Indiana

I

Introduction

Indiana, one of the Great Lakes states of the United States, bordered on the north by Illinois and Michigan; on the east by Ohio; on the south by Kentucky; and on the west by Illinois.

Indiana entered the Union on December 11, 1816, as the 19th state. Three 19th-century US presidents—William Henry Harrison, his grandson Benjamin Harrison, and Abraham Lincoln—lived in Indiana for substantial periods. Manufacturing became the chief economic activity in the early 20th century, but in the late 1990s the state was also a major producer of farm commodities, especially corn, soya beans, and pigs. The state’s name, which refers to Native Americans (“Indians”), was coined in the 1760s and applied to a private tract of land in Pennsylvania; the name was officially adopted when Indiana Territory was formed in 1800. Indiana is known as the “Hoosier State”.

II

Land and Resources

Indiana has an area of 94,328 sq km (36,420 sq mi) and is roughly rectangular in shape; its extreme dimensions are about 459 km (285 mi) from north to south and about 285 km (177 mi) from east to west. Elevations range from 98 m (320 ft), along the Ohio River in the south-western corner of the state, to 383 m (1,257 ft), in Franklin township near the eastern border.

A

Physical Geography

Indiana is divided into three main geographical regions: the Great Lakes Lowland in the north, the Till Plains in the centre, and the Interior Low Plateaux in the south. The Great Lakes Lowland—a relatively flat to gently rolling area—contains numerous lakes and bogs.

The Till Plains, in the centre, is a region of generally flat to gently rolling landscape. Most of the surface was formed by material left behind by glaciers. The region contains some relatively low hills and much good farmland.

The Interior Low Plateaux, which make up most of southern Indiana, have a rougher landscape than other parts of the state and include valleys bordered by steep hillsides. Many mineral springs and limestone caverns are in the region; Wyandotte Cave is one of the largest caverns in the world.

The Wabash River and its tributaries, which include the Tippecanoe and White rivers, drain more than two thirds of the state. The Wabash flows into the Ohio River at the south-western corner of the state. The north-western section of Indiana is drained by the Kankakee River, and the St Joseph and St Marys rivers join at Fort Wayne, in the north-east, to form the Maumee River. Relatively small tributaries of the Ohio River, such as the Blue and Whitewater rivers, drain much of southern Indiana.

A small section (about 609 sq km/235 sq mi) of Lake Michigan is located within Indiana. In addition, the state contains numerous small natural lakes, the largest of which is Lake Wawasee, in the north. The biggest bodies of water entirely in Indiana are formed by dams: these include Monroe, Mississinewa, and Salamonie lakes.

B

Climate

Most of Indiana has a humid continental climate, with cool winters and long, warm summers. The recorded temperature in the state has ranged from -37.2° C (-35° F), in 1951 at Greensburg in the south-east, to 46.7° C (116° F), in 1936 at Collegeville in the north-west. Tornadoes occur with moderate frequency, principally in the spring.