INDIANA 



2952 



INDIANA 



numbers. The Disciples of Christ, or Christian 

 Church, have increased their numbers very rap- 

 idly, and now have considerably over 100,000 

 members within the state, giving this denomi- 

 nation third rank. 



Surface Features. Indiana, like Illinois, lies 

 in the great Mississippi Valley and in the 

 basin of the Great Lakes, and in general its 

 surface features are much like those of Illinois. 

 Ages and ages ago, in the great Glacial period 



\ ake Michiga 



INDIANA 



The map shows state boundaries, locations of 

 coal, gas and oil fields, principal cities and rivers 

 and the highest point of land. 



(which see), almost all of the state was covered 

 with the vast ice sheet, and many of the rugged 

 hills are but old moraines drift heaps dropped 

 by the glaciers. The state has, in general, a 

 slight slope to the south and west, the highest 

 elevation, about 1,250 feet, being found near 

 the eastern boundary line. The northern 

 region is decidedly picturesque. Along the 

 lake are the "dunes" rounded hills of glisten- 

 ing, wind-swept sand which form a striking 

 background for the dark green of the scrub 

 oaks which here and there grow out of them. 

 Farther east is the broken, hilly country with 

 its blue lakes a real "summer resort" region, 

 much appreciated by tourists. In the autumn 

 large stretches of this northern district show a 

 wonderful glow of color, when the frost has 



turned to crimson and yellow and brown the 

 leaves of the maples, elms, beeches and oaks. 



Indiana is not primarily, like Illinois, a prairie 

 state, and not very long ago almost the whole 

 state was under a heavy growth of timber; but 

 the nearest approach to the level prairie land 

 is the plain in the center of the state, the most 

 fertile, and in consequence the most thickly 

 settled, part of the state. Farther south is a 

 region of uneven, broken surface, culminating 

 in a series of steep hills or "knobs" so rugged 

 and deeply-carved that the dwellers in this 

 neighborhood claim for them the sounding 

 title of the "Hoosier Alps." 



Far to the south there are some curious 

 formations. Underground streams have washed 

 out great hollows in the soft limestone, and 

 sinks or caverns have been the result, some of 

 them of rare beauty. Wyandotte Cave, in 

 Crawford County, is in extent second only to 

 Mammoth Cave of Kentucky among the cav- 

 erns of the country, nor does the latter much 

 surpass it in interest and beauty. This south- 

 ern part of the state has some valuable mineral 

 springs, also, and French Lick and West Baden 

 in Orange County are famous throughout the 

 Middle West. 



How the State is Drained. By all means the 

 most important river of Indiana is the Wabash, 

 which crosses the state from northeast to south- 

 west and with its tributaries drains about two- 

 thirds of the area. Its chief affluent is the 

 White River, which carries a volume of water 

 not much less than that of the Wabash itself. 

 The Kankakee, a slow, lazy stream, flowing for 

 much of its course through marshy land, carries 

 a part of the drainage of the state across Illi- 

 nois to the Mississippi, while in the south a 

 few short and unimportant streams flow into 

 the Ohio. In the northeast the Maumee drains 

 a small area into Lake Erie, and in the north 

 the Saint Joseph flows through a corner of 

 Michigan and empties into Lake Michigan. 



Climate. In general, the climate of Indiana 

 is fairly equable, but July and August have 

 many hot days. The sweeping winds from the 

 north often bring bitter cold during the win- 

 ter months. The average annual temperature 

 for the state is 52, and, because of the extent 

 of latitude covered, the difference between the 

 extreme north and the extreme south is notice- 

 able, the average for the former being 48, 

 for the latter 56. The south has about two 

 months more "growing weather" than has the 

 north that is, the period between the K>t 

 frost in the spring and the first in the fall is 



