Indiana is a state in the Midwest, United States; 94,000 km2, 6.5 million residents (2011). The capital and largest city is Indianapolis (829,700 residents; 2010). Joined the Union in 1816 as the 19th state. Indiana’s nickname is The Hoosier State.
- COUNTRYAAH.COM: Lists all counties and parishes of Indiana in alphabetical order. Covers county profile and biggest counties by population in the state of Indiana.
Apart from a black minority of 9 percent, which is concentrated in the northern industrial areas near Chicago (in the neighboring state of Illinois), the Indian population is mainly descendants of European immigrants from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The wave of immigration was later and especially from the 1970’s replaced by a migration deficit, which appears in rural and old industrial towns. approximately 65 percent of the population lives in urban areas dominated by the centrally located capital, followed by Fort Wayne, Evansville and South Bend. This is followed by a large number of scattered small towns in rural areas, whose conservative and sometimes downright racist populations are in contrast to the political views that characterize the population in the northern industrial belt.
India’s most important natural resource is the soil, which on the central prairie plains consists of fertile moraine deposits from the last ice age. The soil here forms the basis for a mechanized, high-yielding agriculture with maize, soybeans, wheat and fodder plants in addition to beef and dairy cattle as well as pigs and poultry. Agricultural products are part of the food industry, which, along with other major industries (cement, chemicals, steel, machinery, motor vehicles, and electronics), places Indiana among America’s ten most important industrial states. Since the 1970’s, there has been a sharp decline for e.g. the steel industry in Gary and the automotive industry in South Bend, and the majority of jobs are now in the private and public service sectors.
The prairie plains are replaced in the south by a small hilly mountain landscape with significant deposits of coal and lime. Here is the state’s only major forest, the Hoosier National Forest, one of the most popular excursion destinations along with the 1972 sand dunes on Lake Michigan in the north, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
- AbbreviationFinder: Provides a list of all acronyms in alphabetic order for Indiana. Also includes state overview, population statistics as well as cities and towns belong to Indiana.
The present Indiana was originally inhabited by algonkin, potawatomi and Delaware. The area was explored in the 17th century by the French, and in 1763 it came under Great Britain. After the North American War of Independence 1775-1783, it came under the United States as part of the Northwest Territory. In step with the expulsion of the indigenous peoples, the area, which in 1800 gained the status of territory, was opened for the migration of white settlers; the first came mainly from the Southern States. The slave issue led to the separation of Illinois territory from Indiana, which became a state in 1816 and adopted a constitution banning slavery. Railroads and canals from the 1840’s linked Indiana’s development close to the northeastern United States.
