Marion County, Indiana THE INDIANA PREVENTION RESOURCE CENTER GIS in Prevention County Profiles Series, No. 3 Marion County, Indiana Barbara Seitz de Martinez, PhD, MLS, CPP The Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University is funded, in part, by a contract with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, financially supported through HHS/Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant. The IPRC is operated by the Department of Applied Health Science and The School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

GIS in Prevention County Profile Series, No. 3 Marion County, Indiana Barbara Seitz de Martinez, PhD, MLS, CPP Project Staff: Ritika Bhawal, MPH Solomon Briggs Kyoungsun Heo, MPA Srinivasa Konchada Indiana Prevention Resource Center Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors, and not necessarily those of the Trustees of Indiana University or the Division of Mental Health and Addiction. Indiana University accepts full Responsibility for the content of this publication. ©2005 The Trustees of Indiana University. Permission is extended to reproduce this County Profile for non-profit educational purposes. All other rights reserved.

3. Geographic and Historical Notes Marion County is located in Central Indiana and includes the State Capital, Indianapolis. The County and City of Indianapolis constitute a single government. Marion County is bordered by the following counties: Hamilton to the north, Hancock to the east, Shelby to the southeast, Johnson to the south, Morgan to the southwest, Hendricks to the west, and Boone to the northwest. Interstate Highways 65, 70, 74, and 69 cross the county and 465 by-passes Indianapolis. Elevation is 700-850 feet. Except for slightly sloping areas along rivers, creeks and reservoirs, the landscape is nearly level. The landscape features birch, maple, beech, oak, and hickory trees. The county pertains to the Indiana and Ohio Till Plain land resource area. Marion county is in the Eastern Time Zone and observes DST. Average daily temperatures are 21٥/37٥ in January and 64٥/88٥ in July. Annual precipitation is about 40 and snowfall about 18 inches. Typically the first freeze of the season occurs October 10-15 in the north and October 15-20 in the south. The last freeze occurs April 25-30. The growing season lasts about 163-178 days. Agricultural activity is diversified, but only about 15% of land is in farms and four-fifths of that land in cash crops. Main crops include winter wheat, hay, grain and soybeans. Vegetable crops include sweet corn and pumpkins. Livestock includes cattle/calves and hogs/pigs. Main natural resources include construction sand and gravel, crushed stone, and some forestland. Water resources include the West Fork of the White River, various lakes and reservoirs (Blue Lake, College Park Lake, Dolly Gray Lake, Eagle Creek Reservoir, Geist Reservoir, Shannon Lake, Traders Point Lake, and West Lake Arms); and the Buck, Eagle and Fall Creeks. Indianapolis is the State Capital and County Seat. For census purposes cities and towns are considered separate governments and include: Beech Grove, Castleton, Clermont, Crows Nest, Ravenswood, Rocky Ripple, Southport, Speedway, Spring Hill, Warren Park, Williams Creek and Wynnedale. The townships are also considered as separate governments for purposes of the census. Sources: Map from PCensus for MapInfo; Geographic Notes from Indiana Facts: Flying the Colors by John Clements, 1995.

Marion County The maps and tables in this publication were prepared using PCensus 7.06 for MapInfo and MapInfo Professional 7.0.

3. Location and Historical Notes Marion County is not a tobacco-producing county, according to the Strategic Development Group’s “Alternative Agricultural Strategy” (Bloomington, March 15, 2001) report, which is part of Governor Joseph E. Kernan’s “Recipient Final Reports for Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture Grant Programs” (http://www.in.gov/oca/grants/valueadd/VAFinalReports.html):

Don’t Know Your Block Group Number? 3. Marion County Block Group Maps Don’t Know Your Block Group Number? You can find it easily at the American Factfinder Web Site (www.census.gov)

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