Pussy-willows, jack-in-the-pulpits, dainty spring beauties, and great masses of violets are among the earliest arrivals of the year in meadows and oak openings and along the streams. Blue lupine, one of the loveliest of wild flowers, covers the slopes in early May; soon the rue anemone raises its pinkish blossom from a whorl of leaves, then comes the wood anemone, with its single deep pink flower. Summer brings sweet clover and the ox-eyed daisy, with its yellow center and white petals; corncockle, with a beautiful purple-pink blossom; and the wild carrot, or Queen Anne's lace, with finely divided leaves and large umbels of white flowers. Goldenrod, asters, and sunflowers are perhaps the most striking and conspicuous of all the autumn flowers, and the late fall brings the fringed gentian, shaped like a beautiful deep blue vase, from the top of which drop four deeply fringed lobes of violet.
Of the 66 species of mammals found in pioneer Indiana, at least 14, including the bear and wild cat, no longer inhabit the region. Although timber wolves and coyotes are occasionally reported in the northern woodlands, the red fox is the only carnivorous animal thriving today in the State. Other animals frequently hunted and trapped are the rabbit, muskrat, raccoon, woodchuck, opossum, mink, and several species of squirrel. Common small animals are the mole, shrew, field mouse, chipmunk, striped gopher, weasel, skunk, and bat. Fish are plentiful in lake and stream -- catfish, pike, pickerel, bass, goggle-eye, and sunfish. Several species of blind fish, all small, inhabit the cave waters. Reptiles and other lower forms differ little from those of other States in the same faunal area.
At the turn of the century about 320 species of birds, nearly all migratory, were known to be residents of this region at some time during the year. Today more than half of them are rare or extinct.
Near Lake Michigan and the dunes, the bird-lover still finds birds from the far north, the plains, the deep woods, and the swamps. South of the dune region in the Kankakee River and swamp area, now partly drained, are many waterfowl and marsh birds, including the fish duck, the teal, the American golden-eyed duck, and the mallard (all winter residents); and the great blue heron, American bittern, and wild goose. In the prairies near these swamps are seen the yellow-winged sparrows and prairie larks. The shy wood thrush is found only in the rare densely forested areas. In the southeastern part of the State, just north of the Ohio, the forests of beech, oak, maple, sweet gum, and black gum attract the Cape May warbler, summer redbird, and black-throated blue warbler.
In the intensely farmed central section are many orchard and meadow birds: the field sparrow, yellow warbler, orchard oriole, robin, meadow lark, redheaded woodpecker, biuejay, bluebird, flicker, cardinal, wren, swallow, and many other species. Most of these birds are found to some extent throughout the rest of the State, but they are most common in this section.
In other parts of Indiana, winter residents include the junco, shore lark, tree sparrow, sapsucker, white snowbird, snowy owl, and waterfowl. In mild winters, however, a few robins, meadow larks, and woodpeckers remain all season. Among game birds, the quail is most common, although it has been wantonly destroyed; and the ruffed grouse is occasionally found.
Indiana floral and faunal zones
In Indiana there are no clearly defined floral and faunal zones, as the climate is nearly uniform throughout the entire region, and there is no passage from mountain to lowland or from seacoast to interior. Hence, with certain exceptions, the indigenous plant and animal species are distributed fairly generally throughout the State.
The principal regions in Indiana that can be differentiated according to their characteristic plant life are the Ohio River area in the south, the northern lake and marsh region, and the dunes near Lake Michigan. Most of the plants growing in these regions can be found elsewhere in Indiana, and even in the whole north central area of the United States; but a few plants are restricted to each of these limited sections.
Only in the southern counties along the Ohio is the persimmon common; the black gum tree and the southern cypress are seldom found far north of the Ohio. Certain oaks and shrubs are likewise limited to the southern part of the State.
Many know of the northern Indiana swamps (now cleared and drained) largely through Gene Stratton Porter's novels about the great 'Limberlost.' Outstanding among the trees characteristic of marshy regions are the tamarack and the bog willow. The rarest and most exotic residents of the swamps and dune country are two carnivorous plants: the pitcher plant and the round-leafed sundew. The former has a deep-purple blossom and cylindrical leaves, or 'pitchers,' holding water, into which unwary insects are lured and absorbed. The roundleafed sundew exudes onto its leaves a sticky fluid by which its insect prey is caught and held until the leaves fold over slowly and digestion begins. Floating pondweeds, bladderwort, and water milfoil are common water plants in the swampy regions. Before the marshes were drained, crops of cranberries and blueberries were raised in this region, and peppermint is still gathered for its oil.
