Lakes in Wisconsin: Great Lakes Shore, Kettle Moraines & Dells

Wisconsin is one of the most thoroughly glaciated states in the nation, with the Laurentide ice sheet leaving behind over 15,000 lakes, extensive moraines, drumlins, and kettle depressions. The state is also bounded by two Great Lakes — Superior to the north and Michigan to the east — giving it 1,290 km of Great Lakes shoreline.

Introduction

The great exception to Wisconsin's glaciated landscape is the Driftless Area in the southwest, a rugged region of bluffs, coulees, and cave-pocked ridges that was somehow bypassed by every major glacial advance. This unglaciated terrain is so different from the rest of the state that it feels like a different geographic province.

Between the glaciated and Driftless regions, the Wisconsin Dells gorge exposes dramatic sandstone formations carved by catastrophic glacial meltwater floods, creating one of the most unusual geological landscapes in the Midwest.

Major Geographic Features

Wisconsin Dells

The Wisconsin Dells is a 13-km gorge carved through Cambrian sandstone by catastrophic floods from glacial Lake Wisconsin roughly 15,000 years ago. The gorge walls reach 30 meters and feature dramatic narrow side canyons, sculpted overhangs, and natural bridges. Stand Rock, a pillar of sandstone separated from the gorge wall by a narrow gap, is an iconic formation. The sandstone is 500 million years old and displays beautiful cross-bedding from ancient beaches.

Driftless Area

Wisconsin's Driftless Area covers roughly 40,000 square km of the state's southwest, an unglaciated region with rugged terrain of bluffs, narrow ridges (coulees), and deeply incised valleys. The bluffs along the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers rise 180 meters above the floodplains. The region contains over 1,000 caves and supports cold-water trout streams in its narrow valleys. The contrast between the rolling glaciated landscape to the east and the deeply dissected Driftless terrain is visible from space.

Devil's Lake

Devil's Lake is Wisconsin's largest inland lake at 146 hectares, occupying a gap in the Baraboo Range where the terminal moraine of the last glacier dammed both ends of an ancient river gorge. The quartzite bluffs rise 150 meters above the lake surface, composed of 1.6-billion-year-old rock — among the oldest exposed rock in the Midwest. The Baraboo Range itself is a relic of a Precambrian mountain chain that has been exhumed from beneath younger sediments.

Apostle Islands

The Apostle Islands in Lake Superior include 21 islands and 20 km of mainland shoreline featuring dramatic sea caves carved into Precambrian sandstone. In winter, the caves form spectacular ice curtains and frozen waterfalls when spray from Lake Superior freezes on the sandstone walls. The islands were shaped by waves eroding the soft red sandstone along fractures, creating arches, columns, and deep caves. The caves on the mainland shore are accessible by kayak in summer and by walking across the frozen lake in winter.

Kettle Moraine

The Kettle Moraine in southeastern Wisconsin is one of the most dramatic glacial landscapes in the Midwest, formed between two lobes of the Wisconsinan glacier. The interlobate moraine features steep hills (kames) reaching 60 meters, linear ridges (eskers), and numerous kettle depressions — circular holes formed by melting buried ice. The Kettle Moraine State Forest protects 25,000 hectares of this classic glacial terrain across northern and southern units connected by the Ice Age Trail.

Lake Michigan & Lake Superior Shorelines

Wisconsin has 808 km of Lake Michigan shoreline and 482 km of Lake Superior shoreline. The Lake Michigan coast features the Point Beach ridges (ancient beach lines), the Door Peninsula (a limestone escarpment extending 120 km into the lake), and the clay bluffs of the southern shore. The Lake Superior coast features the dramatic Bayfield Peninsula and red sandstone sea caves. The Door Peninsula is bounded on both sides by water and its tip features treacherous currents at Death's Door passage.

Drumlin Fields & Ice Age Trail

Wisconsin contains the largest drumlin fields in North America, with over 5,000 drumlins in the south-central part of the state. These elongated hills of glacial till, typically 15-30 meters high and 400-800 meters long, all align with the direction of ice flow. The Ice Age National Scenic Trail follows 1,600 km of the glacier's terminal moraine across the state, connecting major glacial features from the Driftless Area to the Door Peninsula.

Key Geographic Facts

• Timms Hill at 595 m (1,951 ft) is Wisconsin's highest point
• Wisconsin has over 15,000 glacial lakes
• The state has 1,290 km of Great Lakes shoreline
• The Driftless Area covers roughly 40,000 sq km of unglaciated terrain
• Wisconsin contains the largest drumlin fields in North America with over 5,000 drumlins

Fun Facts

• The Wisconsin Dells gorge was carved in just a few days by catastrophic floods from glacial Lake Wisconsin
• Devil's Lake's quartzite bluffs are 1.6 billion years old, among the oldest rock in the Midwest
• The Apostle Islands sea caves form spectacular ice curtains in winter that can be visited by walking on the frozen lake
• The Driftless Area was somehow bypassed by every major glacial advance for over 2 million years, and scientists still debate why

Final Thoughts

Wisconsin is a glacial landscape showcase, with over 15,000 lakes, the largest drumlin fields in North America, and some of the finest kettle moraine terrain in the world. The Driftless Area provides a dramatic counterpoint, showing what the Midwest would look like without glaciation. From the sandstone gorge of the Dells to the sea caves of the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin's geography is written in ice, water, and stone.