Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the northeastern corner of the United States. It was the first and eastern-most state in the Midwest admitted to the Union under the Northwest Ordinance. Its U.S. postal abbreviation is OH; its old-style abbreviation is O. Ohio is an Iroquois word meaning "great water." The name refers to the Ohio River that forms its southern border.

Geography

See: List of Ohio counties, List of cities in Ohio, List of villages in Ohio, List of Ohio townships, Ohio public lands

Related Topics:
List of Ohio counties - List of cities in Ohio - List of villages in Ohio - List of Ohio townships - Ohio public lands

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Being centrally located in the northeastern corner of the United States' Midwest region, Ohio is located on Lake Erie, is connected by major highways and borders several states. Ohio's southern border is defined by the Ohio River (with the border being at the 1793 low-water mark on the north side of the river), and much of the northern border is defined by Lake Erie. It borders Pennsylvania on the east, Michigan in the northwest near Toledo, Ontario, Canada across Lake Erie to the north, Indiana to the west, Kentucky on the south, and West Virginia on the southeast.

Related Topics:
Lake Erie - Ohio River - Pennsylvania - Michigan - Toledo - Ontario - Canada - Indiana - Kentucky - West Virginia

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Much of Ohio features glaciated plains, with an exceptionally flat area in the northwest being known as the Great Black Swamp. This glaciated region in the northwest and central state is bordered to the east and southeast first by a belt known as the glaciated Allegheny Plateau, and then by another belt known as the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. Most of Ohio is of low relief, but the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau features rugged hills and forests.

Related Topics:
Great Black Swamp - Allegheny Plateau

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The rugged southeastern quadrant of Ohio, stretching in an outward bow-like arc along the Ohio river from the West Virginia Panhandle to the outskirts of Cincinnati, forms a distinct socio-economic unit. Known somewhat erroneously as Ohio's "Appalachian Counties" (they are actually in the Allegheny Plateau), this area's coal mining legacy, dependence on small pockets of old manufacturing establishments, and even distinctive regional dialect set this section off from the rest of the state and, unfortunately, create a limited opportunity to participate in the generally high economic standards of Ohio.

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Significant rivers within the state include the Cuyahoga River, Maumee River, Miami River, Muskingum River, and Scioto River. The rivers in the northern part of the state drain into the northern Atlantic Ocean via Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River, and the rivers in the southern part of the state drain into the Gulf of Mexico via the Ohio and then the Mississippi.

Related Topics:
Cuyahoga River - Maumee River - Miami River - Muskingum River - Scioto River - Atlantic Ocean - Lake Erie - St. Lawrence River - Gulf of Mexico - Ohio - Mississippi

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Grand Lake St. Mary's in the west central part of the state was constructed as a supply of water for canals in the canal-building era of 1820–1850. For many years this body of water, over 20 square miles, was the largest artificial lake in the world. It should be noted that Ohio's canal-building projects were not the economic fiasco that similar efforts were in other states. Some cities, such as Dayton, owe their industrial emergence to location on canals, and as late as 1910 interior canals carried much of the bulk freight of the state.

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