page_title: La Crosse, Wisconsin
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: La Crosse, Wisconsin / Geography
context_page_description: La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's estimated population in 2019 was 51,227. The city forms the core of and is the principal city in the La Crosse Metropolitan Area, which includes all of La Crosse County and Houston County, Minnesota, for a population of 135,298.
  A regional technology, medical, education, manufacturing, and transportation hub, companies based in the La Crosse area include Organic Valley, Logistics Health Incorporated, Kwik Trip, La Crosse Technology, City Brewing Company, and Trane. La Crosse is a college town and home to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College.
context_section_description: La Crosse is located on the western border of the midsection of Wisconsin, on a broad alluvial plain along the east side of the Mississippi River. The Black River empties into the Mississippi north of the city, and the La Crosse River flows into the Mississippi just north of the downtown area. Just upriver from its mouth, this river broadens into a marshland that splits the city into two distinct sections, north and south.
  According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.54 square miles (58.38 km²), of which, 20.52 square miles (53.15 km²) is land and 2.02 square miles (5.23 km²) is water.
  Surrounding the relatively flat prairie valley where La Crosse lies are towering 500-foot bluffs, one of the most prominent of which is Grandad Bluff (mentioned in Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain), which has an overlook of the three states region. This feature typifies the topography of the Driftless Area in which La Crosse sits. This rugged region is composed of high ridges dissected by narrow valleys called coulees, a French term. As a result, the area around La Crosse is frequently referred to as the "Coulee Region".
caption: Grandad Bluff in La Crosse
exif: {}