The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands is a geographical region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of

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 ...

, between Green Bay in the north, and the border with

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

in the south.

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

lies to the east of the region. The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands region is primarily a plain with

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

s between 700 and 900 feet above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

, but the region slopes to form two broad ridges running from north to south that exceed 1,000 feet above sea level in some places. One ridge runs along Lake Michigan from the

Door Peninsula The Door Peninsula is a peninsula in eastern Wisconsin, separating the southern part of the Green Bay from Lake Michigan. The peninsula includes northern Kewaunee County, northeastern Brown County, and the mainland portion of Door Co ...

to the Illinois border. The other ridge is on the western edge of the region, stretching from Marinette County in the north to Dane County. Between the two ridges is a lowland carved out by the glaciers of the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

. The lowland includes the Green Bay,

Lake Winnebago Lake Winnebago ( mez, Wenepekōw Nepēhsæh, oj, Wiinibiigoo-zaaga'igan, one, kanyataláheleˀ) is a shallow freshwater lake in the north central United States, located in east central Wisconsin. At 137,700 acres it is the largest lake entire ...

, and several other small rivers and lakes. While there are some

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

s along the ridges, the region is primarily flat and the changes in elevation are usually gradual. The flatness of the Eastern Ridges and Lowlands region makes it especially suitable for agriculture. The majority of the region is covered by farmland. Forests are scarce except for in the far northern part of the region. Besides farmland, the area includes a significant amount of urban and suburban development, and a large proportion of Wisconsin's population. Many of Wisconsin's largest cities are located in the Eastern Ridges and Lowlands region, including

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, Green Bay,

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosh ...

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

, Appleton, Sheboygan, and others. The abundance of cities in the area make it Wisconsin's most populous region. The largest city in this region is Milwaukee with a population of 592,025 (2018).

Counties and Cities in the Eastern Ridges and Lowlands region

Part or all of the land in the following counties is included in the Eastern Ridges and Lowlands region: * Brown County * Calumet County * Columbia County * Dane County * Dodge County * Door County *

Fond du Lac County Fond du Lac County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104,154. Its county seat is Fond du Lac. The county was created in the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and later organized in 1844. Fond du La ...

* Green Lake County * Jefferson County * Kenosha County * Kewaunee County * Manitowoc County * Marinette County *

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and th ...

* Oconto County *

Outagamie County Outagamie County is a county in the northeast region of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 190,705. Its county seat is Appleton. Outagamie County is included in the Appleton, WI Metropolitan Statistical ...

* Ozaukee County *

Racine County Racine County (, sometimes also ) is a county in southeastern Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 197,727, making it Wisconsin's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Racine. The county was founded in 1836, then a pa ...

* Rock County *

Shawano County Shawano County (pronounced SHAW-no) (originally Shawanaw County) is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,881. Its county seat is Shawano. Shawano County is included in the Shawano, WI ...

* Sheboygan County * Walworth County * Washington County * Waukesha County * Winnebago County

Selected Cities in Eastern Ridges and Lowlands region

In Southeastern and South Central Wisconsin

* Waukesha *

* Janesville * Port Washington *

In Northeastern and East Central Wisconsin

* Green Bay * Appleton * Oshkosh * Fond du Lac * Manitowoc * Sturgeon Bay

References

{{Chicago metropolitan area Regions of Wisconsin