Introduction to Geography of Indiana
Indiana, one of the Midwestern states of the United States. It is bounded by the states of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois. Lake Michigan forms part of Indiana's northwestern border, the Ohio River all of the southern border. With an area of 36,420 square miles (94,328 km2), Indiana is the 38th largest state in the nation.
Indiana in briefGeneral informationStatehood: Dec. 11, 1816, the 19th state.State abbreviations: Ind. (traditional); IN (postal).State capital: Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana since 1825. Earlier capitals were Vincennes (1800-1813) and Corydon (1813-1824).State motto: The Crossroads of America.Popular name: The Hoosier State.State song: "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away." Words and music by Paul Dresser.Symbols of IndianaState bird: Cardinal.State flower: Peony.State tree: Tulip-poplar (yellow-poplar).State flag and seal: Indiana's state flag, adopted in 1917, has a torch that stands for liberty and enlightenment. The 19th and largest star above the torch represents Indiana, the 19th state. The state seal shows a pioneer scene. The sun behind the hills represents Indiana's historic position as a foothold in the westward movement. Between 1816 and 1963, there were more than 200 variations of the seal. The present seal was officially adopted in 1963.Land and climateArea: 36,185 mi2 (93,720 km2), including 315 mi2 (816 km2) of inland water but excluding 235 mi2 (608 km2) of Great Lakes water.Elevation: Highest--1,257 ft (383 m) above sea level in Wayne County. Lowest--320 ft (98 m) above sea level in Posey County.Record high temperature: 116 °F (47 °C) at Collegeville on July 14, 1936.Record low temperature: –36 °F (–38 °C) at New Whiteland on Jan. 19, 1994.Average July temperature: 75 °F (24 °C).Average January temperature: 28 °F (–2 °C).Average yearly precipitation: 40 in (102 cm).PeoplePopulation: 6,080,485.Rank among the states: 14th.Density: 168 persons per mi2 (65 per km2), U.S. average 78 per mi2 (30 per km2).Distribution: 71 percent urban, 29 percent rural.Largest cities in Indiana: Indianapolis (791,926); Fort Wayne (205,727); Evansville (121,582); South Bend (107,789); Gary (102,746); Hammond (83,048).EconomyChief productsAgriculture: beef cattle, corn, eggs, hogs, milk, soybeans, turkeys.Manufacturing: chemicals, fabricated metal products, primary metals, processed foods and beverages, transportation equipment.Mining: coal, crude oil, limestone, sand and gravel.GovernmentState governmentGovernor: 4-year term.State senators: 50; 4-year terms.State representatives: 100; 2-year terms.Counties: 92.Federal governmentUnited States senators: 2.United States representatives: 9.Electoral votes: 11.Sources of informationFor information about tourism, write to: Indiana Office of Tourism Development, One N. Capitol Avenue, Suite 100, Indianapolis, IN 46204. The Web site at http://www.in.gov/visitindiana also provides information. The Department of Commerce also handles requests for information about the state's economy.The state's official Web site at http://www.in.gov also provides a gateway to much information on Indiana's economy, government, and history.Physical Geography
Indiana is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States.LandIndiana lies within the Central Lowlands region of the United States and consists mostly of flat to gently rolling land. Glaciers shaped most of the terrain by laying down thick deposits of debris during the last Ice Age. In some places they left distinct topographic features, including the large till plain that crosses central Indiana, the flattest part of the state. Large sand dunes line part of the Lake Michigan shore.
Moderately hilly areas occur in the southeastern and south-central sections of Indiana. The south-central section is the only unglaciated part of the state and contains varied surface features caused by erosion. Among them are sharp ridges, knolls, bluffs, natural bridges, and caves.
WaterAbout four-fifths of Indiana's surface drainage is southwestward to the Ohio River, mainly by way of the Wabash River and its chief tributary, the White. The northern one-fifth of the state has drainage eastward to Lake Erie, northward to Lake Michigan, and westward to the Mississippi River. More than a dozen fairly large lakes have been created by damming various rivers. Many small glacial lakes dot the northern part of the state, which in places is poorly drained and marshy.
