Wisconsin
The Badger States capital is located in Madison, and the state has a land area of 65,503 square miles. Wisconsin's highest point is Timms Hill at 1,952 feet and its lowest point is on Lake Michigan at 581 feet. The Wisconsin region was first explored for France by Jean Nicolet, who landed at Green Bay in 1634. In 1660 a French trading post and Roman Catholic mission were established near present-day Ashland. The state has over 14,000 lakes, of which Winnebago is the largest. Water sports, ice-boating, and fishing are popular, as are skiing and hunting. Public parks and forests take up one-seventh of the land, with 43 state parks, 12 state forests, 14 state trails, 3 recreational areas, and 2 national forests. Among the many points of interest are the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; Ice Age National Scientific Reserve; the Circus World Museum at Baraboo; the Wolf, St. Croix, and Lower St. Croix national scenic riverways; and the Wisconsin Dells. The state is named for the Wisconsin River, the name of which is derived from the French version of an Ojibwa Indian term that may mean "gathering of the waters" or "place of the beaver." Wisconsin?s nickname, the Badger State, refers not to the state?s badgers but to miners who burrowed like badgers into the hillsides in search of lead in the 1820s.