In the dune region, shifting hills of sand skirt Lake Michigan for miles and merge gradually into rolling prairies and marshes to the south, a juxtaposition of desertland and jungle that fosters a startling variety of plant life. Great white pines and many species of oaks thrive here; the arctic lichen moss and the jack pine, that sturdy tree of the far north, grow near the sassafras, tulip, sour gum, and pawpaw, natives of the semitropics. The same contrast is apparent everywhere. The pricklypear cactus thrives on the sand wastes, bearing beautiful yellow blossoms; within walking distance bloom irises and orchids in shady moist places. The dune regions contain also the typical trees, shrubs, and flowers that are distributed more generally throughout the State.
In his Trees of Indiana ( 1931), Charles Deam reports 134 species. Of these, 124 are native to Indiana, the remaining ten having been successfully introduced. There are 17 species of oak; the black walnut and many species of maple are common. Especially prominent are the beech, lovingly painted by Indiana artists for its mottled trunk and rich autumn colors; the massive sycamore, gleaming white along the banks of streams; and the majestic tulip tree, or yellow poplar, the State tree. Poplars and hickories of many species are numerous, and there are several common types of fruit trees, notably the apple, cherry, peach, and pear.
Among the ten species successfully introduced are the common catalpa and the golden rain tree. The latter was brought from China by William Maclure and first planted at New Harmony; it is a small, round-topped tree producing large panicles of yellow flowers in June.
The principal regions in Indiana that can be differentiated according to their characteristic plant life are the Ohio River area in the south, the northern lake and marsh region, and the dunes near Lake Michigan. Most of the plants growing in these regions can be found elsewhere in Indiana, and even in the whole north central area of the United States; but a few plants are restricted to each of these limited sections.
Only in the southern counties along the Ohio is the persimmon common; the black gum tree and the southern cypress are seldom found far north of the Ohio. Certain oaks and shrubs are likewise limited to the southern part of the State.
Many know of the northern Indiana swamps (now cleared and drained) largely through Gene Stratton Porter's novels about the great 'Limberlost.' Outstanding among the trees characteristic of marshy regions are the tamarack and the bog willow. The rarest and most exotic residents of the swamps and dune country are two carnivorous plants: the pitcher plant and the round-leafed sundew. The former has a deep-purple blossom and cylindrical leaves, or 'pitchers,' holding water, into which unwary insects are lured and absorbed. The roundleafed sundew exudes onto its leaves a sticky fluid by which its insect prey is caught and held until the leaves fold over slowly and digestion begins. Floating pondweeds, bladderwort, and water milfoil are common water plants in the swampy regions. Before the marshes were drained, crops of cranberries and blueberries were raised in this region, and peppermint is still gathered for its oil.
In the dune region, shifting hills of sand skirt Lake Michigan for miles and merge gradually into rolling prairies and marshes to the south, a juxtaposition of desertland and jungle that fosters a startling variety of plant life. Great white pines and many species of oaks thrive here; the arctic lichen moss and the jack pine, that sturdy tree of the far north, grow near the sassafras, tulip, sour gum, and pawpaw, natives of the semitropics. The same contrast is apparent everywhere. The pricklypear cactus thrives on the sand wastes, bearing beautiful yellow blossoms; within walking distance bloom irises and orchids in shady moist places. The dune regions contain also the typical trees, shrubs, and flowers that are distributed more generally throughout the State.
In his Trees of Indiana ( 1931), Charles Deam reports 134 species. Of these, 124 are native to Indiana, the remaining ten having been successfully introduced. There are 17 species of oak; the black walnut and many species of maple are common. Especially prominent are the beech, lovingly painted by Indiana artists for its mottled trunk and rich autumn colors; the massive sycamore, gleaming white along the banks of streams; and the majestic tulip tree, or yellow poplar, the State tree. Poplars and hickories of many species are numerous, and there are several common types of fruit trees, notably the apple, cherry, peach, and pear.
