Northern Indiana | |
---|---|
Country | United States |
State | Indiana |
Largest city | Fort Wayne |
Population (2020) | 2,317,804 |
Northern Indiana is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern third of the U.S. state of Indiana and borders the states of Illinois to the west, Michigan to the north, and Ohio to the east. Spanning the state's northernmost 26 counties, its main population centers include Northwest Indiana (anchored by the cities of Hammond and Gary and part of the larger Chicago metropolitan area), Michiana (anchored by the cities of South Bend, Mishawaka, and Elkhart), and the Fort Wayne metropolitan area (anchored by the city of Fort Wayne).
Northern Indiana's physical geography was significantly shaped during Wisconsin glaciation, resulting in a till plain ranging from flat to gently rolling terrain, especially in the Wabash Valley. The region experiences a humid continental climate, supporting temperate deciduous forest, tallgrass prairie, and wetland ecosystems. In addition to Lake Michigan, more than 300 kettle lakes are located in the region, including the state's largest natural lake (Wawasee) and deepest natural lake (Tippecanoe). Following the Valparaiso Moraine, the Laurentian Divide meanders through the region, separating the watersheds of the Great Lakes Basin to the north from those of the Mississippi River drainage basin to the south.
Northern Indiana is situated within the larger Rust Belt and Corn Belt regions, influencing the area's geographic, economic, cultural, and political landscape. Home to about 2.3 million people, the region is defined by both its industrial cities and agricultural towns. Manufacturing remains a vital part of the region's economy, particularly in the production of recreational vehicles, medical devices, and steel. Protected areas include Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana's most visited state park of the same name. [1] Northern Indiana is home to about 25 public and private higher education institutions, including more than a dozen religiously affiliated colleges and universities. The region is split between the Eastern and Central time zones. [2]
Major waterways include the Grand Calumet River, the Kankakee River, the Maumee River (St. Marys and St. Joseph rivers), the St. Joseph River (Elkhart River), and the Wabash River (Eel, Little, and Tippecanoe rivers). Besides Lake Michigan, other notable lakes and reservoirs include Lake Freeman, Lake George, Lake James, Lake Manitou, Lake Maxinkuckee, Lake Shafer, Lake Tippecanoe, Lake Wawasee, Webster Lake, and Wolf Lake.
Michiana, a portmanteau of "Michigan" and "Indiana", is a loosely defined sub-region that spans southwestern Michigan and Northern Indiana's north-central counties. It is centered on the South Bend–Elkhart–Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area and generally corresponds with Area code 574. Counties typically considered part of the Michiana sub-region include:
Northeast Indiana comprises the northeastern portion of Northern Indiana, centered on the Fort Wayne–Huntington–Auburn Combined Statistical Area and generally corresponding with Area code 260. Counties typically considered part of the Northeast Indiana sub-region include:
Northwest Indiana, colloqially known as "The Region", [3] comprises the northwestern portion of Northern Indiana, centered on the southeastern extent of the Chicago metropolitan area and generally corresponding with Area code 219. Counties typically considered part of the Northwest Indiana sub-region include:
Benton and White counties have economic ties to the Lafayette–West Lafayette metropolitan area, typically considered part of Central Indiana. Cass and Miami counties have economic ties to the Kokomo metropolitan area, also typically considered part of Central Indiana. Portions of these counties fall within Area code 765.
Most of Northern Indiana (20 counties) observes Eastern Time. Six counties in the Northwest Indiana sub-region (Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, and Starke counties) observe Central Time.
The major cities of Northern Indiana are Fort Wayne (in the northeast), South Bend (in the north-central region), and Hammond and Gary (in the extreme northwest along Lake Michigan).
