The 'Bad Axe River' is a short
tributary of the
Mississippi River in southwestern
Wisconsin in the
United States. The river's mouth at the Mississippi was the site of the
Battle of Bad Axe, an
1832 U.S. Army massacre of
Sac and
Fox Indians at the end of the
Black Hawk War.
Course
The Bad Axe River flows for its entire length in western
Vernon County, and for most of its length as two streams, the 'North Fork Bad Axe River' and the 'South Fork Bad Axe River'. The North Fork rises at the town of
Westby and flows generally southwestwardly. The South Fork rises about 3 mi (5 km) south of
Viroqua and flows generally westwardly. The Bad Axe flows for only about 5 mi (8 km) westward from the convergence of the two forks to its confluence with the Mississippi, about 6 mi (10 km) south of
Genoa.
See also
★
List of Wisconsin rivers