Southern Indiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Highlighted in red are the counties of Southern Indiana.

Southern Indiana, in the United States, is notable because it is culturally and geographically distinct from the rest of the state. The area's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture that is unlike the rest of Indiana due to it being in the Upland South. Southern Indiana was the first area of the state to be settled, and the first state capital was located in Corydon in Harrison County near the Ohio River.

The Church has a significant presence in the region. Noteworthy Catholic institutions in Southern Indiana include St. Meinrad Archabbey, one of two Catholic archabbies/seminaries in the United States and Mount St. Francis, a large retreat center in Floyd County.

Southern Indiana also contrasts with the rest of the state in that it speaks the South Midland dialect of English as opposed to the Inland North Dialect of far Northern Indiana and the North Midland dialect of central and lower Northern Indiana.

Southern Indiana's topography is considerably more varied and complex than central and northern Indiana, including large tracts of forest (e.g., Hoosier National Forest), rolling fields, and a chain of low mountains/high hills (800-1,000 ft.) called the Knobstone Escarpment, or simply "The Knobs." The region also includes the oldest exposed Devonian fossil beds in the world at the Falls of the Ohio state park in Clarksville.

The region's largest city is Evansville, in the southwest corner of the state. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 121,582, and a metropolitan population of 342,815. The south-central counties of Clark, Floyd, and Harrison are part of the greater Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area and have a combined population of over 200,000.^[1] For reasons of proximity, many residents of these counties are economically and culturally more tied to Louisville than with the rest of the state of Indiana.