Rib Mountain
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Rib Mountain, also known as Rib Hill, is a glacially-eroded
monadnock An inselberg or monadnock ( ) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an ...
in central
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, located in the village of Rib Mountain in Marathon County. Composed of
quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...
covered with a softer
syenite Syenite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock with a general composition similar to that of granite, but deficient in quartz, which, if present at all, occurs in relatively small concentrations (< 5%). It is considered a Wausau on the west side of the
Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, at approximately 430 miles (692 km) long. As a tributary of the Mississippi River, it is part of the Mississippi River System. The river's name was first recorded in 1673 b ...
, just west of
Interstate 39 Interstate 39 (I-39) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Illinois and Wisconsin that runs from an interchange at I-55 in Normal, Illinois, to State Trunk Highway 29 (WIS 29) approximately south of Wausau, Wisconsin. In to ...
and just south of Highway 29. The nearby Wausau Downtown Airport at an elevation of , is located just to the east. Rib Mountain is almost long and rises to above sea level and above the local terrain. The Rib River and Little Rib River are nearby. Rib Mountain is home to the Rib Mountain State Park and the
Granite Peak Ski Area Granite Peak Ski Resort is a ski area located in Rib Mountain State Park in the Town of Rib Mountain, Marathon County, Wisconsin, south of Wausau. It features 58 runs and 4 terrain parks as of 2022 and boasts a vertical drop of . Granite Pe ...
. The peak is also the site of transmitters for radio and TV stations in the Wausau area, and is the namesake for
Wisconsin Public Television PBS Wisconsin (formerly Wisconsin Public Television or WPT) is a network of non-commercial educational television stations operated primarily by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It compri ...
's WHRM-TV (Channel 20) and WHRM-FM (90.9),
Wisconsin Public Radio Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is a network of 38 public radio radio station, stations in the state of Wisconsin. WPR's network is divided into two distinct services, the ''WPR News Network'' and the ''WPR Music Network''. History Wisconsin Publ ...
's news and classical network station for the area. It also makes room for the transmitter at the top for WDEZ. Local legend states that the "ribs" in Rib Mountain denote that it is the burial site of
Paul Bunyan Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal. The character originate ...
. The nearby Mosinee Hill is said to be the grave of Babe the Blue Ox. When the ski area opened on the slopes of Rib Mountain in 1937, it was one of the first ski areas in North America.
Stowe Mountain Resort Stowe Mountain Resort is a ski resort in the northeastern United States, near the town of Stowe in northern Vermont, comprising two separate mountains: Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak. The lift-served vertical drop of Mount Mansfield is , the ...
in Vermont had opened a few years earlier in 1934. Sun Valley in Idaho had become the nation's first ski area in the western states in 1936.


References

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External links


Rib Mountain State Park

Friends of Rib Mountain State Park


Hills of Wisconsin Inselbergs of North America Landforms of Marathon County, Wisconsin Mountains of Wisconsin