In the

U.S. 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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 ...

, the Lake Superior Lowland, also known as the Superior Coastal Plain, is a geographical region located in the far northern part of the state bordering

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

. It covers about , and does not extend beyond from the Lake Superior shore. The Lake Superior Lowland is defined by a plain that slopes gently downward towards the north. While the area is mostly flat, the altitude ranges from about 600 feet (180 m) to 1000 feet (or 300 meters) above sea level. The higher altitudes are located on the

Bayfield Peninsula The Bayfield Peninsula is a peninsula on Lake Superior. It is located in Bayfield County, Wisconsin USA. It is the northernmost region of mainland Wisconsin, with the south shore of Lake Superior to the west and the Chequamegon Bay to the east. T ...

, where the characteristic plain gives way to more rugged hills. Northeast of the peninsula are the

Apostle Islands The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Islands are located in Ba ...

, which have been designated as a National Lakeshore. Woodland covers most of the Lake Superior Lowland. Much of the forested area is dominated by

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

and

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

trees, with some

conifers Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extan ...

interspersed throughout the forest. Some pasture and cropland has been established on the plain. Marshes and wetlands exist in a few places in the region, and several rivers drain the region into Lake Superior, including the Brule River, which is surrounded by a State Forest. Two

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

Indian reservations An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

are located along the shores of Lake Superior, the

Bad River Indian Reservation The Bad River LaPointe Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians or Bad River Tribe for short ( oj, Mashkii ziibii) are a federally recognized tribe of Ojibwe people. The tribe had 6,945 members as of 2010. The Bad River Reservation ...

and the

Red Cliff Indian Reservation Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa () is a band of Ojibwe Native Americans. The Red Cliff Band is located on the Red Cliff Indian Reservation, on Lake Superior in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Red Cliff, Wisconsin, is the administrative cent ...

. The largest city in the area is

Superior, Wisconsin , native_name_lang = oj , nickname = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = Tower Avenue.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Downtown Superior , ima ...

. Other cities include Ashland and

Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influen ...

. This is part of a northern Wisconsin area colloquially referred to as "up north."

Counties in the Lake Superior Lowland

Part of the land of the following counties is included in the Lake Superior Coastal Plain: * Ashland County *

Bayfield County Bayfield County is the northernmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population is 16,220. Its county seat is Washburn. The county was created in 1845 and organized in 1850. The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior C ...

* Douglas County *

Iron County Iron County is the name of four counties in the United States: *Iron County, Michigan *Iron County, Missouri *Iron County, Utah *Iron County, Wisconsin Iron County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, t ...

References

{{coord, 46, 40, N, 91, 30, W, region:US-WI_scale:1500000, display=title Regions of Wisconsin Plains of the United States Great Lakes region (U.S.)