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No.

Wisconsin does not have any large mountains or mountain chains because the state is in the middle of a tectonic plate and its ancient mountains have eroded.

Mountains typically form near the places where tectonic plates collide, known also as “convergent boundaries.” Around 1.8 billion years ago, state mountain ranges such as the Penokee Mountains were created through these collisions, and they later eroded under moving glaciers.

Some of the highest points in Wisconsin today are Timms Hill, Rib Mountain and Lookout Mountain, which all peak at around 1,950 feet. While the United States Geological Survey does not officially define the term “mountain,” the British define a mountain as taller than 2,000 feet.

Currently, Wisconsin is not located near the edge of the North American plate to which it belongs and thus is unlikely to form a mountain range anytime soon.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

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Sreejita Patra joined Wisconsin Watch as a statehouse reporting intern in June 2025. She is currently pursuing a journalism major at UW-Madison’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where she is a rising junior. Sreejita works for Madison's student newspaper The Daily Cardinal and freelances for various Madison-based newspapers. She hopes to one day pursue investigative or features reporting, particularly on the South Asian diaspora.