2020 rank | City | County | 2020 Census | 2010 Census | Change | Highest Population (Year) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Fort Wayne | Allen | 263,852 | 253,691 | +4.01% [4] | 263,852 (2020) |
2 | South Bend | St. Joseph | 103,675 | 101,168 | +2.48% [5] | 132,445 (1960) |
3 | Hammond | Lake | 77,754 | 80,830 | −3.81% [6] | 111,698 (1960) |
4 | Gary | Lake | 68,982 | 80,294 | −14.09% [7] | 178,320 (1960) |
5 | Elkhart | Elkhart | 54,044 | 50,949 | +6.07% [8] | 54,044 (2020) |
6 | Mishawaka | St. Joseph | 51,201 | 48,252 | +6.11% [9] | 51,201 (2020) |
7 | Portage | Porter | 37,934 | 36,828 | +3.00% [10] | 37,934 (2020) |
8 | Merrillville | Lake | 36,603 | 35,246 | +3.85% [11] | 36,603 (2020) |
9 | Goshen | Elkhart | 34,849 | 31,719 | +9.87% [12] | 34,849 (2020) |
10 | Valparaiso | Porter | 34,154 | 31,730 | +7.64% [13] | 34,154 (2020) |
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1890 | 524,581 | — | |
1900 | 597,433 | 13.9% | |
1910 | 687,867 | 15.1% | |
1920 | 809,770 | 17.7% | |
1930 | 1,015,942 | 25.5% | |
1940 | 1,085,251 | 6.8% | |
1950 | 1,297,939 | 19.6% | |
1960 | 1,621,357 | 24.9% | |
1970 | 1,802,562 | 11.2% | |
1980 | 1,891,741 | 4.9% | |
1990 | 1,901,209 | 0.5% | |
2000 | 2,062,933 | 8.5% | |
2010 | 2,147,765 | 4.1% | |
2020 | 2,317,804 | 7.9% | |
U.S. Decennial Census [14] |
Northern Indiana has experienced steady population growth over the past century (except at the 1990 U.S. census). Between 1980 and 1990, Lake County (which includes the city of Gary) saw a population decline of 47,371 residents, and it was this drop in population that hid the population rise which continued to occur in the majority of the region's other counties. The 2015 Census Estimate [15] has shown that the rural counties (i.e., Wabash and Wells) are seeing a gradual population decline when compared to the gradual increase (or steady) population trend in the more urban counties (i.e., St. Joseph). The trend of rural counties losing population has been observed in various counties in other regions, most notably the Great Plains.
Roughly 10.7% of both Huntington and Wells County live in poverty, as compared to only 15.5% in Pulaski County. At the same time, Northern Indiana, as is the case for much of the Midwest, is predominately made up of people of European heritage. According to the 2010 Census, almost 98% of Whitley County is white, as compared to Lake County (Gary), which is only 64.4% white and 25.9% African American. Lastly, the average family size per household is relatively constant around 3.00 persons per household. In 2010, the average family size per household was 3.66 in LaGrange County, 3.23 in Elkhart County, 3.19 in Lake County, 3.16 in Noble County, 3.15 in Marshall County, and 3.12 in Allen County. [16]
Northern Indiana is known for having the third-highest Amish population in the U.S., especially in Allen, Adams, Elkhart, and LaGrange counties. [17]
The Inland North dialect of American English is mostly found in the Calumet region of Northern Indiana. The Northern cities vowel shift is recognizable in Northwest Indiana and the Michiana area. However, the rest of Northern Indiana tends to exhibit North Midland dialect, with little recognizable influences. [18] Because of the city's transitional location between the Inland North, North Midland, and Central Midland dialects, Fort Wayne has been difficult for linguists to define, with some labeling speech here "virtually accent neutral," attributed to historical settlement patterns. [19]
Northern Indiana bases much of its economy around manufacturing, distribution and transportation, and medical devices. Outside the metropolitan areas, the region's agricultural sector is abundant provided its location within the fertile Corn Belt. Northern Indiana is also situated in the heart of the Rust Belt, an area of the U.S. that has suffered deindustrialization and some economic stagnation since the late 20th century.
The Calumet region of Northwest Indiana is home to much heavy industry, notably steel mills. The Calumet region is the nation's second-largest steel-producing area. [20] U.S. Steel's Gary Works (in Gary) was once the largest steel mill in the world and employed 30,000. [21] : 90 Gary Works remains North America's largest integrated steel mill. [22] Northwest Indiana is also a vital trade and shipping center for the state. The Port of Indiana–Burns Harbor handles more ocean-going cargo than any other Great Lakes port in the U.S. [23]
The north central area of Northern Indiana, centered on Warsaw, is home to several companies specializing in the development and production of orthopedic medical devices. Nearly one-third of the $38 billion global orthopedic industry is concentrated in north central Indiana. [24] Elkhart and surrounding municipalities in the Michiana region are home to the largest concentration of recreational vehicle and mobile home manufacturers in the U.S., including Forest River, Gulfstream Coach, Heartland Recreational Vehicles, Jayco, and Monaco Coach, among several others. Some 83 percent of American RVs are produced in Elkhart County. [25] The automotive industry is another significant driver of the region's economy. General Motors' Fort Wayne Assembly near Roanoke produces the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. South Bend-based AM General manufactures the civilian Hummer H1 and military Humvee at its Mishawaka assembly plant.