ClimateIndiana has a continental type of climate with cold winters and hot, humid summers. Average January temperatures range between 25° F. (-4° C.) and 32° F. (0° C.), increasing from north to south; average July temperatures are near 75° F. (24° C.) throughout the state.
Annual precipitation ranges from about 35 inches (890 mm) in the north to 44 inches (1,120 mm) in the south. Snowfall is moderate throughout Indiana except in the northwest. There, cold air passing over warmer Lake Michigan water and then into Indiana causes deep snow each year.
Tornadoes, violent thunderstorms, and blizzards occasionally strike the state.
Indiana's state flower is the peony.VegetationForests once covered most of Indiana but were long ago cut for lumber and to create farmland. Today, forests cover only about one-sixth of the state and consist almost entirely of second-growth hardwoods. Oak, hickory, elm, ash, cottonwood, sycamore, maple, and beech are the chief trees. Southern Indiana is the most heavily forested part of the state.
The tall-grass prairies that once covered perhaps 20 per cent of Indiana were long ago converted to farmland.
Interesting facts about IndianaThe Raggedy Ann doll was created in Indianapolis in 1914. Marcella Gruelle found one of her grandmother's old, battered dolls and brought it to her father, Johnny Gruelle, a cartoonist. Gruelle applied a new face and two buttons for eyes and began making up stories about the doll for his daughter. Later, a long-time friend of Gruelle's mother presented him with the original twin of the doll. The doll names of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy were taken from poems by Gruelle's friend James Whitcomb Riley. Gruelle eventually wrote down the stories he had told his daughter, and they have been published as the Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy Books.The first professional baseball game was played in Fort Wayne on May 4, 1871. The Fort Wayne Kekiongas defeated the Cleveland Forest Citys, 2-0.The town of Santa Claus receives more than half a million packages, letters, and cards for remailing during the Christmas season. The town, named in 1852, has the only U.S. post office with the name Santa Claus.The first long-distance automobile race in the United States on a track took place on May 30, 1911, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ray Harroun won the 500-mile (805-kilometer) race, averaging a speed of 74.59 miles (120.04 kilometers) per hour.Economy
The Indiana quarter features an image of a race car to symbolize Indiana's most famous annual event, the Indianapolis 500 automobile race.Indiana's service industries account for the state's leading economy activity. This group includes businesses, private health care, educational services, law firms, repair shops, finance, insurance, real estate, trade, restaurants, hotels, and government services such as public schools, hospitals, transportation and communication.
ManufacturingManufacturing leads all other economic activities, providing more than one-fourth of the state's gross domestic product. Indiana's leading manufactured product is transportation equipment, including motor vehicle and aircraft parts. Motor vehicle assembly plants operate in several areas of the state, ranking Indiana among the top states producing automobile parts, trucks, bus bodies, truck trailers and motor homes. Other manufactured goods produced in Indiana include chemicals and pharmaceuticals, agricultural and industrial chemicals, and cleaning products, processed foods and beverages, fabricated metal products, computer and electronics products, medical supplies, plastics and rubber products.
Indiana ranks as the leading steel-making state, and it's also a leading center for aluminum production.
Mining and AgricultureMining and agriculture continue to play important roles in the economy, but contribute smaller amounts to Indiana's economy. The state has about 60,000 farms, with farmland covering about two-thirds of the state's land area. The most valuable farm products in the state are corn and soybeans. Farmers also grow hay and wheat. Among vegetables, grown in the state, tomatoes is the most valuable crop. Other vegetable crops include cucumbers, potatoes, beans, sweet corn, and popcorn. Leading fruit crops include apples, cantaloupes, and watermelons.
Much of Indiana's industry is concentrated in the Calumet region (an area that includes Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, and Whiting) and in Indianapolis. Other manufacturing centers include Fort Wayne, Evansville, Anderson, and South Bend. The Calumet region, with large steel mills and petroleum refineries, is one of the leading centers of heavy industry in the nation.
