Introduction
Ohio (abbr.: OH or Oh.), state of the United States of America, bordered by Michigan, Canada, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana, 106,765 km2, with 10.8 million inhabitants; capital city: Columbus.
Physical Geography
Western Ohio consists of an undulating prairie landscape, from which several mountain ridges rise. Campbell Hill (472 m) is the highest point in the state here; the lowest point (134 m) is in the southwest, where the Ohio River exits the state. To the east, the prairie landscape gradually transitions into the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains (the Allegheny Plateau) and to the north into the coastal plain of Lake Erie. Right through Ohio is the relatively low watershed between the Mississippi River Basin and Lake Erie, which communicates with the Atlantic Ocean. Many short, northward flowing rivers flow into Lake Erie (Maumee River, Sandusky River and others); however, the northern part of the state is mainly drained by the Ohio with its tributaries. The Ohio climate knows,
Population
The average population density is 93 inhabitants. per km2. About 74% of the population lives in urban areas. The largest cities are: Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo.
Economy
Ohio is one of the most industrialized states in the United States. The industry mainly produces means of transport (including parts), plastics, machines, iron and steel, electrical appliances, rubber, clay and glass products, textiles and household appliances, foodstuffs, chemical products; Toledo is the main center of the glass industry in the United States, Akron is one of the most important centers of rubber production in the world. The service sector occupies a large place alongside industry in Ohio. The importance of agriculture to the economy of the state is steadily declining; it includes the cultivation of maize, wheat, oats, soybeans, tobacco, potatoes, hay and fruit; furthermore the cultivation of cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry. The main minerals are coal, natural gas and petroleum.
Sights
Ohio’s historic sites include Native American burial mounds, especially those of Mount City Group National Monument and the Great Serpent Mound. The pioneer days are relived in the Schoenbrunn Village State Memorial, which contains a reconstruction of a Hernhutter settlement from 1772. Busy tourist resorts are the places on Sandusky Bay (Lake Erie) and the islands that lie off the coast.
History
According to the remains found, Ohio must have been inhabited about 3000 BC. The Adena Indians (c. 800 BC) were not only hunters and gatherers but also farmers; they left behind round dwellings and burial mounds, some crockery and simple jewelry of sound copper and mica. From the Hopewell culture (ca. 600 BC–1500 AD) there are beautifully carved pipes and artful ornaments of mica, copper and mother-of-pearl, found in and near elaborate entrenchments and remarkable sculpture mounds. The most famous sculpture mound is Serpent Mound, in the shape of a snake (more than 400 m long). French explorers were the first whites to penetrate this region (in 1669): Louis Jolliet along Lake Erie, La Salle along the Ohio River. The English soon came from the east and outflanked the French with their much larger numbers. In 1747, an Ohio company was formed in Virginia to promote colonization. The Seven Years’ War (called the French-and-Indian War in America) saw heavy fighting in the wilderness and only after the suppression of the Indian Rebellion by Pontiac in 1764, the English were able to re-establish their authority. Ohio was once again fiercely contested during the American Revolutionary War; then it became American. In 1787 Ohio became part of the newly organized Northwestern Territory, in 1788 Arthur St. Clair arrived as its first governor. Now many settlers flocked to it, but the Indians resisted. In 1791, St. Clair was thrown back at the Wabash River with heavy losses, but in 1794 General Anthony Wayne dealt a devastating blow to the Indians at Fallen Timbers, on which in 1795, by the Treaty of Greenville, most of the Indian territory was ceded to the whites. Population growth was so rapid that Ohio was able to join the Union as early as 1803 as the 17th state.