Among the ten species successfully introduced are the common catalpa and the golden rain tree. The latter was brought from China by William Maclure and first planted at New Harmony; it is a small, round-topped tree producing large panicles of yellow flowers in June.
Indiana Geology
Before the glaciers wrote their chapter in the long geological history of what is now Indiana, a great drama had been enacted and recorded in the rocks. All the underlying rock strata found in Indiana are sedimentary rock, formed -- in the course of thousands of centuries -- along the margins and at the bottom of the seas. At some time the preCambrian seas covered the Indiana area, and during this earliest period the first sedimentary rocks were deposited upon the original earth crust. Rocks formed during this time are exposed at no point in the State today; but their presence has been discovered, in digging deep wells, beneath all the strata of later periods.
Except for this basic layer, all the rock strata in Indiana were deposited during the Palaeozoic era, an incalculably long period within which most of the lower orders of plant and animal life developed. There were, in order of time, six great subdivisions within the Palaeozoic: the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous (including the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian), and Permian periods. Rocks of these periods are identified by their plant and animal fossil remains.
During the Cambrian, Ordovician, and most of the Silurian periods, Indiana was submerged beneath the seas. In the later Silurian a mighty upheaval began; eventually most of the continent was uplifted and the great interior seas slowly receded. This was not a violent or sudden process; the earth rose only an inch, perhaps, in a century or more.
In the Indiana region the first and sharpest uplift was the formation of what is now called the Cincinnati Arch. Pressure from the earth's crust slowly forced upward the layers of rock formed in the preceding periods. These layers were pressed into a kind of long ridge, from which they sloped on either side to form flanks. As it slowly reared itself, the arch divided the sea of the Indiana region into two basins -a relatively small one to the north and a larger southwestern sea. In Indiana this ridge (or rather, the 'stubs' of its flanks, for the ridge was worn away by thousands of centuries of weathering) extends northwest from Cincinnati to Richmond, thence to Kokomo, Logansport, and Chicago.
Most of the Cincinnati Arch was formed in the late Silurian and Devonian periods; but the slow process of continental upheaval continued throughout the Palaeozoic era. In the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian epochs of the Carboniferous period, Indiana was steadily elevated; at the close of the Mississippian the whole region was above sea level. During the Pennsylvanian, a period of millions of years, Indiana was probably a rank, lush swamp -- populated by amphibious creatures, and covered with fern-like plants growing in vast luxuriance.
In the Permian period the swamps dried and the climate became cooler. Seas never invaded the Indiana region again.
With this brief outline in mind, the geological formations of Indiana are easily understood. In the southeastern corner of the State the surface rocks, immediately under the topsoil, are of Ordovician age. Then in order, toward the west, appear belts of Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian outcroppings; a second and smaller Devonian formation to the north indicates the presence in that period of a separate northern basin. Cambrian and pre-Cambrian rocks, though not exposed anywhere in Indiana, underlie these more recent formations; there are no Permian rocks, because Indiana was above the sea level during and after this period.
Ordovician rocks are exposed only in the southeastern corner because of the uplift that began at this point to form the Cincinnati Arch. Elsewhere in the State Ordovician strata are found beneath more recent formations. Next to the Ordovician outcropping a belt of Silurian rocks is exposed. Farther west the Silurian rocks are overlapped by rocks of succeeding periods -- a narrower Devonian formation, a still narrower Mississippian. Only in the southwestern part of the State are Pennsylvanian rocks found, overlying the uptilted layers of previous periods.
During the many millions of years intervening between the Permian period and the glacial epoch, Indiana experienced three major cycles of erosion. In the entire Mesozoic era, however, the region was above sea level and thus has no rocks of the Triassic, Jurassic, or Cretaceous age. For the same reason no rocks were formed in Indiana during the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic (recent life) era. At the beginning of the Pleistocene (Glacial or Ice Age) the Indiana region was elevated a fourth time. Then came the glaciers, creating by their action many of the salient physical features of present-day Indiana. In the Pleistocene about five-sixths of the whole region -- all except what is now south central Indiana -- was at one time or another under a massive layer of ice, sometimes 2,000 feet thick.
