Wisconsin, upper midwestern state of the United States. It is bounded by Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, from which it is divided by the Menominee R. (N); Lake Michigan (E); Illinois (S); and Iowa and Minnesota (W), with the Mississippi R. forming much of that border.
Area, 56,154 sq mi (145,439 sq km).
Pop. (2000) 5,363,675, a 9.6% increase since the 1990 census.
Capital, Madison.
Largest city, Milwaukee.
Motto, Forward.
State bird, robin. 
State flower, wood violet.
State tree, sugar maple.
Wisconsin's frontage on lakes Superior and Michigan as well as its many beautiful lakes and streams and its northern woodlands have made it a haven for hunters, fishermen, and water and winter sports enthusiasts. There are numerous state parks, forests, and two national forests.
One of the nation's largest dairy herds grazes here, and Wisconsin is the leading state in the production of cheese as well as the second largest milk producer (after California). After dairy products and cattle, the state's most valuable farm commodities are corn and soybeans. Other important crops are hay, oats, potatoes, alfalfa, and a great variety of fruits and vegetables. Food processing, predictably, is one of the state's foremost industries, along with the manufacture of machinery, which is centered in Milwaukee, Madison, and Racine.
Other important manufactures are vehicles and transportation equipment, metal products, medical instruments and equipment, farm implements, and lumber. Almost all Wisconsin's major industries are to be found within metropolitan Milwaukee, where the traditional brewing and meatpacking are rivaled by the manufacture of heavy machinery and diesel and gasoline engines. Wisconsin has numerous ports on the Great Lakes capable of accommodating oceangoing vessels. The superb harbor at Superior (shared with Duluth, Minn.) has sizable shipyards and coal and ore docks that are among the nation's largest. Tourism and outdoor recreation are burgeoning, and several Native American groups operate gambling casinos in the state; through casino enterprises the Winnebago tribe has become one of the state's larger employers.
Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin Dells is a city located in south-central Wisconsin, with a population of 2,418 as of the 2000 Census. Wisconsin Dells is located partially within four counties: Adams County, Columbia County Juneau County Sauk County. The city takes its name from the Dells of the Wisconsin River, a spectacular glacially-formed gorge that features striking sandstone rock formations along the banks of the Wisconsin River. Together with nearby Lake Delton, the city forms an area known as "the Dells," a very popular Midwestern tourist destination, and becoming one of the United States top family destinations. Yearly, the Dells area boasts an estimated 5 million annual visitors.
With 18 indoor water parks and 3 outdoor waterparks in the Dells area, Wisconsin Dells proclaims itself as the "Waterpark Capital of the World,". It boasts the largest outdoor waterpark in the U.S., Noah's Ark. It has over 70 acres of waterslides. The Dells is also home to the nation's largest Indoor Waterpark resort, the Kalarari Resort. Kalahari's indoor waterpark features 125,000 square feet of waterpark space. Some other attractions in "the Dells" include the Dells Boat Tours, Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park, many golf courses, mini golf, go-carts, water sports, horseback riding, the Tommy Bartlett Thrill Show, the Ho-Chunk Casino and many other places of interest. Most attractions are located on the Strip, otherwise known as the Wisconsin Dells Parkway. Accommodations range from economical motels to RV parks, to chain hotels, and to themed resorts featuring indoor and outdoor waterparks and other amenities.
History
Wisconsin Dells was founded as Kilbourn City in 1857 by Byron Kilbourn, who is notable for also founding Kilbourntown, one of the three original towns at the confluence of the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic Rivers that joined to become Milwaukee. Before the establishment of Kilbourn City, the region around the dells of the Wisconsin River was primarily a lumbering area until 1851, when the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad was chartered with Kilbourn as its president. The railroad made plans to bridge the Wisconsin River near the river's dells, and a boomtown named Newport sprang up at the expected site of the bridge in 1853. The population of this new city quickly swelled to over 2,000, but when the railroad finally came through the area in 1857 it took nearly everyone by surprise by crossing the river a mile upstream from the site of Newport. As a result, Newport was rapidly turned into a ghost town as the settlers flocked to the new city at the site of the railroad bridge, Kilbourn City. Gradually, tourism became a large part of Kilbourn City. To make it easier for tourists to identify Kilbourn City with the natural landscape it was famous for, the name of the city was changed to Wisconsin Dells.
