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Indiana
The Hoosier State, crossroads of America
Indiana is the smallest of the Midwestern farm states yet calls itself the "Crossroads of America," and the map bears it out — more interstate highways cross here than almost anywhere else. The northern two-thirds are flat glacial till plain, scraped level by the ice and turned into corn and soybean country. A short, industrial shoulder of Lake Michigan shoreline anchors the northwest near Chicago, while the unglaciated south rolls into wooded hills, limestone caves, and the valley of the Ohio River.
The contrast between flat north and hilly south runs through the state's character. Southern Indiana's limestone has built monuments across the country, quarried from the same hills that hide some of the longest cave systems in the Midwest. Hoosier Hill, the high point, is a modest 1,257 feet (383 m). Indianapolis, planted dead center and ringed by highways, grew into one of the largest cities in the country without a navigable river — a place built by roads and rail rather than water.
Economy
Indiana is a manufacturing powerhouse, leading the nation in steel production in its northwest corner and building automobiles, auto parts, and the bulk of America's recreational vehicles around Elkhart. Pharmaceuticals (Eli Lilly is based in Indianapolis), medical devices, agriculture, and logistics round out an economy that sits at the freight crossroads of the Midwest.
Politics
Indiana carries 11 electoral votes and votes reliably Republican in presidential elections, with the notable exception of a narrow Democratic win in 2008. Indianapolis and a few college towns lean Democratic, but the state is otherwise solidly Republican.