Gambling is an important sector of the region's economy. Northern Indiana is home to three riverboat casinos (Ameristar in East Chicago, Blue Chip in Michigan City, and Horseshoe in Hammond), one land-based casino (Hard Rock in Gary), and one tribal casino (Four Winds in South Bend), owned by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
Natural gas is primarily supplied by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), a subsidiary of Merrillville-based NiSource. Electric utilities serving the region include NIPSCO, Indiana Michigan Power (a subsidiary of American Electric Power), and Duke Energy Indiana (a subsidiary of Duke Energy). Four of Indiana's five hydroelectric power plants are located in Northern Indiana. Two are owned by Indiana Michigan Power (the Elkhart and Twin Branch dams on the St. Joseph River) and two are owned by NIPSCO (the Norway and Oakdale dams on the Tippecanoe River). The company also operates two coal-fired power stations in the region: Michigan City Generating Station and R. M. Schahfer in Wheatfield.
Northern Indiana's share of renewable energy generation, particularly solar and wind sources, has increased since the late 2000s. Wind farms are common in rural Benton and White counties, including Fowler Ridge, the largest wind farm in the American Midwest. Upon its completion, the Mammoth Solar project will be the largest in the U.S., covering 13,000 acres across rural Starke and Pulaski counties. [26]
BP's Whiting Refinery in Whiting is the largest inland oil refinery in the U.S., processing 435,000 barrels (69,200 m3) of crude oil daily. [27]
Two regional transmission organizations serving the nation's electrical grid provide coverage to portions of Northern Indiana: Midcontinent Independent System Operator and PJM Interconnection. [28]
Notable companies headquartered in Northern Indiana include:
About 25 accredited institutions of higher education are located throughout Northern Indiana, including more than a dozen private, liberal arts colleges and Christian seminaries, and multiple regional campuses of the public Indiana, Purdue, and Ivy Tech Community College systems. The "‡" symbol indicates universities with main campuses outside Northern Indiana.
Two of Indiana's six state-designated scenic byways—the Historic Michigan Road Byway and the Lincoln Highway Scenic Byway—traverse portions of Northern Indiana.
Interstate Highways
US Highways
State Roads
Most of Northern Indiana's 26 public aviation facilities are categorized as general aviation airports; however, the region is also home to two primary airports and one relief airport. In addition, two United States Air Force installations are based in the region.
Primary
Relief
General aviation
Military
Berrien County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located at the southwest corner of the state's Lower Peninsula, located on the shore of Lake Michigan and sharing a land border with Indiana. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 154,316. The county seat is St. Joseph.
St. Joseph County, colloquial St. Joe County by residents, is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 272,912, making it the fifth-most populous county in Indiana. Formed in 1830, it was named for the St. Joseph River which flows through it to Lake Michigan. The county seat is South Bend. St. Joseph County is part of the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN–MI "Michiana", Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Gibson County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 33,011. The county seat is Princeton.
Elkhart County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the county's population was 207,047. The county seat is Goshen. Elkhart County is part of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is also considered part of the broader region of Northern Indiana known as Michiana, and is 20 miles (32 km) east of South Bend, Indiana, 110 miles (180 km) east of Chicago, Illinois, and 150 miles (240 km) north of Indianapolis, Indiana. The area is referred to by locals as the recreation vehicle (RV) capital of the world and is known for its sizable Amish and Old Order Mennonite population.
The Wabash River is a 503-mile-long (810 km) river that drains most of the state of Indiana, and a significant part of Illinois, in the United States. It flows from the headwaters in Ohio, near the Indiana border, then southwest across northern Indiana turning south near the Illinois border, where the southern portion forms the Indiana-Illinois border before flowing into the Ohio River.
The Watersheds of Indiana consist of six distinct Indiana watershed regions that drain into five major bodies of water.
Michiana is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan centered on the city of South Bend, Indiana. The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, Indiana defines Michiana as St. Joseph County and "counties that contribute at least 500 inbound commuting workers to St. Joseph County daily." Those counties include Elkhart, La Porte, Marshall, St. Joseph, and Starke in Indiana, and Berrien and Cass in Michigan. As of the 2010 census, those seven counties had a population of 856,377.
