Green Bay

Sister cities

• Irapuato

History

Samuel de Champlain, the founder of New France, commissioned Jean Nicolet to form a peaceful alliance with Native Americans in the western areas, whose unrest interfered with the French fur trade, and to search for a shorter trade route to China through Canada. Nicolet and others had learned from other First Nations of the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) people, who identified as "People of the Sea", and believed they must reside on or near an Ocean. Champlain had also heard about natural resources in the area, including fertile soil, forests, and animals. Nicolet began his journey for this new land shortly before winter in 1634. In what later became a French fur-trading route, he sailed up the Ottawa River, through Lake Nipissing and down the French River to Lake Huron, then through the straits of Michilimackinac into Lake Michigan. He is believed to have landed at Red Banks, near the site of the modern-day city of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Nicolet founded a small trading post here in 1634, originally named La Baye or La Baie des Puants (French for "the Bay of Stinking Waters"). Nicolet's settlement was one of the oldest European permanent settlements in America. When Nicolet arrived in the Green Bay area, he encountered the Menominee, who occupied this territory. He also met the Ho-Chunk (also known as the Winnebago), a people who spoke a Siouan language. The Winnebago hunted and fished, and also cultivated corn, beans, squash, and tobacco. Wild rice, which they had incorporated as a dietary staple, grew in abundance along the riverbanks. The women regularly harvested and cooked this, along with a wide variety of nuts, berries, and edible roots which they gathered in the woods. The men typically hunted and fished for food, and the women processed game and other foods in cooking.…

Geography

Green Bay is in the eastern part of Wisconsin at the mouth of the Fox River. Today, Interstate 43 meets Interstate 41 (also U.S. Route 41) in Green Bay, approximately north of Milwaukee. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. About 14% of the city of Green Bay is inside the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin reservation. Green Bay has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb), with some moderation due to the city's proximity to Lake Michigan. Like other cities with this type of climate, there are four distinct seasons, often with severe or extreme variation between them in terms of temperature and precipitation. Green Bay experiences warm, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. The variance in temperature and precipitation between months is severe and often extreme. Tornadoes are rare in the Green Bay area, with the strongest being an F3 tornado that hit the community of Pittsfield on June 26, 1969. Monthly mean temperatures range from in January to in July. | source = }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,231
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,134
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  13,065
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  11,873
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  11,707
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  10,783
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,328
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,009

Largest nearby schools

• Preble High
  High · Green Bay · 2,125 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• Bay Port High
  High · Green Bay · 1,926 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• De Pere High
  High · De Pere · 1,470 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• East High
  High · Green Bay · 1,084 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Edison Middle
  Middle · Green Bay · 1,083 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Southwest High
  High · Green Bay · 1,079 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• West De Pere High
  High · De Pere · 1,055 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Ashwaubenon High
  High · Green Bay · 998 students · 16.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2024-08-02
  38 km ESE of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin