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Northwest Indiana, nicknamed "The Region" after theCalumet Region,[1] is an unofficial region ofnorthernIndiana,United States that is located at the northwestern corner of the state. Though there is no official definition of the region, it is based on the Gary, Indiana Metropolitan Division, which comprisesJasper,Lake,Porter andNewton counties inIndiana, and the Michigan City-La Porte, IN Metropolitan Statistic Area, which comprisesLaPorte,[2] with unofficial definitions also includingStarke andPulaski counties.[3] This region neighborsLake Michigan and parts of it are in theChicago metropolitan area. According to the 2020 census, the largest definition of Northwest Indiana has a population of 866,965 and is the state's second largest urban area after theIndianapolis Metropolitan Area. It is also the home of theIndiana Dunes, parts of which have been preserved through conservation efforts.[4][5][6] The town ofOgden Dunes houses the Hour Glass, a museum showcasing the ecological and conservation efforts of O. D. Frank.[6]
The region's largest city isHammond, followed closely byGary. Other municipalities in Northwest Indiana includeAix,Burns Harbor,Chesterton,Crown Point,DeMotte,Dyer,East Chicago,Griffith,Highland,Hebron,Hobart,Kentland,Lake Station,La Porte,Lowell,Merrillville,Michigan City,Munster,Portage,Rensselaer,Schererville,St. John,Cedar Lake,Valparaiso,Whiting, andWinfield.
The counties ofJasper,Lake,LaPorte,Newton andPorter are included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined Statistical Area, the broadest of the census-derived Metropolitan definitions. Unlike the majority ofIndiana, which operates onEastern Standard Time, these counties andStarke are in theCentral Time Zone, withPulaski County being the only county of Northwest Indiana in the Eastern Time Zone, reflecting the region's close economic ties to theChicago metropolitan area.
Three counties — Lake, Porter and LaPorte — are served by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commissionmetropolitan planning organization.[7] Northwest Indiana is the home ofMarktown,Clayton Mark's planned worker community.[8]
The Lake Michigan shore is a major attraction.Indiana Dunes National Park, which stretches fromGary toMichigan City, is a well-preserved stretch of sand dunes, beaches, grasslands, and forests, as well as several historical homes and buildings.
The terrain of Northwest Indiana varies from very steep and rugged at the dunes, to rolling in the moraines, and to pancake flat in the river valleys. It was shaped by glacial activity and Lake Michigan. The main geographical features of Northwest Indiana include theValparaiso Moraine,Tinley Moraine, Lake Border Moraine, Iroquois Moraine,Calumet Shoreline,Glenwood Shoreline,Tolleston Shoreline, and theKankakee Outwash Plain.[9]
The Chicago Lake Plain covers the relatively flat northern quarter of Northwest Indiana north of the moraines. Initially, the plain was flat, composed of glacio-lacustrine deposits. These formed under the waters of glacial Lake Michigan. The lake formed from the melting glaciers north of the Valparaiso Moraine. Eventually the lake overflowed a low spot on the moraine at the Chicago Outlet near the southwest suburbs. This lowered the lake level to current dayLake Michigan levels (Horsley, 1986).[10] As the lake shrunk, it left a series of sand ridges where its ancient beaches were. Along the Lake Michigan shoreline, the prevailing winds have built a series of dune ridges, breaking up the original flat surface of the Lake Plain.
South of the Chicago Lake Plain in the central parts of Lake and Porter County and northern LaPorte county is the hilly Wheaton Morainal Plain. The Wheaton Morainal Plain consist of the Valparaiso Moraine and Tinley Moraine, paralleling the Lake Michigan Shoreline. The plain consist of rolling Wisconsinan-age moraines. The Morainal Plain is clayeytill, and sandy and loamy till, with areas of sand and gravel. Other deposits include lake clay, silt, and alluvium. Deposits are between 50 and 200 ft (15 and 61 m) thick, with many southern areas have over 200 ft of till (Mades, 1987).[11]
TheKankakee Outwash Plain (southern Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties) is a flat outwash plain formed by the melting glacier, which was stopped at the Valparaiso Moraine. (Mickelson and others, 1984). Deposits are predominantly sand and gravel, but also include alluvium and fill materials. Deposits average less than 200 ft (61 m) thick; in the lowlands they can be less than 50 ft (15 m) thick, while in the upland they can be more than 200 ft thick. Local elevation changes are less than 100 ft (30 m).[11] and include many scattered sand dunes.