There were at least three ice invasions into Indiana. The earliest, or Illinoian, extended farther south than the Ohio River except in the south central part of the State. Later came the early Wisconsin, which reached a line dividing the northern two-thirds of Indiana from the southern third. The last of the glaciers, the late Wisconsin, covered only the northern half of the State. After each invasion came a warmer period lasting many thousand years, during which the glacier ebbed slowly away, and plants and animals flourished.
The glaciers modified the terrain in several important ways. Their most striking effect was the present bed of the Ohio River, channeled by the ice melting at the edges. They cut off many hills in the northern region, filling the valleys with the rocks thus removed, and smoothing and leveling the entire area. By mixing these materials and grinding them into rock flour an excellent subsoil was formed, particularly a fine clay. Over much of Indiana today the glacial subsoil, the surface of which is excellent farmland, is scores of feet deep, in marked contrast to the shallow and easily eroded surface of the unglaciated areas. Glaciers also greatly altered drainage conditions by destroying streams and valleys, melting and thus creating new ones, and leaving water in many depressions to form marshes and lakes. In melting, they left extensive deposits of sand and gravel they had picked up, and created many hills in the north by piling up soil and rocks into moraines.
The glaciers were not the last agency to alter the surface of Indiana. Wind, water, chemical action, and heat and cold are still at their ceaseless labor of lifting and breaking the soil, cutting into bedrock, and carrying away the debris thus formed. In the unglaciated section the soil is thin and easily worn away, and in the course of centuries innumerable swift streams have cut into bedrock to form deep gorges, canyons, and hills. In the northern two-thirds of the State, however, the processes of erosion proceed much more slowly. Here drainage is less rapid, for the land is level and the streams sluggish.
Except for this basic layer, all the rock strata in Indiana were deposited during the Palaeozoic era, an incalculably long period within which most of the lower orders of plant and animal life developed. There were, in order of time, six great subdivisions within the Palaeozoic: the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous (including the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian), and Permian periods. Rocks of these periods are identified by their plant and animal fossil remains.
During the Cambrian, Ordovician, and most of the Silurian periods, Indiana was submerged beneath the seas. In the later Silurian a mighty upheaval began; eventually most of the continent was uplifted and the great interior seas slowly receded. This was not a violent or sudden process; the earth rose only an inch, perhaps, in a century or more.
In the Indiana region the first and sharpest uplift was the formation of what is now called the Cincinnati Arch. Pressure from the earth's crust slowly forced upward the layers of rock formed in the preceding periods. These layers were pressed into a kind of long ridge, from which they sloped on either side to form flanks. As it slowly reared itself, the arch divided the sea of the Indiana region into two basins -a relatively small one to the north and a larger southwestern sea. In Indiana this ridge (or rather, the 'stubs' of its flanks, for the ridge was worn away by thousands of centuries of weathering) extends northwest from Cincinnati to Richmond, thence to Kokomo, Logansport, and Chicago.
Most of the Cincinnati Arch was formed in the late Silurian and Devonian periods; but the slow process of continental upheaval continued throughout the Palaeozoic era. In the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian epochs of the Carboniferous period, Indiana was steadily elevated; at the close of the Mississippian the whole region was above sea level. During the Pennsylvanian, a period of millions of years, Indiana was probably a rank, lush swamp -- populated by amphibious creatures, and covered with fern-like plants growing in vast luxuriance.
In the Permian period the swamps dried and the climate became cooler. Seas never invaded the Indiana region again.
With this brief outline in mind, the geological formations of Indiana are easily understood. In the southeastern corner of the State the surface rocks, immediately under the topsoil, are of Ordovician age. Then in order, toward the west, appear belts of Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian outcroppings; a second and smaller Devonian formation to the north indicates the presence in that period of a separate northern basin. Cambrian and pre-Cambrian rocks, though not exposed anywhere in Indiana, underlie these more recent formations; there are no Permian rocks, because Indiana was above the sea level during and after this period.
Ordovician rocks are exposed only in the southeastern corner because of the uplift that began at this point to form the Cincinnati Arch. Elsewhere in the State Ordovician strata are found beneath more recent formations. Next to the Ordovician outcropping a belt of Silurian rocks is exposed. Farther west the Silurian rocks are overlapped by rocks of succeeding periods -- a narrower Devonian formation, a still narrower Mississippian. Only in the southwestern part of the State are Pennsylvanian rocks found, overlying the uptilted layers of previous periods.
