Vital Statistics

Wisconsin Facts

VITAL STATISTICS

GEOGRAPHY

The total land area of the state is 56,154 square miles, which includes 1,439 square miles of inland water.

Wisconsin has nearly 15,000 inland lakes and 33,000 miles of rivers and streams. It is bordered by two of the Great Lakes (Michigan and Superior) and the Mississippi River.

Door County has more miles of shoreline (250 mi.), more lighthouses (10), and more state parks (five) than any other county in the United States.

Big Manitou Falls at Pattison State Park in Superior is the highest waterfall in Wisconsin at 165 feet.

Northeastern Wisconsin’s Fox River is one of the few rivers in the nation that flows north.

Located near Ogema, Timm’s Hill is the state’s highest elevation at 1,951.5 feet.

The Kickapoo River, located in Crawford County, is known as “the crookedest river" in the world.

SPORTS

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). With season-ticket holders from around the world, the team's waiting list has more than 67,500 names.

Each year more than 1.3 million fishing licenses are sold and more than 61 million fish are caught, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Wisconsin has 171 species of fish and is continually ranked among the top 10 statesfor overall fishing activity.

The University of Wisconsin Badgers are the only Big Ten team ever to win back-to-back Rose Bowls (1999 & 2000). The Badgers also won the Rose Bowl in 1994.

With 43 statewide auto racetracks, Wisconsin is one of the top racing destinations in the country, with The Milwaukee Mile being the oldest major racetrack in the world.

The International Snowmobile Racing Hall of Fame is located in St. Germain.

Ranked third in the nation for the number of ski areas, the state offers 36 downhill sites for skiing enthusiasts.

Wisconsin hosts the largest cross-country ski race in North America, the American Birkebeiner, which brings upwards of 6,000 competitors to Cable.

Wisconsin hosts one of the largest snowmobile races in the world, the World’s Championship Snowmobile Derby in Eagle River.

OTHER WISCONSIN FACTS

The first circus in the United States was performed in Delavan. The Ringling Brothers put on their first circus performance in 1884 in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Each August, Wisconsin hosts the largest experimental aviation event in the world, the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh.

Hayward is the home to the largest muskie in the world, a four-story replica at the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.

The world's largest carousel is located at House on the Rock in Spring Green.

More than 800,000 deer roam Wisconsin’s woods each year.

Sheboygan is the “Bratwurst Capital of the World.”

The first ice cream sundae was concocted in Two Rivers in 1881.

Milwaukee’s Summerfest is the world’s biggest outdoor music festival, drawing nearly one million visitors per year.

Mount Horeb’s internationally known Mustard Museum holds the world’s largest collection of mustards, totaling more than 3,500 varieties.

Kewaunee is home to the world's largest grandfather clock, which stands 35 feet tall.

Lake Geneva has the only postal route in Wisconsin for which mail is delivered by boat.