Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Wisconsin Dells City. It lies in ZIP code area 53965. It lies near Lower Dells. The Survey maps it on the Wisconsin Dells North quadrangle. 2,942 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 909 feet above sea level.
On record in Wisconsin Dells
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 5 records
Wawbeek-Horace A.J. Upham Houselisted 1985
Jacob Weber Houselisted 1978- H. H. Bennett Studiolisted 1976
- Bowman Houselisted 1986
- Kilbourn Public Librarylisted 1974
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 16 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1901 USGS The Dells quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1957 USGS Madison quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Wisconsin Dells quadrangle1:62500
- 1960 USGS Madison quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1975 USGS Wisconsin Dells NE quadrangle1:24000
- 1975 USGS Wisconsin Dells North quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Wisconsin Dells quadrangle1:100000
- 1990 USGS Wisconsin Dells quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
292 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 292 fires within 5 miles of Wisconsin Dells between 1992 and 2020, burning about 260 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 16 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 85 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 69 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 16 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 13 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 11 |
| Fireworks | 11 |
| Other causes | 9 |
| Smoking | 9 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Natural | 4 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2001 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 September 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 5 September 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 2 September 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | HIGHWAY 13-2 |
| 2 September 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | HIGHWAY 13-1 |
| 13 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 August 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | SQUIRREL |
| 4 August 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | HIGHWAY 12 CHURCHYARD |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Wisconsin Dells: 2 past producers, 2 unknowns, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cummings Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Dubois Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Kettleson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Kettleson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Macksey Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
27 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wisconsin Dells in 27 storm reports between 1994 and 2023: 17 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2010 | Flood | Wisconsin Dells | $1,230,000 | The river at the gage in Portage was in flood from the evening of September 24th through the morning of September 30th, and reached a record flood level of 20.66 feet during the evening of Monday, September 27th. The old record crest at Portage was 20.50 feet on 09/14/1938. The flood waters threatened to break through a century-old earthen dike in the Civil Township of Caledonia. The waters seeped through the dike, but the dike did not fail. The potential levee failures caused voluntary evacuations and road closures along the river from the Dells to Portage. As it turned out, dozens of homes in the Blackhawk Park area just southeast of Portage were cut off when water depths reached a foot on the only road into the area. The Columbia County Emergency Management Director provided the following loss estimates: $1 M for seasonal and full-time residental homes, $100,000 for patching and reinforcing part of a 14-mile earthen berm/dike, $50,000 for gravel shoulder washouts, $75,000 to a wastwater treatment plant, and $200,000 to bottomland crops. It was postulated that damage was limited due to the fact that the flood waters rose slowly which reduced the erosional power of water. The EM Director also noted that the Wisconsin River levels in Portage were about a foot higher than that experienced in the Great Flood of 1993, while at Wisconsin Dells the 2010 level was about a foot lower than that experienced in 1993. |
| June 2006 | Tornado (F1) | Wisconsin Dells | $400,000 | The first segment of a multi-county-segmented tornado spun up 3.0 miles east of Wisconsin Dells at 1754CST about 0.6 mile east-northeast of the intersection of Broadway Rd. and CTH Q. It headed southeast and crossed STH 16 at Lewiston, and then crossed the Wisconsin River into Sauk County about 1.5 miles southeast of Lewiston at 1813CST. In this first Columbia County stretch, around 10 houses were damaged or destroyed, along with a couple pole sheds and many trees and power lines. An estimated 400,000 dollars in property damage occurred. The tornado was rated F1 with winds of 64 to 97 knots (73-112 mph). After a short track through Sauk County, this tornado re-entered Columbia County about 7 miles west of Portage, crossed Interstate 90/94, and then crossed the Wisconsin River again before dissipating at 1840CST. |
| August 2020 | Flash Flood | Wisconsin Dells | $100,000 | Many roads impassible in Portage from flash flooding. Many vehicles stranded or flowing within the deep floodwaters with several water rescues executed. Also, yards and basements flooded in Portage. Elsewhere in northern Columbia County, road and culvert washouts on highway P east of Pardeeville, and in the townships of Fort Winnebago and Lewiston. Rising waters on Swan Lake flooded out some homes on the northwest side of the lake. Portions of the Fox River flooded from northeast Columbia County to Pardeeville. The Fox River floodwaters flooded a portion of highway 44 northeast of Marcellon. The Pardeeville DPW sandbagged the sanitary sewer manholes to reduce the constant running of the lift stations. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $30,000 | Law enforcement officials reported many trees and power lines downed by powerful thunderstorm wind gusts, estimated up to 75 mph (65 knots) in the Wisconsin Dells. Four cars were also damaged, with overall property damages estimated to be $30,000 dollars. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $30,000 | Powerful thunderstorm winds knocked down large trees and power-lines, and also knocked over a temporary canopy. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $20,000 | A trained spotter reported trees and power lines blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 70 mph (61 knots) along a path from the Wisconsin Dells to Portage. |
| August 2004 | Flash Flood | Wisconsin Dells | $15,000 | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $8,000 | Dozens and trees and branches down in the same direction. |
| May 2012 | Hail | Wisconsin Dells | $5,000 | A ten-minute shower of large hail from a severe thunderstorm broke windows, with the damage totaling $5,000. |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $5,000 | Powerful thunderstorm downburst winds gusting to an estimated 65 knots (75 mph) toppled several large trees. Tree branch debris knocked down some power lines. The winds lifted one side of a trained spotters's vehicle about 6 inches into the air. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $5,000 | Large trees were uprooted across the city of Wisconsin Dells. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $5,000 | Powerful thunderstorm wind gusts to around 52 knots (60 mph) toppled saeveral large trees and a power-pole/power-line. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $3,000 | Large branches around 4-6 inches snapped. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $3,000 | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $2,000 | Several large trees down in WI Dells. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $2,000 | no account filed |
| March 2000 | Hail | Wisconsin Dells | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | $500 | no account filed |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Wisconsin Dells | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Wisconsin Dells | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Hail | Wisconsin Dells | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Wisconsin Dells | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wisconsin Dells | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moe Settlement (historical) | 4.3 miles | 15 | |
| Lewiston | 7.9 miles | 15 | |
| Durwards Glen | 16.1 miles | 22 | |
| Portage | 17.4 miles | 13 | |
| Dekorra | 19.9 miles | 13 | |
| Lake Wisconsin | 20.3 miles | 22 | |
| Harmony Grove | 21.2 miles | 22 | |
| Okee | 21.2 miles | 22 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Wisconsin Dells | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q913413 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1576900. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.







