Belmont Mound State Park is a Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 state park containing Belmont Mound, a 400-foot (120 m) hill topped by a 64-foot (19.5 m) observation tower. The park is managed by the Belmont Lions Club rather than the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is an agency of the state of Wisconsin. Its purpose is to preserve, protect, manage and maintain the natural resources of the state. The WDNR has the authority to set policy for itself and to recommend regulations for approval by the State Legislature...

. Belmont Mound is an outlier of the Niagara Escarpment

Niagara Escarpment

The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...

, one of several in this part of the unglaciated Driftless Area. "Belmont" is an anglicisation

Anglicisation

Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...

 of the French name Belle Monte, meaning "beautiful mountain." A portion of the park received further protection in 1981 when Belmont Mound Woods State Natural Area was added to the Wisconsin State Natural Areas Program

Wisconsin State Natural Areas Program

The Wisconsin State Natural Areas Program is a conservation program created to highlight and protect areas with outstanding natural or archaeological resources in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. There are currently 609 State Natural Areas encompassing a total of more than...

. The park is for day-use only; there are picnic facilities but no campground. The First Capitol Historic Site

First Capitol Historic Site

First Capitol Historic Site is a free admission historic museum located outside Belmont, Wisconsin. The museum includes two of the buildings first used by territorial legislators to meet in Wisconsin Territory...

, where the first session of the Wisconsin Territory

Wisconsin Territory

The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin...

Legislature met beginning on October 25, 1836, is located just west of the park entrance.

External links

• Belmont Mound Woods State Natural Area official website