The Great Marsh

The Great Marsh. . , You are entering a remnant of the Great Marsh that once extended from Gary to Michigan City. The marsh was a nursery for waterfowl and other wildlife., The Great Marsh is the low area between two ancient shorelines of Lake Michigan., The older Calumet Beach is inland and formed about 12,000 years ago when the lake level was higher than today. The Toleston Beach began forming a roughly 6500 years ago. At that time, the lake level was near its present elevation., Lake Michigan again rose, its shore moving inland. Waves moved the Toleston Beach inland and created higher dunes., Eventually the water level in the lagoon dropped, and plants began to colonize the Great Marsh., The Great Marsh is one of the last remaining naturally occurring wetlands in Indiana. , Wetlands once covered almost 25% of Indiana., During the late 1800s and early 1900s, most of Indiana's wetlands were drained and converted to agricultural uses., Although called the Great Marsh, this is a swamp., Swamp: a wetland that includes trees and shrubs, Marsh: a wetland with mostly soft herbaceous plants, Wetlands provide shelter, habitat and food for wildlife. Look for these plants and animals. , [Captions:] Buttonbush, Duckweed, Great Blue Heron, Spring Peeper, Take time to enjoy this significant piece of Indiana's ecological past.