ridges. The Chippewa, Black, La Crosse, Kickapoo, Baraboo, Lemonweir, Pine, Wisconsin, Grant, Platte and Pecatonia rivers and their tributaries create deeply eroded valleys that contrast the nearby peaks. One dramatic example is Wildcat Mountain State Park. The Baraboo Range anchors the eastern edge where the Wisconsin River turns and runs through the area to the Mississippi River. The Baraboo Range is a monadnock in Sauk and Columbia Counties and a National Natural Landmark formed 1.6 billion years ago featuring Devil's Lake, an endorheic lake.
There are a variety of schema for dividing Wisconsin into regions.
The Windrow Formation is a geologic formation in Minnesota named after Windrow Bluff on Fort McCoy, Monroe County, Wisconsin. It preserves fossils dating back to the Cretaceous period.
The geology of Wisconsin includes Precambrian crystalline basement rock over three billion years old. A widespread marine environment during the Paleozoic flooded the region, depositing sedimentary rocks which cover most of the center and south of the state.
Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit or SMRT is a commuter bus system serving the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. It provides four routes which serve Crawford County, La Crosse County, Monroe County and Vernon County. It was recognized by Wisconsin Rural Partners as one of Wisconsin’s Top Rural Development Initiatives in 2017.