During the many millions of years intervening between the Permian period and the glacial epoch, Indiana experienced three major cycles of erosion. In the entire Mesozoic era, however, the region was above sea level and thus has no rocks of the Triassic, Jurassic, or Cretaceous age. For the same reason no rocks were formed in Indiana during the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic (recent life) era. At the beginning of the Pleistocene (Glacial or Ice Age) the Indiana region was elevated a fourth time. Then came the glaciers, creating by their action many of the salient physical features of present-day Indiana. In the Pleistocene about five-sixths of the whole region -- all except what is now south central Indiana -- was at one time or another under a massive layer of ice, sometimes 2,000 feet thick.
There were at least three ice invasions into Indiana. The earliest, or Illinoian, extended farther south than the Ohio River except in the south central part of the State. Later came the early Wisconsin, which reached a line dividing the northern two-thirds of Indiana from the southern third. The last of the glaciers, the late Wisconsin, covered only the northern half of the State. After each invasion came a warmer period lasting many thousand years, during which the glacier ebbed slowly away, and plants and animals flourished.
The glaciers modified the terrain in several important ways. Their most striking effect was the present bed of the Ohio River, channeled by the ice melting at the edges. They cut off many hills in the northern region, filling the valleys with the rocks thus removed, and smoothing and leveling the entire area. By mixing these materials and grinding them into rock flour an excellent subsoil was formed, particularly a fine clay. Over much of Indiana today the glacial subsoil, the surface of which is excellent farmland, is scores of feet deep, in marked contrast to the shallow and easily eroded surface of the unglaciated areas. Glaciers also greatly altered drainage conditions by destroying streams and valleys, melting and thus creating new ones, and leaving water in many depressions to form marshes and lakes. In melting, they left extensive deposits of sand and gravel they had picked up, and created many hills in the north by piling up soil and rocks into moraines.
The glaciers were not the last agency to alter the surface of Indiana. Wind, water, chemical action, and heat and cold are still at their ceaseless labor of lifting and breaking the soil, cutting into bedrock, and carrying away the debris thus formed. In the unglaciated section the soil is thin and easily worn away, and in the course of centuries innumerable swift streams have cut into bedrock to form deep gorges, canyons, and hills. In the northern two-thirds of the State, however, the processes of erosion proceed much more slowly. Here drainage is less rapid, for the land is level and the streams sluggish.
Climate of Indiana
Like much of the east central part of the United States, Indiana has strongly marked seasons. The climate is distinguished by high humidity, much rainfall, and moderate cloudiness and windiness -- characteristics due to the State's position in the mid-latitudes and in the path of moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Mexico.
Although occasionally Indiana experiences severe winters with protracted below-zero weather, normal winter temperatures hover near 28° or 30° F. Freezing night temperatures and daytime thaws are characteristic throughout the cooler part of the year. The consequent contraction and expansion of surface soil sometimes breaks the roots of winter grains; but the long periods of moderate coolness are favorable for 'stooling' -- the development of multiple stalks from one seed. Indiana summers are hot, with warm nights and temperatures during the day frequently approaching 100°. The growing season averages 170 days.
The average annual precipitation throughout the State is 40 inches, distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Some years, however, bring drought, especially in the southern hills; while others bring extremely heavy rains. Of the annual precipitation only one-fifteenth, on an average, is snow. Gales are rare, the average wind velocity being only eight miles per hour. Infrequently there are tornadoes.
Although occasionally Indiana experiences severe winters with protracted below-zero weather, normal winter temperatures hover near 28° or 30° F. Freezing night temperatures and daytime thaws are characteristic throughout the cooler part of the year. The consequent contraction and expansion of surface soil sometimes breaks the roots of winter grains; but the long periods of moderate coolness are favorable for 'stooling' -- the development of multiple stalks from one seed. Indiana summers are hot, with warm nights and temperatures during the day frequently approaching 100°. The growing season averages 170 days.
The average annual precipitation throughout the State is 40 inches, distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Some years, however, bring drought, especially in the southern hills; while others bring extremely heavy rains. Of the annual precipitation only one-fifteenth, on an average, is snow. Gales are rare, the average wind velocity being only eight miles per hour. Infrequently there are tornadoes.
