Indiana state overview

Indiana is the 19th U.S. state and is located in thepart of the state.
Midwest region of the United States of America.Central Indiana
With about 6.3 million residents, it is ranked 15th inThe state capital, Indianapolis, is situated in the
population and 17th in population density.[2] It is 38thcentral portion of the state. It is intersected by
in land area.numerous Interstate and U.S. highways, giving the
Indiana is a diverse state with five large urban areasstate its motto as "The Crossroads of America".
and a number of smaller industrial cities. It is knownOther cities located within the area include Anderson,
for the Indianapolis 500 American automobile race,Bloomington, Carmel, Columbus, Crawfordsville,
held annually over the Memorial Day weekend, and aDanville, Fishers, Lafayette, Muncie, Richmond, and
strong basketball tradition, often called HoosierTerre Haute.
Hysteria. Residents of Indiana are called Hoosiers.Rural areas in the central portion of the state are
The state's name means "Land of the Indians" andtypically composed of a patchwork of fields and
Angel Mounds State Historic Site, one of the bestforested areas.
preserved prehistoric Native American sites in theSouthern Indiana
United States, can be found in southern Indiana.Evansville, the third largest city in Indiana, is located in
Indiana is bounded on the north by Lake Michigan andthe southwestern corner of the state. It is located in
the state of Michigan; on the east by Ohio; on thea tri-state area that includes Illinois, Indiana, and
south by Kentucky, with which it shares the OhioKentucky. The southeastern cities of Clarksville,
River as a border; and on the west by Illinois. IndianaJeffersonville, and New Albany are part of the
is one of the Great Lakes states.Louisville metropolitan area.
The northern boundary of the states of Ohio,Southern Indiana is a mixture of farmland and forest.
Indiana, and Illinois was originally defined to be aThe Hoosier National Forest is a 200,000 acre (80,900
latitudinal line drawn through the southernmost tip ofha) nature preserve in south central Indiana. Southern
Lake Michigan. Since such a line would not provideIndiana's topography is more varied and generally
Indiana with usable frontage on the lake, its northerncontains more hills and geographic variation than the
border was shifted ten miles north. The northernnorthern portion, such as the "Knobs," a series of
borders of Ohio and Illinois were also shifted from1,000 ft. hills that run parallel to the Ohio River in
this original plan.south-central Indiana. The limestone geology of
The 475 mile (764 km) long Wabash River bisectsSouthern Indiana has created numerous caves and
the state from northeast to southwest and hasone of the largest limestone quarry regions in the
given Indiana a few theme songs, On the Banks ofUSA.
the Wabash, The Wabash Cannonball and Back HomeFor sixty years, from 1890 to 1950, the United
Again, In Indiana. The White River (a tributary of theStates Census found the center of population to lie in
Wabash, which is a tributary of the Ohio) zigzagssouthern Indiana.
through central Indiana.Climate
There are 24 Indiana state parks, nine man-madeMost of Indiana has a humid continental climate
reservoirs, and hundreds of lakes in the state. Areas(Koppen climate classification Dfa), with hot, humid
under the control and protection of the National Parksummers and cool to cold winters. The extreme
Service include:southern portions of the state border on a humid
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park insubtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) with somewhat
Vincennesmilder winters. Summertime maximum temperatures
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore near Michigan Cityaverage around 85°F (29°C) with cooler
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Lincoln Citynights around 60°F (16°C). Winters are a
Hoosier National Forest in Bedfordlittle more variable, but generally cool to cold
Northern Indianatemperatures with all but the northern part of the
The northwest corner of the state is part of thestate averaging above freezing for the maximum
greater metropolitan area of Chicago and has nearlyJanuary temperature, and the minimum temperature
one million residents.[8] Gary, and the cities andbelow 20°F (-8°C) for most of the
towns that make up the northern half of Lake,state.[12]The state receives a good amount of
Porter, and La Porte Counties bordering on Lakeprecipitation, 40 inches (1,000 mm) annually
Michigan, are effectively commuter suburbs ofstatewide, in all four seasons, with March through
Chicago. Porter and Lake counties are commonlyAugust being slightly wetter.
referred to as "The Region". They are all in theThe state does have its share of severe weather,
Central Time Zone along with Chicago. NICTD ownsboth winter storms and thunderstorms. While
and operates the South Shore Line, a commuter railgenerally not receiving as much snow as some states
line that runs electric-powered trains between Southfarther north, the state does have occasional
Bend and Chicago.[9] Sand dunes and heavy industryblizzards, some due to lake effect snow. The state
share the shoreline of Lake Michigan in northernaverages around 40-50 days of thunderstorms per
Indiana.year, with March and April being the period of most
The Kankakee River, which winds through northernsevere storms. While not considered part of Tornado
Indiana, serves somewhat as a demarcating lineAlley, Indiana is the Great Lakes state which is most
between suburban northwest Indiana and the rest ofvulnerable to tornadic activity. In fact, three of the
the state.most severe tornado outbreaks in U.S. history
The South Bend metropolitan area in north centralaffected Indiana, the Tri-State Tornado of 1925, the
Indiana, is the center of commerce in the regionPalm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965 and the
better known as Michiana. Fort Wayne, the state'sSuper Outbreak of 1974. The Evansville Tornado of
second largest city, is located in the northeasternNovember 2005 killed 25 people.