Indiana is one of the nation's top hog-producing states. Hogs normally account for the largest single share of the money received from the sale of livestock. Substantial numbers of beef cattle are also produced, as well as sheep and turkeys. Dairying is important near the major urban areas,making Indiana a leading state in egg production.
Indiana has only modest mineral resources. Bituminous coal, strip-mined in the southwest, is the chief mineral resource by value of production. Limestone for building use is quarried in large amounts in the Bedford-Bloomington region. Sand, gravel, clay, gypsum, and crude petroleum are also produced in the state.
TransportationAll of the trunk railways extending eastward from Chicago and St. Louis pass through Indiana; a number of north-south trunk lines also extend through the state. Amtrak provides passenger service to a number of Indiana cities. Among the many expressways are seven Interstate highways.
Lake Michigan and the Ohio River provide Indiana with excellent inland water transportation. The Port of Indiana, at Burns Harbor on Lake Michigan, provides access to worldwide markets via the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway system. Indianapolis' international airport is the largest and busiest commercial air facility in the state.
Indiana's state bird is the cardinal.The People
Indiana ranks 14th among the states in population. The early settlers in Indiana were mainly of English, Irish, Scottish, and German descent.
Annual events in IndianaJanuary-MarchWinter sports events in Laporte and New Carlisle (January and February); Parke County Maple Fair in Rockville (February-March); Indiana High School Athletic Association State Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis (March).April-JuneSugar Creek Canoe Race in Crawfordsville (April); "500" Festival in Indianapolis (May); Bluegrass Music Festival in Beanblossom (June); Glass Festival in Greentown (June); Festival of the Arts and Crafts in Lowell (June); Miss Indiana Pageant in Michigan City (June).July-SeptemberFreedom Festival in Evansville (July); Circus City Festival in Peru (July); Hydroplane Regatta in Madison (July); Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis (August); National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association Championship Shoot in Friendship (August); Daviess County Turkey Trot Festival (September).October-DecemberParke County Covered Bridge Festival in Rockville (October); Harvest Homecoming in New Albany (October); Traditional Christmas at Conner Prairie Pioneer Settlement (November and December); Indianapolis Christmas Lighting Ceremony (November and December).Education
The superintendent of public instruction heads the state department of education and is elected to a four-year term. The superintendent also serves as chairman of the state board of education, whose other members are appointed by the governor. School attendance is compulsory from age 7 to age 16.
The state constitution of 1816 stated that Indiana was obligated to educate all its citizens. Lack of tax revenue, however, was one of several obstacles. Caleb Mills, an educational reformer, advocated tax-supported education. The constitution of 1851 emphasized the need for a state-supported school system, but it was several decades before such a system was achieved.
Indiana University was chartered as Indiana State Seminary in 1820 at Bloomington. The name was changed to the present one in 1838. Purdue University, a land-grant institution in West Lafayette, was opened in 1874. It has become one of the nation's leading engineering schools. Indiana State University, founded as Indiana State Normal School in 1865, is at Terre Haute. Its present name was adopted in 1965. Each of these universities is publicly supported. Indiana and Purdue have various branch campuses, some of which they operate jointly. An example is Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis.
Government
Indiana's State Capitol is in Indianapolis, the capital since 1825.Indiana is governed under its 1851 constitution, the second in its history. It replaces the Constitution of 1816, the year Indiana became a state. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government. The governor is elected to a four-year term. There is no term limit, but the governor cannnot serve more than two terms in a row. The governor can appoint and dismiss the heads of all of the state commissions, departments and institutions. Only a few state governors have this power. Other high state officials include the lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, and treasurer, all elected to four-year terms.
Indiana's legislature is called the General Assembly. It consists of a Senate of 50 members, elected for four years, and a House of Representatives of 100 members, elected for two years. The legislature meets annually.
Indiana's judiciary includes the Supreme Court—which consists of a chief justice and four associate justices—and the Court of Appeals, which has 15 judges. Other courts include a state tax court, superior courts, circuit courts, and special courts.
Indiana has 92 counties. The state is represented in Congress by 2 senators and 9 representatives.