Indiana: northern lake country, central plain, southern section
INDIANA, thirty-seventh in size of the forty-eight States, is almost an exact parallelogram in shape, bounded on the north by Michigan, on the east by Ohio, on the south by Kentucky, and on the west by Illinois. The entire southern boundary is formed by the Ohio River, and the Wabash becomes the western boundary just south of Terre Haute. Except for these irregular river courses and the arc of Lake Michigan shore that forms part of its northwestern border, the boundary lines are straight. The length of the State from north to south is approximately 265 miles; its breadth is 160 miles. Of the total area of 36,354 square miles, 309 square miles are water surface -exclusive of that portion of Lake Michigan over which Indiana has jurisdiction. This lake area, defined by extensions of the west and north boundary lines, fills out the northwest corner of the rectangle.
Indiana lies in the heart of the east central section of the United States. The parallel of latitude approximately halfway between its northern and southern extremities passes through Indianapolis; and the north-south line bisecting the eastern half of the Nation passes just east of that city.
About two-thirds of Indiana is prevailingly level or rolling, while a smaller portion, largely in the south, is hilly. The average altitude is 700 feet above sea level. The greatest height, 1,285 feet, is in Randolph County, near the eastern border; the lowest point, 313 feet, is in Vanderburgh County on the Ohio River.
The State is divided into three great regions: the northern lake country; the central agricultural plain; and the more varied southern section, containing both hills and lowlands. The boundary of the northern region is the upper Wabash, which flows southwestward across the State to Terre Haute. This northern area consists of low plains, little modified by stream action and broken by marshes and many lakes. The northeastern section, in particular, has hundreds of small bodies of water, and is characterized by low morainal hills left by retreating glaciers. Farther west, in Kosciusko County, lies Lake Wawasee, the largest lake in Indiana.
Within the lake country rises the almost imperceptible watershed separating the systems of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi. Across the marshy area in the northwest flow the Kankakee and Iroquois Rivers, to empty into the Illinois. The Tippecanoe, long and meandering, empties into the Wabash near LaFayette; Eel River rises north of Fort Wayne and reaches the Wabash at Logansport. But the tiny tributaries of these Mississippi-seeking streams have their sources often only a few hundred feet from those that flow ultimately into the St. Lawrence. The St. Joseph of Michigan dips across northern Indiana through South Bend, flowing northward again into the lake and draining a considerable area. The St. Mary's rises in Ohio and flows northwest to Fort Wayne, there uniting with another stream, also called the St. Joseph, to form the Maumee, which flows northeastward into the St. Lawrence system. Thus, intricately winding between the sources of tiny streamlets, the watershed runs through Adams and Allen Counties, curves around Fort Wayne, passes northwest through the lake country, and skirts Lake Michigan. Only a faint ground swell in a marshy plain, it divides two great river systems, the Mississippi and St. Lawrence. In northwestern Indiana, where Lake Michigan cuts into the corner of the State, is the famous dunes region.
The central portion of Indiana is a great till plain, which owes its remarkable levelness to deep glacial deposits of soil and gravel. Next to the Wabash the most important stream is White River, the west fork of which has its source in Randolph County and wanders sluggishly southwestward across the State to reach the Wabash in Gibson County. Other important tributaries of the Wabash are the Mississinewa and the Salamonie, flowing northward through the upper part of the plain. In eastern Indiana the twin forks of the Whitewater meet and flow southward into the Ohio. In the southernmost part of this region some stream erosion has taken place and there is more topographical variety.
The southern third of Indiana consists of an east-to-west succession of seven lowlands and uplands, bounded sometimes by steep escarpments of outcropping rocks. The first three of these divisions are usually (except in highly technical descriptions) grouped together as southeastern Indiana; the next three form south central Indiana (the unglaciated, or 'driftless,' area); while the seventh is known as southwestern Indiana, or the Wabash lowland. Topographically the most interesting division is south central Indiana, which is decidedly rugged and drained by scores of little rivers meandering toward the Ohio. The Crawford Upland in this area is the most beautiful and the most inaccessible part of the State; stretching from Parke and Putnam Counties to the Ohio, it contains hills, sharp ridges, and rounded knolls, valleys and wall-like bluffs, canyon-like gorges, natural bridges, caves and waterfalls. Its best-known formations are the Wyandotte and Marengo caves in eastern Crawford County, and 'Jug Rock' and 'The Pinnacle,' remarkable pillars of rock near Shoals in Martin County. In marked contrast to this region the Wabash lowland is an alluvial plain through which the Wabash, fed now by hundreds of lesser streams, moves majestically toward the Ohio.
