<P> Rural areas in the central portion of the state are typically composed of a patchwork of fields and forested areas . The geography of Central Indiana consists of gently rolling hills and sandstone ravines carved out by the retreating glaciers . Many of these ravines can be found in west - central Indiana, specifically along Sugar Creek in Turkey Run State Park and Shades State Park . </P> <P> Evansville, the third largest city in Indiana, is located in the southwestern corner of the state . It is located in a tri-state area that includes Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky . The south - central cities of Clarksville, Jeffersonville, and New Albany are part of the Louisville metropolitan area . Bloomington, the home of Indiana University's main campus, and Columbus, a small industrial city, are located in the northern part of this region . Vincennes, founded by French traders in 1732 and the oldest settlement in the state, is located on the Wabash River as served as the first capital of the Indiana Territory . Vincennes is also home of the Pantheon Theatre . Indiana was settled from its southern periphery northward; many more of its oldest settlements, including its first capital, Corydon, are in southern Indiana . Until 1950, the United States Census found the center of population to lie in southern Indiana . </P> <P> Southern Indiana is a mixture of farmland, forest and very hilly areas, especially near Louisville and in the south central lime hills areas, stretching from the Ohio River to as far north as Greencastle, to the wide, flat valleys along the Wabash and Ohio rivers . The Hoosier National Forest is a 200,000 - acre (810 km) nature preserve in south central Indiana . Southern Indiana's topography is more varied than that in the north and generally contains more hills and geographic variation than the northern portion, such as the "Knobs," a series of 1,000 ft (300 m) hills that run parallel to the Ohio River in south - central Indiana . The largely flat and flood - prone bottomlands of Indiana, where the Wabash, White, and Ohio Rivers converge, hosts numerous plant and animal species normally found in the Lower Mississippi and Gulf Coast region of the United States . Brown County is well known for its hills covered with colorful autumn foliage, the former home of T.C. Steele, and Nashville, the county seat and shopping destination . Harrison and Crawford Counties boast three of the state's most popular commercial caves at Wyandotte, Marengo, and Squire Boone Caverns . </P> <P> The limestone geology of Southern Indiana has created numerous caves and one of the largest limestone quarry regions in the United States . Many of Indiana's official buildings, such as the Indiana Statehouse, the downtown monuments, the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis, many buildings at Indiana University Bloomington, and the Indiana Government Center, are all examples of Indiana architecture made with Indiana limestone . Indiana limestone has also been used in many other famous structures in the United States, such as the Empire State Building, the Pentagon, and the Washington National Cathedral . In addition, 35 of the 50 state capitols are made of Indiana limestone . </P>

What landforms are found mostly in the southern part of indiana