Ohio is located in the Midwest region of the United States. Running along its southern border with West Virginia and Kentucky is the Ohio River, while much of its northern border is the Lake Erie shoreline. Northwestern Ohio consists of a flat wetland known as the Great Black Swamp (now drained and converted to farmland). Across the central and eastern parts of the state the land rises gently to the Allegheny Plateau. As a result of erosion by the ice sheet of the last Ice Age, most of the plateau is low-lying. But the ice did not reach the southeastern corner of the state, where there are now rugged hills and forests.

Name

The name "Ohio" comes from a word in the language of the native Seneca people, an Iroquois tribe: ohi-yo (pronounced O-HEE-yoh). It was their name for both the Ohio River and Allegheny River, and means “large creek” or “good flowing stream”. It was once thought to mean "beautiful river", after a French mistranslation. The translation of "creek" is thought to be more appropriate than "river" since the Ohio flows into a larger river, the Mississippi.

Climate

Ohio has a humid continental climate, becoming subtropical in the extreme south. Summers are typically hot and humid throughout the state (cooler in the northeast), while winters are generally cold, though milder in the south. Precipitation is moderate throughout the year. Severe snowstorms are not uncommon around the southeastern shore of Lake Erie, part of what is known as the Snowbelt. They are caused by cold air masses moving across the warmer lake water and picking up water vapour, which condenses and falls as snow downwind of the lake (known as the "lake effect").

Economy

Lake Erie ports, especially Toledo and Cleveland, once handled the import of metal ores, coal and oil, along with the export of steel and automobile parts. Ohio is still the centre of steel production in the US, although it has been in steep decline for several decades. For this reason, Ohio is known as a Rust Belt state.

The ceramic and glass industries are also long established in the state. Ohio’s rubber and plastics industry, dominated by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company based in Akron, together with fabricated metals, food processing (including frozen foods), cleaning products, electrical equipment and appliances, are all important to Ohio’s economy. Dayton is the state's aerospace and aviation technology hub. New and developing industrial sectors include bioscience, medical and technological research—and renewable energy, giving the state the nickname, "Fuel Cell Corridor”.

Ohio also has extensive farmland. Maize, soya beans, hay, wheat, tomatoes, cattle, pigs and and dairy items are the chief products.

Founded in 1788, Cincinnati is located where the Licking River meets the Ohio River. Today it lies at the heart of a metropolitan area, overlapping into Kentucky, which has a population of more than two million people. In the 19th century, Cincinnati, grew up as a trading centre for farm and meat products, using steamships on the Ohio River. It became a boomtown, the third largest manufacturing city in the country. The shift from water to rail transport later in the century slowed Cincinnati's growth. The city is known for its fine architecture of these years, giving it the nickname "Paris of America”.

Procter & Gamble, founded by William Procter and James Gamble in Cincinnati in 1837, still has its headquarters based in Cincinnati, together with manufacturing plants located throughout the state. Now the eighth largest company in the world, the company’s main products are cleaning agents and personal hygiene products.

Cleveland

Founded in 1796 on the shore of Lake Erie, Cleveland grew rapidly after the completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal, a link between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes, in 1832. Cleveland was now connected to both the Atlantic Ocean via the Erie Canal and the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. Iron ore, shipped from Minnesota, and coal transported by rail, arrived in Cleveland to supply Ohio's iron and steel industry. Many oil refineries were founded in Cleveland in the late 19th century. It was home to Standard Oil, making it the "oil capital of the world", and producing the world's first billionaire, John D. Rockefeller.

Already a centre of the chemicals industry, in the early 20th century the city emerged as a major car manufacturer. Following a long period of decline since the 1950s, Cleveland's economy has diversified into financial services, healthcare and biomedical research. Today, Greater Cleveland has a population of over 2 million.

Facts about Ohio

Area 44,825 sq miles (116,096 sq km)

Highest point Campbell Hill 1549 ft (472 m)

Population 11,785,935

Capital Columbus

Largest cities Columbus, 913,175; Cleveland, 362,656; Cincinnati, 311,097; Toledo, 265,304, Akron, 188,701; Dayton, 135,512; Parma, 78,951; Canton, 69,197

Nickname Buckeye State

State bird Cardinal

State flower Scarlet carnation

State tree Buckeye