Indianapolis is the capital of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. It includes Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Morgan, and Shelby counties. Indianapolis which was decreed by proclamation in the nineteenth century as the state capital is witnessing a renaissance of great proportions through development and projects that are transforming both the image and the character of the downtown area. The city is a center for amateur sports and athletics. Equally important alog with sports is education and the arts that flourish in Indianapolis, and Circle Centre, an entertainment and shopping complex.
Indianapolis enjoys a temperate climate and even distribution of precipitation throughout the year. Summers are very warm while winters cold because of polar air from the north. It snows two to three times in a year wit average snowfall reaching three inches or more.

Area: 361 square miles (2000)

Elevation: 645 feet to 910 feet above sea level

Average Temperatures: January, 26.0° F; July, 75.0° F; annual average, 52.1° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 40 inches of rain, 23 inches of snow

Population: 784,118 (as on July 2005)

Attractions:

• Indianapolis motor speedway
  
  
• White river state park
  
  
• Eiteljorg Museum