_Physiography._--Topographically, Indiana is similar to Ohio and
Illinois, the greater part of its surface being undulating prairie
land, with a range of sand-hills in the N. and a chain of picturesque
and rocky hills, known as "Knobs," some of which rise to a height of
500 ft., in the southern counties along the Ohio river. This southern
border of hills is the edge of the "Cumberland Plateau" physiographic
province. In the northern portion of the state there are a number of
lakes, of glacial origin, of which the largest are English Lake in
Stark county, James Lake and Crooked Lake in Steuben county, Turkey
Lake and Tippecanoe Lake in Kosciusko county and Lake Maxinkuckee in
Marshall county. In the limestone region of the south there are
numerous caves, the most notable being Wyandotte Cave in Crawford
county, next to Mammoth Cave the largest in the United States. In the
southern and south-central part of the state, particularly in Orange
county, there are many mineral springs, of which the best known are
those at French Lick and West Baden. The larger streams flow in a
general south-westerly direction, and the greater part of the state is
drained into the Ohio through the Wabash river and its tributaries.
The Wabash, which has a total length of more than 500 m., has its
headwaters in the western part of Ohio, and flows in a north-west,
south-west, and south direction across the state, emptying into the
Ohio river and forming for a considerable distance the boundary
between Indiana and Illinois. It is navigable for river steamboats at
high water for about 350 m. of its course. Its principal tributaries
are the Salamanie, Mississinewa, Wild Cat, Tippecanoe and White
rivers. Of these the White river is by far the most important, being
second only to the Wabash itself in extent of territory drained. It is
formed by the confluence of its East and West Forks, almost 50 m.
above its entrance into the Wabash, which it joins about 100 m. above
the Ohio. Other portions of the state are drained by the Kankakee, a
tributary of the Illinois, the St Joseph and its principal branch, the
Elkhart, which flow north through the south-west corner of Michigan
and empty into Lake Michigan; the St Mary's and another St Joseph,
whose confluence forms the Maumee, which empties into Lake Erie; and
the White Water, which drains a considerable portion of the south-west
part of the state into the Ohio.
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