Northwest Indiana

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.

[4][5][6] The town of Ogden Dunes houses the Hour Glass, a museum showcasing the ecological and conservation efforts of O. D.

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, Rensselaer, Schererville, St. John, Cedar Lake, Valparaiso, Whiting, and Winfield.

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.

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.

[9] The Chicago Lake Plain covers the relatively flat northern quarter of Northwest Indiana north of the moraines.

Eventually the lake overflowed a low spot on the moraine at the Chicago Outlet near the southwest suburbs.

Unlike the northern half of Northwest Indiana, the Huron-Erie glacial lobe left these deposits in its northeastward retreat.

A land-based casino with about 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of gambling floor opened in Gary in 2021, replacing two boats.

[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.

[16] A number of both public and private primary and secondary schools are also located throughout Northwest Indiana and the nearby Chicago metropolitan area.