At a Glance
State Animal: Badger State Tree: Maple State Flower: Wood Violet
State Wildlife Animal: State Domestic Animal: State Bird: Robin
White-tailed Deer Cow
State Fish: Muskellunge State Insect: Honey Bee State Motto: Forward
State Dance: Polka State Nickname: State Flag
"Gathering of the Waters"
State Symbol: Mourning Dove
State Mineral: Galena
State Soil: Antigo Silt Loam
State Rock: Red Granite
Vital Statistics
State Capitol Madison
Population 5,363,675
Largest City Milwaukee
Land Area 35.7 million acres
Water Area 1 million acres
Number of species of fish 171
Number of fishing licenses sold each year Around 1.3 million
Number of fish caught per year Around 61 million
History
Wisconsin now has 11 resident Indian tribes, but the Ho-Chunk Tribe and their ancestors have lived here for more than 500 years. Learn more.
Jean Nicolet became the first European to land in Wisconsin while looking for a Northwest Passage to China in 1634. www.wisconsinhistory.org
In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet first discovered the upper Mississippi River where Wyalusing State Park in Bagley is now located. www.wisconsinhistory.org
In 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state in the Union. www.wisconsinhistory.org
Industry
Wisconsin has more than 1.3 million dairy cows. Go to www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Wisconsin.
At 234,900 acres, the Menominee Reservation is Wisconsin's largest and an international leader in sustainable forestry. http://www.sustainabledevelopmentinstitute.org
Travelers spend more than $13 billion a year in Wisconsin. www.travelwisconsin.com
Wisconsin's top three industries are agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. http://www.wischamberfoundation.org/
Wisconsin is the largest producer of cheese in the nation, producing more than 350 varieties. http://www.wisdairy.com/AllAboutCheese/CheeseFactsAndFigures.aspx
Milwaukee is the home of the internationally famous Harley-Davidson motorcycles. www.harley-davidson.com
The University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the world's leading biotechnology centers research and development centers. www.wisconsin.edu
Wisconsin is the nation's top cranberry producer, growing nearly 48 percent of the nation's total crop. http://www.wiscran.org
Wisconsin is the nation's leading producer of ginseng and 8th in honey production. http://www.wihoney.com/
People
Copper Culture State Park near Oconto contains a 2,000-year-old Indian burial ground. http://www.ecb.org/wisconsin/powwow/links.htm
The Green Bay Packers, the last remaining publicly-owned pro sports team, have won more NFL titles and retained their team name longer than any other in history (since 1919). www.50states.com/sports/wisconsin
The University of Wisconsin Badgers is the only Big 10 team ever to win back-to-back Rose Bowls (1999 & 2000). The Badgers also won the Rose Bowl in 1994. http://www.uwbadgers.com/
The Ringling Brothers put on their first circus performance in 1884 in Baraboo. http//:circusworld.wisconsinhistory.org
Lake Geneva has the only postal route in Wisconsin for which mail is delivered by boat. http://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/cruising/lake-geneva-cruise-line/
American and international history is sprinkled with people with Wisconsin ties, including Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frank Lloyd Wright, Georgia O'Keefe, Orson Welles, Harry Houdini, Liberace, Gene Wilder, Thornton Wilder, Chris Farley and Jane Kaczmarek. www.50states.com/bio/wisconsin/.
Places
Wisconsin's Capitol Building is the second tallest government building in the nation, second only to the Capitol in Washington, D.C. www.nps.gov/history/places.htm
Wisconsin encompasses 56,154 square miles, including 1,439 square miles of inland water in nearly 15,000 lakes and 33,000 miles of rivers and streams. www.uwex.edu/wgnhs
Defined on two sides by Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, Wisconsin's third border is etched by the Mississippi River. http://www.forwardwi.com/sub39/Wisconsins-Waterways
Door County has more than 250 miles of shoreline, 10 lighthouses and five state parks. http://www.doorcounty.com/
Horicon Marsh is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the nation. www.fws.gov/midwest/horicon.
Located near Ogema, Timm's Hill is the state's highest elevation at 1,951.5 feet.
Rib Mountain State Park in Wausau has a ski slope with the second-longest vertical drop in the Midwest. http://skicentral.com/wisconsin.html.
Things to See & Do
The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore encompasses 21 islands in Lake Superior just off the tip of Bayfield County. http://www.nps.gov/apis/
The Dane County Farmers' Market is the largest in the United States. www.dcfm.org/
Legendary Lambeau Field has been in continuous use since 1957.
Chalet Cheese Co-op in Monroe is the only place in America that makes the notoriously odd-smelling Limburger cheese. http://www.wisconline.com/attractions/cheese.html
The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest major racetrack in the world. www.milwaukeemile.com.
The International Snowmobile Racing Hall of Fame is located in St. Germain. www.snowmobilehalloffame.com/
Wisconsin hosts the largest cross-country ski race in North America, the American Birkebeiner. Go to www.birkie.com.
Wisconsin hosts one of the largest snowmobile races in the world, the World's Championship Snowmobile Derby in Eagle River. www.derbytrack.com
Interstate State Park in St. Croix Falls was Wisconsin's first state park. www.dnr.state.wi.us.
Each August, EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh hosts the largest aviation event in the world. www.eaa.org
Hayward is the home to the largest Muskie in the world, a four-story replica at the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. www.freshwater-fishing.org
The world's largest carousel is located at House on the Rock in Spring Green. www.thehouseontherock.com/
America's largest waterpark, Noah's Ark, is located in Wisconsin Dells. http://wisdells.com
Kewaunee is home to the world's largest grandfather clock, which stands 35 feet tall. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/1446
Milwaukee's Summerfest is the world's biggest outdoor music festival, drawing nearly one million visitors per year. www.summerfest.com
Sauk City and Prairie du Sac are home to North America's largest population of wintering eagles. http://tourism.state.wi.us/Article_detail.aspx?articleid=93&menuid=75