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is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,728 at the 2000 census and was estimated at 9,802 in 2007, making it the largest city in Columbia County. The city is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Portage was named for the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, a portage between the Fox River and the Wisconsin River, which was recognized by Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet during their discovery of a route to the Mississippi River in 1673. The city's slogan is "Where the North Begins".
Portage is located at (43.545704, -89.463199).
Portage lies in the Wisconsin River valley. The city is surrounded by prairies and grasslands. About three miles (5 km) west of the city are the Baraboo bluffs.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 square miles (23.4 km²), of which, 8.3 square miles (21.5 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.9 km²) of it (8.09%) is water.