Indiana
Indiana is a U.S. state, admitted to the Union as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region, and with 6,483,802 residents, is ranked 15th in population and 18th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area, and is the smallest state in the continental US west of the Appalachian Mountains. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis, the second largest of any state capital.
Indianapolis is home to several major sports teams and athletic events including the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, the NBA's Indiana Pacers, and the Brickyard 400 and Indianapolis 500 motorsports races. Indiana has several metropolitan areas with populations greater than 100,000 and a number of smaller industrial cities and towns. The state has several well-known colleges including Purdue University, University of Notre Dame and Indiana University. Indiana has a diverse economy with a gross state product of $367 billion in 2013.
Residents of Indiana are known as Hoosiers. The derivation of the term is disputed, but one theory has "Hoosier" originating from a frontier greeting, a corruption of "Who's here?". The state's name means "Land of the Indians", or simply "Indian Land". This name itself dates back to at least the 1760s, but was first applied to the region by Congress when the Indiana Territory was incorporated in 1800, separating it from the Northwest Territory.
Before it became a territory, Indiana had been inhabited by varying cultures of indigenous peoples and historic American Indians for thousands of years. Angel Mounds State Historic Site, one of the best preserved ancient earthwork mounds sites in the United States, can be found in Southwestern Indiana near Evansville.
Indianapolis is home to several major sports teams and athletic events including the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, the NBA's Indiana Pacers, and the Brickyard 400 and Indianapolis 500 motorsports races. Indiana has several metropolitan areas with populations greater than 100,000 and a number of smaller industrial cities and towns. The state has several well-known colleges including Purdue University, University of Notre Dame and Indiana University. Indiana has a diverse economy with a gross state product of $367 billion in 2013.
Residents of Indiana are known as Hoosiers. The derivation of the term is disputed, but one theory has "Hoosier" originating from a frontier greeting, a corruption of "Who's here?". The state's name means "Land of the Indians", or simply "Indian Land". This name itself dates back to at least the 1760s, but was first applied to the region by Congress when the Indiana Territory was incorporated in 1800, separating it from the Northwest Territory.
Before it became a territory, Indiana had been inhabited by varying cultures of indigenous peoples and historic American Indians for thousands of years. Angel Mounds State Historic Site, one of the best preserved ancient earthwork mounds sites in the United States, can be found in Southwestern Indiana near Evansville.
