The Big Rib River is a river in central

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. It originates in northeastern Taylor County at Rib Lake, and flows into Marathon County where it joins the

Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At approximately 430 miles (692 km) long, it is the state's longest river. The river's name, first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskous ...

. "Rib River" is a translation of the Native American name. The Big Rib River flows through Rib Falls then to Marathon City, before it converges into the

at the northeast face of

Rib Mountain Rib Mountain, also known as Rib Hill, is a glacially-eroded monadnock in central Wisconsin, located in the Town of Rib Mountain in Marathon County. Composed of quartzite covered with a softer syenite sheath, it was intruded about 1.5 billion ...

. The Dells of the Big Rib River, below Goodrich, are believed to be the rapids where Father René Menard disappeared in 1661, which attempting to reach a band of

Huron Indians The Wyandot people, or Wyandotte and Waⁿdát, are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. The Wyandot are Iroquoian Indigenous peoples of North America who emerged as a confederacy of tribes around the north shore of Lake Ontario w ...

at Lake Chelsea. He left his partner at the rapids to carry some supplies and was never seen again.Schmirler, A. A. A., "Wisconsin's Lost Missionary: The Mystery of Father Rene Menard", ''The Wisconsin Magazine of History'', Volume 45, number 2, winter, 1961-196

/ref>

Notes

Rivers of Wisconsin Rivers of Marathon County, Wisconsin Rivers of Taylor County, Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-river-stub

See also

Notes