Indiana: The Hoosier State

Indiana: The Hoosier State — page 1 — INTRODUCTION Indiana is well known by its nickname the Hoosier State Indiana is also well known as the home of the Indianapolis 500 car race Equally interesting are the people industry sports entertainment and history of the state This fascinating Midwestern state is full of surprises Indiana has lush forest areas and beautiful beaches along the shores of Lake Michigan There is fun to be found in the sand dunes that line the lake Millions of tourists flock to Indiana to visit its wonderful attractions and breathtaking scenery The Feast of the Hunters Moon is held each autumn at Fort Ouiatenon Historic Park near West Lafayette The festival celebrates the annual gathering of French settlers and Native Americans that took place at this fur-trading outpost in the mid-1700s 4 INDIANA Chain O’Lakes State Park is one example of Indiana’s spectacular recreational areas Indiana was the 19th state to enter the Union The tulip tree is Indiana’s state tree The state motto is Crossroads of America because of Indiana’s location in the central United States The motto was adopted in 1937

Indiana: The Hoosier State — page 2 — INTRODUCTION 5 Of all the prairie states Indiana is the farthest east It occupies the smallest area of all the Midwestern states Indiana is bordered by Michigan to the north Ohio to the east Illinois to the west and Kentucky to the south People often travel Indiana’s many highways when crossing the nation With 14 interstate highways running through the state it really is the crossroads of the nation The South Shore Line provides railroad transportation to some 3 5 million passengers annually along a route between South Bend and Chicago Ill Since 1963 it has been the nation’s only interurban electric railroad International airports are located in Fort Wayne Indianapolis and Terre Haute and regional and municipal airports are located throughout the state The Port of Indiana Burns Harbor in Portage is the busiest port on the Great Lakes Downtown Terre Haute can be a confusing place with roads branching off in all directions Including inland water Indiana spans 36,420 square miles The official state flower was originally the carnation Some people objected because the carnation is a European flower The official flower was later changed to the tulip tree blossom the zinnia and the dogwood blossom before the peony was chosen in 1957 Indiana’s state song is On the Banks of the Wabash Far Away Indiana Location Map Capital Indianapolis Interstate highways Scale 0 0 25 40 50 80 Mi Km Population 6,080,485 Size 36,420 square miles Highest peak Hoosier Hill 1,257 feet

Indiana: The Hoosier State — page 3 — 6 INDIANA The cardinal the state bird of Indiana is a songbird that feeds on wild seeds fruits and insects Indiana may be a confusing state to outsiders The towns of Center Center Square and Centerville are not even located in the middle of the state The city of South Bend is really one of the state’s most northerly cities North Vernon on the other hand is close to the Ohio River on Indiana’s southern border West College Corner is located on the state’s eastern border and East Mount Carmel is in the southwestern corner of the state Indiana also has three Georgetowns three Jamestowns four Millersburgs five Mount Pleasants two Klondykes and one Klondike These little quirks only add to the appeal of the Hoosier State Holiday lights illuminate Washington Street in Indianapolis The cardinal is Indiana’s state bird It is also the state bird of six other states The Wabash River was adopted as Indiana’s official state river in 1996 Indiana is one of the few states that has a river as an official symbol The name Indiana is a reference to the numerous Indians who once lived in the region

Indiana: The Hoosier State — page 4 — INTRODUCTION 7 Indiana is generally a humid state The numerous hills valleys and forests across the southern parts of Indiana cause the temperature to differ somewhat from region to region Lake Michigan moderates the weather in northern Indiana with the water storing heat during the summer and releasing it during the winter Sometimes northern winds pick up moisture from the water and create intense local snowstorms known as lake-effect snow during the winter Limestone quarries can be found in southern Indiana Craftsmen use limestone as a building stone Glaciers once covered most of North America As they melted at the end of the last Ice Age they left behind the five Great Lakes and formations of finely ground rock called sand dunes Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore preserves some of the sand dunes and surrounding wetlands Indiana’s state flag is blue with 19 gold stars surrounding a flaming torch The 13 stars in the outer circle represent the original states The five stars in a semicircle below the torch represent the next five states that entered the Union The last star representing Indiana is right above the torch The word Indiana appears in a half circle above the torch The town of Santa Claus Ind receives more than 500,000 letters from children at Christmastime

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