| Michiana Village Hall 269.469.4600 |
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Nestled along the shores and dunes of Lake Michigan, along the Michigan/Indiana state line is the quiet resort community of Michiana, Michigan. It is an unassuming village where residents live without the big city hassles of traffic and crime. Michiana was incorporated in 1946. The conception of the Village began centuries prior to the incorporation date with the formation and development of the land.
In the heart of Duneland, Michiana enjoys a small section of the over three hundred miles of sand dunes along the shores of Lake Michigan, stretching from Chicago to beyond Saugatuck, Michigan. Millions of years ago, a portion of the great glacier slowly crept over Michigan and her Great Lakes, excavating and enlarging the bodies of water. This portion of the glacier, the Michigan Lobe, left behind great masses of boulders, sand, clay, and soil, called a moraine. The Valparaiso Moraine forms the dunes and hills that extend from Green Bay, Wisconsin continuing south along Lake Michigan before turning back northward along the eastern Lake Michigan shoreline and branching down into Northern Indiana.
Unlike other barren dune regions, Michiana's dunes have an abundance of botanical life. For decades the dunes have been a haven for botanists and nature lovers, including members of the Prairie Club and the Audubon Society. Vegetation found along the dunes and in the valleys include conifers and hardwoods, shrubs, and flowers and plants not abundant in other areas. Although Saber-tooth Tigers and Mastodons no longer stalk the terrain, the dunes are still a refuge for a plethora of fauna, including an exceptional number of bird species. A migratory stopping point, over one hundred varieties of songbirds, waterfowl, and other birds have been identified in the dune region with at least 20 species as permanent residents.
Today, the residents, employees, and governing body are committed to keeping Michiana as pristine as possible in today's aggressive world. For more history, please go to the section on Michiana History.
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