Near Sparta in Monroe County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Coulee Country
Photographed by Greta Schassler, December 27, 2025
1. Coulee Country Marker
The relocated marker as seen at the renovated rest stop.
From the hills all around, rugged valleys collect for rivers that feed the mighty Mississippi. The early French called such a valley a coulee. These many valleys, large and small, still are known as coulees, a regional name for a regional landscape.
Here the glaciers never came. The great ice sheets grinding out of the north sometimes passed to the west, other times to the east, to plane the land, carve out the Great Lakes, and leave deep deposits of gravel and other sediment everywhere but in coulee country.
Coulee views along the Mississippi are proudly compared with the Palisades of the Hudson and the hills along the Rhine. Coulee Country is world known through the writings of Hamlin Garland, 1860-1940, a native son.
Erected 1973 by Wisconsin Historical Society. (Marker Number 198.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Environment • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Wisconsin Historical Society series list.
Location. 43° 54.607′ N, 90° 52.853′ W. Marker is near Sparta, Wisconsin, in Monroe County. It can be reached from Interstate 90 at milepost 21, 3 miles
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest, on the Great Lakes, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Driftless Area (a few steps from this marker); Donald "Deke" Slayton (approx. 3½ miles away); Monroe County Courthouse (approx. 4.2 miles away); Masonic Lodge (approx. 4.2 miles away); U.S. Post Office (approx. 4.2 miles away); Sparta Free Library (approx. 4.2 miles away); Civil War Cannon (approx. 4½ miles away); Wisconsin Child Center Cemetery (approx. 5.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sparta.
Photographed by Fitzie Heimdahl
2. Coulee Country Marker (Refurbished Marker June 8, 2021)
Photographed by Keith L, June 23, 2008
3. Coulee Country Marker
Photographed by Keith L, June 23, 2008
4. Coulee Country Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 6, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 6, 2008, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 1,666 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 27, 2025, by Greta Schassler of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2. submitted on June 8, 2021, by Fitzie Heimdahl of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. 3. submitted on July 6, 2008, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. 4. submitted on July 7, 2008, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. A wide shot of the marker in its new location and its surroundings. • Can you help?