State Road 13 (SR 13) is a north–south state road in the US state of Indiana. The southern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Highway 36 and SR 67, in the town of Fortville, and its northern terminus is at the Michigan state line. At its northern end, signage for SR 13 ends at the interchange with the Indiana Toll Road; the highway continues unsigned for an additional 0.6 miles (0.97 km) running concurrently with US 131 to the state line. The state road runs through six counties in central and north-central Indiana mostly through rural farm fields and small towns.
U.S. Route 33 (US 33) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs northwest–southeast for 709 miles (1,141 km) from northern Indiana to Richmond, Virginia, passing through Ohio and West Virginia en route. Although most odd-numbered U.S. routes are north–south, US 33 is labeled east–west throughout its route, except in Indiana where it is labeled north–south. It roughly follows a historic trail used by Native Americans from Chesapeake Bay to Lake Michigan.
Area code 219 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for Northwest Indiana, including the state's portion of the Chicago metropolitan area. The numbering plan area includes the cities of Schererville, Chesterton, Lake Station, Lowell, Crown Point, Cedar Lake, Hobart, Whiting, Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, Merrillville, Munster, Griffith, Highland, Portage, Valparaiso, Michigan City, Ogden Dunes, St. John, La Porte, DeMotte, Roselawn, Kouts, Lake Village, and Rensselaer. 219 is largely coextensive with the Indiana side of the Chicago metropolitan area, which includes Lake, Porter, La Porte, Newton, and Jasper Counties. Service is provided by AT&T, Frontier Communications, and Northwestern Indiana Telephone Company.
State Road 15 is a north–south state road in northern part of the US state of Indiana. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Highway 35 and SR 22 near Jonesboro and its northern terminus is the Michigan state line, north of Bristol, where the roadway continues north as M-103. It is a surface highway that mostly passes farm fields but passing through a few cities of Marion, Wabash, Warsaw, and Goshen. Running for 94.835 miles (152.622 km) through the state, SR 15 is maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT).
Ouiatenon was a dwelling place of members of the Wea tribe of Native Americans. The name Ouiatenon, also variously given as Ouiatanon, Oujatanon, Ouiatano or other similar forms, is a French rendering of a term from the Wea dialect of the Miami-Illinois language which means "place of the people of the whirlpool", an ethnonym for the Wea. Ouiatenon can be said to refer generally to any settlement of Wea or to their tribal lands as a whole, though the name is most frequently used to refer to a group of extinct settlements situated together along the Wabash River in what is now western Tippecanoe County, Indiana.
The geography of Indiana comprises the physical features of the land and relative location of U.S. State of Indiana. Indiana is in the north-central United States and borders on Lake Michigan. Surrounding states are Michigan to the north and northeast, Illinois to the west, Kentucky to the south, and Ohio to the east. The entire southern boundary is the Ohio River.
The South Bend–Mishawaka Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as Michiana, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties – one in northern Indiana and one in southwest Michigan (Cass), anchored by the cities of South Bend and Mishawaka in Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 319,224.
County Road 17 (CR 17) is a 23.08-mile-long (37.14 km) north–south county highway in Elkhart County, Indiana. It is currently undergoing improvements to become a four-lane divided road with non-limited traffic. CR 17 begins at the state line, connecting with state highway M-217 in Michigan. The roadway enters Indiana and becomes CR 17. Currently the improved section of CR 17 ends between CR 40 and CR 38.
U.S. Route 33 (US 33) is part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Richmond, Virginia, to Elkhart of the US state of Indiana. In Indiana, it is a state road that enters the state at the Ohio state line between Willshire, Ohio, and Pleasant Mills, Indiana. The 106.217 miles (170.940 km) of US 33 that lie within Indiana serve as a major conduit. All of the highway is listed on the National Highway System. Various sections are rural two-lane highway, urbanized four-lane divided expressway and the Lincoln Highway. The northernmost community along the highway is Elkhart. The highway ends at an interchange in southern Elkhart after serving the northeastern region of Indiana. US 33 passes through farm fields and urban areas.
Indiana is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the south and southeast, and the Wabash River and Illinois to the west. Nicknamed "the Hoosier State", Indiana is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th state on December 11, 1816.