Indiana lies in the heart of the east central section of the United States. The parallel of latitude approximately halfway between its northern and southern extremities passes through Indianapolis; and the north-south line bisecting the eastern half of the Nation passes just east of that city.
About two-thirds of Indiana is prevailingly level or rolling, while a smaller portion, largely in the south, is hilly. The average altitude is 700 feet above sea level. The greatest height, 1,285 feet, is in Randolph County, near the eastern border; the lowest point, 313 feet, is in Vanderburgh County on the Ohio River.
The State is divided into three great regions: the northern lake country; the central agricultural plain; and the more varied southern section, containing both hills and lowlands. The boundary of the northern region is the upper Wabash, which flows southwestward across the State to Terre Haute. This northern area consists of low plains, little modified by stream action and broken by marshes and many lakes. The northeastern section, in particular, has hundreds of small bodies of water, and is characterized by low morainal hills left by retreating glaciers. Farther west, in Kosciusko County, lies Lake Wawasee, the largest lake in Indiana.
Within the lake country rises the almost imperceptible watershed separating the systems of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi. Across the marshy area in the northwest flow the Kankakee and Iroquois Rivers, to empty into the Illinois. The Tippecanoe, long and meandering, empties into the Wabash near LaFayette; Eel River rises north of Fort Wayne and reaches the Wabash at Logansport. But the tiny tributaries of these Mississippi-seeking streams have their sources often only a few hundred feet from those that flow ultimately into the St. Lawrence. The St. Joseph of Michigan dips across northern Indiana through South Bend, flowing northward again into the lake and draining a considerable area. The St. Mary's rises in Ohio and flows northwest to Fort Wayne, there uniting with another stream, also called the St. Joseph, to form the Maumee, which flows northeastward into the St. Lawrence system. Thus, intricately winding between the sources of tiny streamlets, the watershed runs through Adams and Allen Counties, curves around Fort Wayne, passes northwest through the lake country, and skirts Lake Michigan. Only a faint ground swell in a marshy plain, it divides two great river systems, the Mississippi and St. Lawrence. In northwestern Indiana, where Lake Michigan cuts into the corner of the State, is the famous dunes region.
The central portion of Indiana is a great till plain, which owes its remarkable levelness to deep glacial deposits of soil and gravel. Next to the Wabash the most important stream is White River, the west fork of which has its source in Randolph County and wanders sluggishly southwestward across the State to reach the Wabash in Gibson County. Other important tributaries of the Wabash are the Mississinewa and the Salamonie, flowing northward through the upper part of the plain. In eastern Indiana the twin forks of the Whitewater meet and flow southward into the Ohio. In the southernmost part of this region some stream erosion has taken place and there is more topographical variety.
The southern third of Indiana consists of an east-to-west succession of seven lowlands and uplands, bounded sometimes by steep escarpments of outcropping rocks. The first three of these divisions are usually (except in highly technical descriptions) grouped together as southeastern Indiana; the next three form south central Indiana (the unglaciated, or 'driftless,' area); while the seventh is known as southwestern Indiana, or the Wabash lowland. Topographically the most interesting division is south central Indiana, which is decidedly rugged and drained by scores of little rivers meandering toward the Ohio. The Crawford Upland in this area is the most beautiful and the most inaccessible part of the State; stretching from Parke and Putnam Counties to the Ohio, it contains hills, sharp ridges, and rounded knolls, valleys and wall-like bluffs, canyon-like gorges, natural bridges, caves and waterfalls. Its best-known formations are the Wyandotte and Marengo caves in eastern Crawford County, and 'Jug Rock' and 'The Pinnacle,' remarkable pillars of rock near Shoals in Martin County. In marked contrast to this region the Wabash lowland is an alluvial plain through which the Wabash, fed now by hundreds of lesser streams, moves majestically toward the Ohio.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)