Belshaw, Indiana

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1992. It stands in West Creek Township. It lies in ZIP code area 46356. The Survey maps it on the Lowell quadrangle. It stands 673 feet above sea level.

Belshaw within Lake County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 12 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1953 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
1953 USGS Lowell quadrangle1:24000
1957 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000
1962 USGS Lowell quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1984 USGS Kankakee quadrangle1:100000
1991 USGS Kankakee quadrangle1:100000
1992 USGS Lowell quadrangle1:24000

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Belshaw: 1 producer, 1 past producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	M & W Dredge	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
	Northern Indiana Stone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Lake County

Storms near this place

5 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Belshaw in 5 storm reports between 2011 and 2026: 2 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Belshaw	$5,000	Many trees and power lines were blown down across southern Lake County.
April 2026	Tornado (EF0)	Belshaw	-	This tornado began just west of the Illinois-Indiana state line near CR 9000N in northeast Kankakee County. The first instances of damage included uprooted softwood trees, downed large branches from hardwood trees, and minor structural damage noted near Stateline Rd on either side of the border. As the tornado quickly tracked northeast, it caused additional tree damage on at least one property near US-41. Along the path toward and through Lowell, the tornado blew out sections of a gas station canopy along IN-2 and then a garage wall at a residence just northwest of downtown Lowell. This was in addition to causing further tree and minor structural damage in a defined narrow path. The tornado continued through southern and southeastern sections of Lake Dalecarlia, causing primarily tree damage and minor structural damage due to fallen trees. Based on the ground survey, the tornado likely dissipated prior to reaching IN-55.
July 2025	Heavy Rain	Belshaw	-	Storm total rainfall of 3.94 inches was measured by a private weather station.
December 2025	Flood	Belshaw	-	Flooding occurred across many areas in northern and central Lake County. In Crown Point, multiple areas were flooded due to clogged storm drains. Flooding was reported near 97th Street and Buchanan Street and South Street near Court Street. Near Hammond, a photo showed Broadmoor Avenue closed at Manor Avenue due to flooding. East of Griffith, street flooding was reported near 47th Avenue and Hatcher Boulevard. Near Gary, a photo showed 4th Avenue at Hamilton Street flooded. Water was also across sidewalks and low-lying sections of yards. In Schererville, a photo showed flooding of yards and fields along Cline Avenue near a cemetery, where the side entrance to the cemetery was inundated. In St. John, widespread flooding occurred. Multiple roadways had flooded sections including at Tall Grass Trail and 93rd Avenue. The retention pond at Prairie Pond Park overflowed into nearby park land. Poor drainage areas were flooded along Parrish Avenue near 85th Avenue with ditches full and nearing the roadway.
June 2014	Tornado (EF1)	Belshaw	-	A tornado touched down near the intersection of U.S. Highway 41 and Belshaw Rd and tracked due east ending near Colfax Rd. Damage was done primarily to trees. Maximum winds were estimated to 110 mph.

Every storm recorded in Lake County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
North Hayden	2.3 miles	12
Lowell	3.0 miles	12
Schneider	4.8 miles	13
Creston	5.7 miles	12
Orchard Grove	5.8 miles	12
Illinoi	6.0 miles	15
Lake Dalecarlia	6.0 miles	12
Shelby	7.0 miles	11

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Belshaw	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4884675	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 430788. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.