state, United States
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- Indiana - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
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Also known as: Hoosier State
Written by
William Vincent D'Antonio,
Robert L. BeckAll
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
Indiana, constituent state of the United States of America. The state sits, as its motto claims, at “the crossroads of America.” It borders Lake Michigan and the state of Michigan to the north, Ohio to the east, Kentucky to the south, and Illinois to the west, making it an integral part of the American Midwest. It ranks 38th among the 50 U.S. states in terms of total area and, except for Hawaii, is the smallest state west of the Appalachian Mountains. With a name that is generally thought to mean “land of the Indians,” Indiana was admitted on December 11, 1816, as the 19th state of the union. Its capital has been at Indianapolis since 1825.
Facts & Stats
Capital, Population, Government...
Facts & Stats
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Seal of Indiana
The cardinal is the state bird of Indiana.
The peony is the state flower of Indiana.
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- Capital:
- Indianapolis
- Population:
- (2020) 6,785,528; (2023 est.) 6,862,199
- Governor:
- Eric Holcomb (Republican)
- Date Of Admission:
- December 11, 1816
- U.S. Senators:
- Mike Braun (Republican)
- Todd Young (Republican)
Today Indiana’s economy is based primarily on services, manufacturing, and, to a much lesser extent, agriculture. Its northern areas lie in the mainstream of the industrial belt that extends from Pennsylvania and New York to Illinois. Agricultural activity is heaviest in the central region, which is situated in the Corn Belt, which stretches from Ohio to Nebraska.
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Although Indiana is historically part of the North, many parts of the state display a character that is much like that of the South. This is largely a reflection of the early settlement of the region by migrants from the South, who brought with them a hearty distrust of the federal government. Many of Indiana’s people take pride in a self-image derived largely from 19th-century America that values hard work, is oriented to the small town and medium-sized city, and is interested in maintaining the prerogatives of local self-determination. It is not by coincidence that the Indianan’s nickname, Hoosier, remains a symbol in the country’s lore for a kind of homespun wisdom, wit, and folksiness that harks back to what is popularly regarded as a less-hurried and less-complicated period of history.
The cities near the state’s northwestern corner form an industrial, economic, and social continuum with neighbouring Chicago. Their significant African American and Hispanic populations and the political aspirations contrast strikingly with life in the smaller cities and towns near the state’s southern boundary. Thus, Indiana’s population is to some extent black and Hispanic in the urban north and mostly white in the less industrialized south. Though generally considered a conservative and Republican stronghold, Indiana has voted into both state and national office nearly as many Democrats as Republicans. Area 36,420 square miles (94,326 square km). Population (2020) 6,785,528; (2023 est.) 6,862,199.
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Relief, drainage, and soils
Indiana forms part of the east-central lowlands that slope downward from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River. Most of the state’s surface was modified by glacial action, leaving a vast quantity of excellent soil material and extensive deposits of sand, gravel, glacial till, and loess. The more-eroded southern part of the state gives way to the central plain, an extremely fertile agricultural belt with large farms, and then to the mostly flat glacial lake basin and moraine (rocky glacial debris) region of northern Indiana. The highest elevation is near the Ohio border, at about 1,250 feet (380 metres) above sea level, while the lowest point, at roughly 330 feet (100 metres), is in the southwest where the Wabash River enters the Ohio River. About 90 percent of the land lies between 500 and 1,000 feet (150 and 300 metres).
The general slope and drainage pattern is toward the south and southwest, though an almost imperceptible groundswell in the northeast forms a watershed between the St. Lawrence and Mississippi basins. The Wabash, the Ohio, and the east and west forks of the White River form part of the Mississippi basin. In the north the St. Joseph River meanders into Lake Michigan, while in the east the Maumee flows northeastward into Lake Erie. The northern half of the state is dotted with many small glacial lakes, including several of the state’s largest.
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A high percentage of the forested land is privately owned, primarily by farmers. Among the dramatic features of the landscape are the Indiana Dunes—sand dunes along Lake Michigan—most of which have been removed from the public domain by industry and private homes. This situation was remedied somewhat with the dedication in 1972 of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. One of the most scenic parts of the state is the hilly south-central region around Brown County.
Climate
Indiana has four distinct seasons and a temperate climate, usually escaping extremes of cold and heat. In January, daily temperatures in Jeffersonville, on the Ohio River in the south, usually rise from the low 20s F (about –6 °C) into the low 40s F (about 4 °C), while in South Bend, near Lake Michigan in the north, temperatures typically range from the mid-10s F (about −9 °C) to the low 30s F (about −1 °C). In July, temperatures in both the north and the south normally drop into the mid-60s F (about 17 °C) and rise into the mid- to upper 80s F (28–32 °C) daily.
Annual precipitation varies from about 45 inches (1,150 mm) in the south-central region to about 37 inches (940 mm) in the north. Snow may fall over a six-month period and averages more than 20 inches (510 mm) annually, with the cities along the northern border often reporting more than 100 inches (2,540 mm). The climate of northwestern Indiana is modified greatly by its presence in the lee of Lake Michigan. Cold air passing over the warmer lake water in fall (October through December) and winter (January through March) induces heavy precipitation, and winter snowfall especially is several times greater than in other parts of the state. In addition, average daily temperatures are warmer in the fall and cooler in the spring (April through June) as a result of this “lake effect.” Indiana is part of a belt of Midwestern states with an unusually high frequency of severe storms. Spring, with its generally erratic and unstable weather, is the season with the greatest number of tornadoes.
