Study Area example essay topic

Caborn The topographic map that is the study area is the Caborn quadrangle. This area is located in the southwest area of Indiana and on the south is bordering the Ohio River. The topography of this area is pocketed with gently rolling hills with the largest depression in the land just north of the Ohio River with Goose pond located in the center of it. This study area is located in the Wabash lowland of Indiana and its bedrock consists of mainly of shale and sandstone. There is also a thin layer of bedrock consisting of limestone, clay and coal. There are three major routes of transportation through this area which are the Ohio River, the railroad, and highway 62.

The Ohio River in the southern area of the study region is one of the main transportation routes. The Southwind Maritime Center is a river port located on the Ohio River and is located on the west side of the map. This port is a state-of-the-art river port with advanced material handling technologies. The port is specifically designed to handle in or out bound container cargo. The port is also a designated Foreign Trade Zone providing advantages to companies in this area involved in international trade. This Port is more than 740 acres and is home to a wide variety of companies.

The Southwind Maritime Center is also easily accessible by railroad and a four-lane freeway as shown on map where they are located just north of the port. The railroad as shown on the map runs from the northeastern corner to the mid-west side. Highway 62 runs from the east to west along the middle of the map. The highway and railroad provide transportation routes back and forth between Mount Vernon and Evansville. The Caborn quadrangle is located in Posey County, Indiana. There are 491 farms in Posey County.

Eighty-five percent of the total land in this county is farmland according to Bureau of the Census in 1992. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics about forty percent of the work force in Posey County works some sort of manufacturing job and this shows the importance of Southwind Maritime center to this region. The study area has a humid, continental climate with warm summers and cool winters. The average temperatures for this region vary from 37 F in the winter to 80 F in the summer. The growing season is approximately 180 to 210 days with the average annual rainfall of 45 inches. The forests of this region consists of deciduous trees, mainly oak, hickory, maple and ash.

The study area is in the southern region of the Corn Belt and the major cash crop being corn.

Bibliography

Carbon Quadrangle. Map. U.S.G.S., 1975 Atlas of American Agriculture.
Washington, United States Govt. print. off., 1936.
U.S. Bureau of the Census, USA Counties. 1996 CD-ROM 1995 County Business Patterns for Posey, IN Indiana Geological Survey web.