Root River (Wisconsin)
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The Root River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed May 19, 2011
river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
that flows to
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 ...
at the city of
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 traditio ...
in southeastern
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 ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Racine and
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 par ...
are named for the river, as ''racine'' is the French word for
root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
.


Course

The Root River rises in the
Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha Co ...
suburb of New Berlin and flows generally southeastwardly through the
Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 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 the 45th most populous coun ...
suburbs of
West Allis West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census. History The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, ...
, Greenfield, Greendale and
Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
, into Racine County, where it enters Lake Michigan at Racine.


Variant names

According to the
Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...
, the Root River has also been known historically as: *Chippecotton *Chipperooton *Kipikawi *Ot-chee-beek *Racine River There was at one time a
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
in Greenfield called Root Creek on the bank of what was locally called "Root Creek" rather than "Root River".


See also

*
List of Wisconsin rivers This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. Great Lakes Drainage Lake Michigan *Menominee River * ...
* List of Wisconsin county name etymologies *
List of U.S. counties named after rivers This is a list of U.S. counties that are named for rivers and streams. Counties named for rivers (alphabetical by county name) A *Alamance County, North Carolina: Alamance is named for Great Alamance Creek. *Allegany County, New York: Allegany ...


References


External links


Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
*
DeLorme DeLorme is the producer of personal satellite tracking, messaging, and navigation technology. The company’s main product, ''inReach'', integrates GPS and satellite technologies. ''inReach'' provides the ability to send and receive text messages ...
(1992). ''Wisconsin Atlas & Gazetteer''. Freeport, Maine: DeLorme. . Rivers of Wisconsin Milwaukee metropolitan area Rivers of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Rivers of Racine County, Wisconsin Rivers of Waukesha County, Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-river-stub