Regions of Wisconsin

Wisconsin, located between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, is home to a wide variety of geographical features. The state can generally be divided into five distinct regions—Lake Superior Lowland, Northern Highland, Central Plain, Western Upland, and Eastern Ridges & Lowlands. Lawrence Martin created this schema for dividing the state into geographic regions. The different regions are defined by the differing effects of glaciers during the Wisconsin glaciation.

Wisconsin is divided into five geographic regions.

In the north, the Lake Superior Lowland occupies a belt of land along Lake Superior. The region is a flat plain, gently sloping downward to Lake Superior. Much of the area is forested—dominated by aspen and birch trees. The region also includes the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. In the north-central part of the state, the Northern Highland has massive mixed hardwood and coniferous forests including the 1,500,000-acre (6,100 km²) Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, as well as thousands of glacial lakes. The terrain is generally higher than the rest of the state, with frequent hills, and includes the state's highest point, Timms Hill.

Timms Hill is the highest natural point in Wisconsin at 1,951.5 ft (594.8 m);
 it is located in the town of Hill, Price County.

In the middle of the state, the Central Plain has many unique sandstone formations like the Dells of the Wisconsin River, in addition to rich farmland. The region is generally a flat sandy plain, much of which was covered by Glacial Lake Wisconsin. In the southwest, the Western Upland is a rugged landscape with a mix of forest and farmland, including many bluffs on the Mississippi River. The region is defined by its hilly irregular terrain, including all the Baraboo Range. The Western Upland is part of the Driftless Area, which also includes portions of Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota. This area was not covered by glaciers during the most recent ice age, the Wisconsin Glaciation. This area contains many of the caves in Wisconsin, including the Natural Landmark Cave of the Mounds. Langlade County has a soil rarely found outside of the county called Antigo silt loam.

The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands region, in the southeast, is home to many of the state's largest cities. The region is located west of Lake Michigan, and is primarily a plain, sloping down to the lake. The ridges include the Niagara Escarpment, the Black River Escarpment, and the Magnesian Escarpment.