The Bloomington Ridged Plain covers only the most southern part of Northwest Indiana in the valley of the Iroquois River in southern Newton and Jasper counties. This area consists of low and rolling hills, i.e., moraines like the Iroquois Moraine with less than 300 ft (91 m) changes in elevation. The soils are loamy till, lake clay and silt. Unlike the northern half of Northwest Indiana, the Huron-Erie glacial lobe left these deposits in its northeastward retreat. Deposits are less than 200 ft (61 m) thick, with some more than 400 ft (120 m) thick.[12]
With agross domestic product of $28.64 billion in 2015, Northwest Indiana accounts for approximately nine percent of Indiana's gross state product. This figure ranks second among metropolitan areas in the state (after Indianapolis) and 89th in the United States, comparable to the GDP of theEl Paso, Texas metropolitan area.[13]
The northern portion of Northwest Indiana is noted for itsheavy industry. Gary, Portage, Burns Harbor and East Chicago are home to majorsteel mills, including the largest North American facilities for bothU.S. Steel (Gary Works) andCleveland Cliffs (Indiana Harbor).Whiting,East Chicago, andHammond are home to the largestoil refinery in the world operated byBP. Other industrial outputs include fabricated metals, transportation equipment, and food products.
Since the 1990s, casino gambling has become a significant component of Northwest Indiana's economy. A land-based casino with about 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of gambling floor opened in Gary in 2021, replacing two boats. Two casino boat properties with approximately 164,000 square feet (15,200 m2) of aggregate gaming space are located along Lake Michigan in Lake County. An additional 65,000 square feet (6,000 m2) of gaming space is located inMichigan City.[14]
Former Indiana GovernorMitch Daniels and the Indiana State Legislature formed the entity known as theNorthwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA) in 2006.[15] The RDA, aspecial-purpose district, is vested with both legal authority and tax dollars to invest in transportation and economic development throughout the region.
A number of Northwest Indiana's suburban communities serve asbedroom communities for Chicago.
Colleges and universities located in Northwest Indiana include:
These institutions offer a variety of degree programs in fields such as business administration, engineering and engineering technology, law, education, computing and information technology, and the liberal arts. Additionally, Northwest Indiana is proximate to numerous other universities elsewhere in Indiana and in the Chicago metropolitan area.[16]
A number of both public and private primary and secondary schools are also located throughout Northwest Indiana and the nearby Chicago metropolitan area.
| Census Area | 2020 census | 2010 census | 2000 census | 1990 census | 1980 census | 1970 census | 1960 census | 1950 census |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper County, Indiana | 32,918 | 33,478 | 30,043 | 24,960 | 26,138 | 20,429 | 18,842 | 17,031 |
| Lake County, Indiana | 498,700 | 496,005 | 484,564 | 475,594 | 522,965 | 546,253 | 513,269 | 368,152 |
| LaPorte County, Indiana | 112,417 | 111,467 | 110,106 | 107,066 | 108,632 | 105,342 | 95,111 | 76,808 |
| Newton County, Indiana | 13,830 | 14,244 | 14,566 | 13,551 | 14,844 | 11,606 | 11,502 | 11,006 |
| Porter County, Indiana | 173,215 | 164,343 | 146,798 | 128,932 | 119,816 | 87,114 | 60,279 | 40,076 |
| Pulaski County, Indiana | 12,514 | 13,402 | 13,755 | 12,643 | 13,258 | 12,534 | 12,837 | 12,493 |
| Starke County, Indiana | 23,371 | 23,363 | 23,556 | 22,747 | 21,997 | 19,280 | 17,911 | 15,282 |
| Total | 866,965 | 856,302 | 823,388 | 785,493 | 827,650 | 802,558 | 729,751 | 540,848 |
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