Because of the scenery provided by the dells of the Wisconsin River, Kilbourn City quickly became a popular travel destination in the Midwest. In 1875, early landscape photographer H. H. Bennett established a studio in the city and took several photos of the sandstone formations in the dells, including many stereoscopic views. Prints of these photographs were distributed across the United States, further enhancing the status of Kilbourn City as a destination for sightseers. Taking advantage of this, Bennett began offering to take souvenir pictures of visitors to the dells, becoming one of the first to capitalize on the area's burgeoning tourist trade. Today, the H. H. Bennett Studio is an historic site operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society.
The dells region remained primarily a place for sightseers to escape the bustle of the city for many decades. In 1856, Leroy Gates began taking tourists on boat tours of the Wisconsin Dells. These boat tours were given using wooden rowboats until 1873 when the first steamboat, the Modocawanda, was used. By 1894, gasoline powered tourboats were used for the tours. In 1908, the Kilbourn Dam was installed despite protests from people such as H. H. Bennett, separating the Dells into the Upper and Lower Dells. Since the time of LeRoy Gates, the Dells Boat Tours have gone through many owners. Some of these previous companies were The Riverview Boat Line, The Olson Boat Line (owned by Jack B. Olson), and The Dells Boat Company.
A few other events of interest took place during this time, including the June 16, 1911, impact of a 772-gram stony meteorite in rural Columbia County near the city, damaging a barn. In 1931 Kilbourn City was renamed Wisconsin Dells after the natural feature which was drawing so many visitors to the town. As the twentieth century progressed, new attractions would begin to draw even more tourists.
In 1946 a Milwaukee native named Mel Flath brought the first DUKW to the Wisconsin Dells. It was an impulse buy which he made at a government auction in California; The trips purpose was to purchase war surplus trucks. Mel opened the "Dells Amphibian Line" which gave 90 minute tours in the Wisconsin River, exposing tourists to the area's famous sandstone formations. Mel would eventually sell his duck fleet to the Associated Boat lines in 1952, which renamed themselves, the Wisconsin Ducks, Inc. In 1952 the Wisconsin Ducks, Inc. began offering tours of the river dells and adjacent areas using decommissioned amphibious DUKW vehicles from World War II. Jack B. Olson started the Wisconsin Ducks, Inc.; they remain one of the area's most popular attractions. However, duck competition was far from over after the 1952 sale. Mel Flath would open up a duck ride again briefly from 1964 - 1966. When he was bought out again, the Soma Boat Company opened up their own duck ride on Mirror Lake, near Lake Delton, WI, which they called the Aquaducks. In response to the competition, Wisconsin Ducks, Inc. took on the name "Original Wisconsin Ducks." The Aquaducks existed from 1968 until their sale to the boat lines in 1976. In 1977 yet another duck ride began, this time by Mel Flath's daughter and son-in-law, George and Suzanne Field, named Dells Duck Tours, Inc. operating from the same property Mel did 30 years prior. This time sporting a red, white and blue exterior, these ducks, while not the "original" ducks that were first brought here, were still actual World War II production models. Today, the Dells Duck Tours, Inc. are known as the Dells Army Ducks after a paint scheme change in 2002.
Lake Delton, Wisconsin Dells' sister city to the south, gradually became popular as the Dells attractions spread out. In 1952, a new traveling performance from Chicago called the "Tommy Bartlett's Thrill Show" came to Lake Delton on its second stop. Following the show's huge success in the city, the show's owner, Tommy Bartlett, chose to keep the performances permanently in Wisconsin Dells. To promote the show, Bartlett gave away bumper stickers advertising his thrill show and the city, effectively spreading word about the area across the nation. Soon more attractions followed to serve the ever-increasing number of tourists, along with countless hotels, shops, and restaurants.
Beginning in the late 1970's and continuing to the present the Dells area (Wisconsin Dells and Lake Delton) has become a waterpark mecca. Noah's Ark Waterpark opened in Lake Delton in 1979, and has grown to become the largest and the eighth most visited waterpark in the U.S. Other outdoor amusement and water parks followed, featuring water slides, mini golf, roller coasters, go-karts, and other attractions. In 1994 the Polynesian Resort Hotel opened the area's first indoor water park. Since then, the number of combination resort/indoor water parks in the Dells area has swelled, with each new indoor park a bit larger than the last, in an effort to claim the "world's largest" title for the resort. Several others have come including Mount Olympus Water and Theme park, Wilderness Territory, Great Wolf Lodge, Chula Vista Resort, and the Kalahari Resort. In 2005, Big Chief merged with the former Family Land Water Park and Treasure Island Hotel to create a large theme park on the border of Lake Delton and Wisconsin Dells, complete with a hotel, arcades, roller coasters, go-karts, and waterslides. The Kalahari Resort is a large African-themed resort which boasts the largest indoor water park in the United States.
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