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Northwest Indiana, nicknamed The Region after the Calumet Region,^[1] is an unofficial region of northern Indiana, 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 comprises Jasper, Lake, Porter and Newton counties in Indiana, and the Michigan City-La Porte, IN Metropolitan Statistic Area, which comprises LaPorte,^[2] with unofficial definitions also including Starke and Pulaski counties.^[3] This region neighbors Lake Michigan and parts of it are in the Chicago 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 the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area. It is also the home of the Indiana Dunes, parts of which have been preserved through conservation efforts.^[4]^[5]^[6] The town of Ogden Dunes houses the Hour Glass, a museum showcasing the ecological and conservation efforts of O. D. Frank.^[6]

The region's largest city is Hammond, followed closely by Gary. Other municipalities in Northwest Indiana include Aix, Burns Harbor, Chesterton, Crown Point, DeMotte, Dyer, East Chicago, Griffith, Highland, Hebron, Hobart, Kentland, Lake Station, La Porte, Lowell, Merrillville, Michigan City, Munster, Portage, Schererville, St. John, Cedar Lake, Valparaiso, Whiting, and Winfield.

Overview

The counties of Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton and Porter are included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined Statistical Area, the broadest of the census-derived Metropolitan definitions. Unlike the majority of Indiana, which operates on Eastern Standard Time, these counties and Starke are in the Central Time Zone, with Pulaski County being the only county of Northwest Indiana in the Eastern Time Zone, reflecting the region's close economic ties to the Chicago metropolitan area.

Three counties — Lake, Porter and LaPorte — are served by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission metropolitan planning organization.^[7] Northwest Indiana is the home of Marktown, Clayton Mark's planned worker community.^[8]

Geography

The Lake Michigan shore is a major attraction. Indiana Dunes National Park, which stretches from Gary to Michigan 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 the Valparaiso Moraine, Tinley Moraine, Lake Border Moraine, Iroquois Moraine, Calumet Shoreline, Glenwood Shoreline, Tolleston Shoreline, and the Kankakee Outwash Plain.^[9]

Chicago Lake Plain

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 day Lake 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.

Wheaton Morainal 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 clayey till, 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]

Kankakee Outwash Plain

The Kankakee 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.

Bloomington Ridged Plain

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]

Economy

With a gross 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 the El Paso, Texas metropolitan area.^[13]

The northern portion of Northwest Indiana is noted for its heavy industry. Gary, Portage, Burns Harbor and East Chicago are home to major steel mills, including the largest North American facilities for both U.S. Steel (Gary Works) and Cleveland Cliffs (Indiana Harbor). Whiting and Hammond are home to the largest oil refinery in the Midwestern U.S., operated by BP. 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 in Michigan City.^[14]

Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and the Indiana State Legislature formed the entity known as the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA) in 2006.^[15] The RDA, a special-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 as bedroom communities for Chicago.

Education

Colleges and universities located in Northwest Indiana include:

Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting
Indiana University Northwest (IU Northwest) in Gary
Purdue University Northwest, which encompasses the formerly named Purdue University Calumet campus in Hammond and the formerly named Purdue University North Central campus in Westville
Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer- Closed in 2017, with plans to reopen as a junior college associated with Marian University (Indiana)
Valparaiso University in Valparaiso (the largest independent Lutheran University in the United States)
Hyles-Anderson College in Crown Point.

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.

Counties

Census Bureau population statistics

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

Transportation

Major airports

Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) - No current scheduled air service
Midway International Airport (MDW)
O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
South Bend International Airport (SBN)

Commuter rail

South Shore Line connecting Chicago to South Bend, Indiana, passing through Gary and Michigan City

Highways

Area codes

219
574

Local media

Online

NWIndianaLife.com - Online

Print

The Times of Northwest Indiana - Print, Online
Post-Tribune - Print, Online
Region Sports Network - Print, Online, Broadcast
Chesterton Tribune - Print, Online
La Porte Herald-Argus - Print, Online
The News-Dispatch - Print, Online

Broadcast

WJOB (AM) 1230 - Radio
WLTH (AM) 1370 - Radio
WWCA (AM) - Radio
WAKE 1500 - Radio
WIMS (AM) 1420 - Radio
WGVE-FM 88.7 - Radio
WLPR-FM 89.1 ^[17] - Radio
WEFM (FM) 95.9 - Radio
WXRD (FM) 103.9 - Radio
WLJE (FM) 105.5 - Radio
WZVN 107.1 - Radio
Regional Radio Sports Network - Radio
WYIN-TV - 56/17 Television
WJYS-TV - 62/36 Television

Notable people

Parks and nature areas

Biesecker Nature Preserve, St. John, Lake County^[18]
Calumet Prairie Nature Preserve, Gary, Lake County^[18]
Conrad Savanna Nature Preserve, Conrad, Newton County (black and white oak savanna)^[19]
Fish Lake Wildlife Conservation Area, Fish Lake, LaPorte County^[19]
Gibson Woods Nature Preserve, Hammond, Lake County^[18]
Indiana Dunes National Park, Porter County^[19]
- Cowles Bog
- Pinhook Bog, LaPorte County
- Hoosier Prairie Nature Preserve, Griffith, Lake County^[18]
Indiana Dunes State Park, Porter County
- Dunes Nature Preserve
Ivanhoe Nature Preserve, Gary, Indiana
Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area, Radioville, Pulaski County
Kingsbury Fish and Wildlife Area, Kingbury, LaPorte County
LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area
Stoutsburg Savanna Nature Preserve, Wheatfield, Jasper County (rolling sand ridges)^[19]
Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area, Morocco, Newton County

References

^ "What's up with that? Where did the term 'Da Region' come from?".
^ Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas (March 6, 2020). "0MB BULLETIN NO. 20-01" (PDF). Office of Management and Budget.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Pete, Joseph (March 26, 2024). "'Northwest Indiana reaches record population as Lake County surpasses 500,000 people for first time since 1982'". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
^ "South Shore Journal - Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes". Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
^ "South Shore Journal - the Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation". Archived from the original on 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
^ ^a ^b "South Shore Journal - the Cultural Impact of a Museum in a Small Community: The Hour Glass in Ogden Dunes". Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
^ "Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission Homepage". Nirpc.org. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
^ "South Shore Journal - Marktown: Clayton Mark's Planned Worker Community in Northwest Indiana". Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
^ Environmental Geology of Lake and Porter Counties, Indiana An Aid to Planning; By Edwin J. Hartke, John R. Hill, and Mark Reshkin; Environmental Study 8 Department of Natural Resources Geological Survey Special Report 11
^ Environmental Setting of the Upper Illinois River Basin and Implications for Water Quality Water-Resources Investigations Report 98–4268; Terri L. Arnold, Daniel J. Sullivan, Mitchell A. Harris, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Barbara C. Scudder, Peter M. Ruhl, Dorothea W. Hanchar, and Jana S. Stewart; U.S. Geologic Survey, Department of the Interior; Urbana, Illinois; 1999; pg 11
^ ^a ^b pg 12
^ pg 12, 18
^ "Northwest Indiana has state's second biggest economy". Indianeconomicdigest.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
^ "South Shore Casinos | Northwest Indiana Things to Do". Southshorecva.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
^ Mike Pence (2016-07-21). "RDA: Home". In.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
^ ""America's Best Colleges 2007"". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
^ "The Lakeshore 89.1 FM Homepage". Thelakeshorefm.com. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Streets of Northwest Indiana; Rand McNally, Chicago, Illinois, 2008
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Indiana Atlas and Gazetter; DeLorme, Yarmouth, Vermont