Environmental Geology of Lake and Porter Counties, Indiana - An Aid to Planning

Indiana Geological Survey Special Report 11; Indiana Geological Survey Environmental Study 8Lake and Porter Counties are subdivided into three physiographically and geologically distinct regions: (1) the Calumet Lacustrine Plain, (2) the ValparaisoMorainal Area, and (3) the Kankakee Outwash and Lacustrine Plain. The surficial deposits of these regions, which range in thickness from 40 feet near the Kankakee River to more than 250 feet near Valparaiso, Ind,. Are the products, either directly or indirectly, of the Wisconsinan Age of glaciation. The Calumet lake plain is characterized by low-lying complexly intermixed clay, sand, and silt deposits, mostly of glacial Lake Chicago origin , The Valparaiso Moraine forms high ground in the two counties and is composed of clay-rich to fine sandy till. Sand and fine gravel deposits constitute the bulk of the Kankakee Outwash and Lacustrine Plain, this area being the low-lying outwash and flood plain for the glacially derived rivers as well as for the present Kankakee River. The two-county area has an abundance of geologic and geologically related resources; some of the most important are: (1) groundwater of the Kankakee Outwash and Lacustrine Plain and Valparaiso Morainal Area, (2) sand deposits of glacial Lake Chicago and of recent origin, (3) rich soils developed on the Valparaiso Moraine and Kankakee outwash plain, and (4) surface water in the form of streams, rivers, and small lakes. Some of these resources have already been damaged during the course of man’s habitation and use, but all can, with proper understanding of the problems and the willingness to act, be saved from further unnecessary degradation. Certain kinds of land use, which are partly dependent on the local geology, are potential sources of difficulty. These include (1) siting and use of sanitary landfills, (2) placement of septic systems, sewage lagoons, and industrial holding ponds, (3) management of flood plains, (4) development of the Lake Michigan shoreline, (5) construction of all kinds in areas where little is known about the engineering and hydrologic properties of the materials, (6) disposal of industrial wastes by deep well injection methods, and (7) development of groundwater supplies without sufficient hydrologic and geologic data. The environmental problems of Lake and Porter Counties, are related to geology, are as varied and complex as the materials themselves. Specific questions related to a given problem are best answered by the competent consultant equipped to do so. This report, though intended to supply valuable geologic information on a variety of land use related subjects, should not replace onsite evaluation of the salient parameters involved with each problem that potentially arises whenever man uses earth materials or otherwise disturbs or rearranges the natural earth condition.Indiana Department of Natural Resource

Sedimentation n Lake Lemon Monroe County, Indiana

Lake Lemon was constructed during 1953 in a hilly, Heavily wooded drainage basin. Considerable lakeside development has taken place after impoundment, and as a result concern has arisen about the sedimentation rate in the lake. This study was undertaken to determine the sedimentologic conditions and the total sediment accumulation in the lake and to relate these determinations to the geology of the drainage basin

Geology as a Contribution to Land Use Planning in LaPorte County, Indiana

LaPorte County, in northwestern Indiana, is in a geologically complex region underlain at shallow depths by depositional sequences of glacial till, 1 outwash sand and gravel, and lacustrine silt and clay. The combined agents of ice, wind, and water have sculptured these deposits into a topographically varied landscape ranging from sandy flats of the Kankakee Outwash and Lacustrine Plain to partly wooded hilly uplands on the Valparaiso Moraine. Beneath the glacial materials, which range from 25 to 350 feet in thickness, is a sequence of Paleozoic rocks that is about 4,000 feet thick. Limestone, dolomite, sandstone, and shale, complexly interlayered and varying in thickness, make up the bedrock units, which provide ground water potential and contain potentially commercial deposits of gypsum near LaPorte

Geology for Environmental Planning in Marion County, Indiana

Marion County is the center of a large and rapidly growing urban-industrial complex in the heartland of Indiana. The boundaries of the county and of Indianapolis, the state capital, are the same as a result of the UNIGOV concept. The rapid growth of Indianapolis and its suburbs makes effective land-use planning important for Marion County. This report is designed to provide information, based on the geologic setting of the area, that can be used for effective and environmentally sound development of the county