Besides the great Lakes-Superior on the north, and Michigan on the east there are numerous bodies of water in the central end northern parts of the State. These lakes are from thirty miles in extent with high, picturesque banks, and as a rule, deep water. Wisconsin has an endless variety of beautiful scenery. Although Wisconsin is far north, the cold of winter is tempered by the vicinity of Lake Michigan, and the excessive heat of the short summers is modified by the breezes from that body of water and from Lake Superior. The winters are uniform, with heavy snows in the north preceding the hard frosts, and in the south snow often falls to a depth of eighteen inches.
Spring is backward, summer short and hot, and the autumn mild and pleasant.
The northern part of Lake Michigan is frozen over most winters, but the ice never extends so far south as Milwaukee. The Milwaukee river is frozen up from the end of November to about the middle of March, or an average of 100 days. The prevailing winds in autumn and winter are from the west, in summer from the southwest, and in spring from the northeast, and the climate is healthful and invigorating. The annual quantity of rain and melted snow averages about thirty-two inches. The first settlement was made by the French at Green Bay in 1669.