262 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INDIANA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



north or northwest scoops out a small bowl- shaped C'a\aty, and carrying the 

 sand either south or southeastward, drops it over the hillside. The cavity 

 is cut deeper and wider by succeeding storms, and a great 'blow-out' in time 

 results. Where a few years before stood a high hill or unbroken ridge now 

 exists a valley^ or a cavity in the hillside, acres, perhaps, in extent, and reach- 

 ing nearly to the level of the lake. The sands which once were there now 

 constitute new hills or ridges which have traveled, as it were, a greater dis- 

 tance inland. In many places the drifting sands have wholly or partly cov- 

 ered a tall pine or oak tree. Where but partly covered, its dead (sometimes 

 living) top projects for a few feet above the crest of hill or ridge. One may 

 rest in its shade and not realize that he is sheltered by the upper limbs of a 

 large tree whose trunk and main branches lie far beneath him embedded 

 in the sands." 



There are about thirty-three miles of shore-line in Lake and Porter 

 Counties; of this there are about twenty miles between Gary and Michigan 

 City unoccupied. The dunes district varies from three-fourths of a mile to a 

 mile or a little more in width. It represents the present beach merged into 

 the ToUeston beach of Lake Chicago. 



People Avho have seen dunes in many parts of the earth say that the Dunes 

 of Indiana are unique in many respects and differ from all others in the rela- 

 tion they bear to the adjoining regions. They are located in an area of suffi- 

 cient rainfall for all kinds of farming of their latitude, and they are loi-'ated 

 on the shore of one of the largest bodies of fresh water on the earth. 



The chance to study one phase of geology is here unsurpassed, and the 

 botanist finds almost a paradise in the study of rare plant types. "The 

 tamarack swami)s are worth going miles to see." The flora is considered most 

 diversified in the country. The students of bird life have an oj)|)ort unity to 

 see bird residents and bird visitors perhaps not equalled in any area of like 

 size in the United States. 



The Dunes region is within reach of several millions of people at the 

 present time, and in a generation hence the population about Lake Michigan 

 will undoubtedly be more than douliled. All of the large national parks are 

 in the west and it is impossible for most people to go to them. The Dunes can 

 be reached in a few hours ride at the longest bj' great numbers who would 

 thoroughly enjoy them and be benefitted by an outing in such a place. There 

 is something here for everyone. The hills, the valleys, the steep slopes of 

 sand and their difficult climbs, the various kinds of vegetation, the outlook 

 over Lake Michigan and the lands to the south, furnish enjoyment to every 

 visitor to the region. The air here is the purest, the chance to get from 

 every care is the best. No noise, nothing to disturb or prevent a day of 

 keenest pleasure. He would have a dull intellect indeed who would not 

 enjoy a daj's outing in the Dunes. 



The historical associations connected with the southern shore of Lake 

 Michigan are many and belong to Ihe early history of Michigan. Indiana, 



