The main water-parting is formed by a range of hills which are composed chiefly of drift and extend W.S.W. across the state from Trumbull county in the N.E. to Darke county, or about the middle of the W. border. North of this water-parting the rivers flow into Lake Erie; S. of it into the Ohio river. Nearly all of the streams in the N.E. part of the state have a rapid current. Those that flow directly into the lake are short, but some of the rivers of this region, such as the Cuyahoga and the Grand, are turned by drift ridges into circuitous courses and flow through narrow valleys with numerous falls and rapids. Passing the village of Cuyahoga Falls the Cuyahoga river descends more than 200 ft. in 3 m.; a part of its course is between walls of sandstone 100 ft. or more in height, and near its mouth, at Cleveland, its bed has been cut down through 60 ft. of drift. In the middle N. part of the state the Black, Vermilion and Huron rivers have their sources in swamps on the water-parting and flow directly to the lake through narrow valleys. The till plains of north-western Ohio are drained chiefly by the Maumee and Sandusky rivers, with their tributaries, and the average fall of the Maumee is only 1·1 ft. per mile, while that of the Sandusky decreases from about 7 ft. per mile at Upper Sandusky to 2·5 ft. per mile below Fremont. South of the water-parting the average length of the rivers is greater than that of those N. of it, and their average fall per mile is much less. In the S.W. the Great Miami and Little Miami rivers have uniform falls through basins that are decidedly rolling and that contain the extremes of elevation for the entire state. The central and S. middle part is drained by the Scioto river and its tributaries. The basin of this river is formed mostly in Devonian shale, and is bounded on the W. by a limestone rim and on the E. by preglacial valleys filled with glacial drift. In its middle portion the basin is about 40 m. wide and only moderately rolling, but toward the mouth of the river the basin becomes narrow and is shut in by high hills. In the E. part of Ohio the Muskingum river and its tributaries drain an area of about 7750 sq. m. or nearly one-fifth of the entire state. Much of the unglacial or driftless portion of the state is embraced within its limits, and although the streams now have a gentle or even sluggish flow, they have greatly broken the surface of the country. The upper portion of the basin is about 100 m. in width, but it becomes quite narrow below Zanesville. The Ohio river flows for 436 m. through a narrow valley on the S. border of the state, and Lake Erie forms the N. boundary for a distance of 230 m. At the W. end of the lake are Sandusky and Maumee bays, each with a good natural harbour. In this vicinity also are various small islands of limestone formation which are attractive summer resorts. On Put-in-Bay Island are some interesting “hydration” caves, i.e. caves formed by the uplifting and folding of the rocks while gypsum was forming beneath, followed by the partial collapse of those rocks when the gypsum passed into solution. Ohio has no large lakes within its limits, but there are several small ones on the water-parting, especially in the vicinity of Akron and Canton, and a few large reservoirs in the W. central section.
Fauna.—Bears, wolves, bison, deer, wild turkeys and wild pigeons were common in the primeval forests of Ohio, but they long ago disappeared. Foxes are still found in considerable numbers in suitable habitats; opossums, skunks and raccoons are plentiful in some parts of the state; and rabbits and squirrels are still numerous. All the song-birds and birds of prey of the temperate zone are plentiful. Whitefish, bass, trout and pickerel are an important food supply obtained from the waters of the lake, and some perch, catfish and sunfish are caught in the rivers and brooks.
Flora.—Ohio is known as the “Buckeye State” on account of the prevalence of the buckeye (Aesculus glabra). The state was originally covered with a dense forest mostly of hardwood timber, and although the merchantable portion of this has been practically all cut away, there are still undergrowths of young timber and a great variety of trees. The white oak is the most common, but there are thirteen other varieties of oak, six of hickory, five of ash, five of poplar, five of pine, three of elm, three of birch, two of locust and two of cherry. Beech, black walnut, butternut, chestnut, catalpa, hemlock and tamarack trees are also common. Among native fruits are the blackberry, raspberry, elderberry, cranberry, wild plum and pawpaw (Asimina triloba). Buttercups, violets, anemones, spring beauties, trilliums, arbutus, orchids, columbine, laurel, honeysuckle, golden rod and asters are common wild flowers, and of ferns there are many varieties.
Climate.—The mean annual temperature of Ohio is about 51° F.; in the N., 49·5°, and in the S., 53·5°. But except where influenced by Lake Erie the temperature is subject to great extremes; at Coalton, Jackson county, in the S.E. part of the state, the highest recorded range of extremes is from 104° to −38° or 142°; at Wauseon, Fulton county, near the N.W. corner, it is from 104° to −32° or 136°; while at Toledo on the lake shore the range is only from 99° to −16° or 115° F. July is the warmest month, and in most parts of the state January is the coldest; in a few valleys, however, February has a colder record than January. The normal annual precipitation for the entire state is 38·4 in. It is greater in the S.E. and least in the N.W. At Marietta, for example, it is 42·1 in., but at Toledo it is only 30·8 in. Nearly 60% of it comes in the spring and summer. The average annual fall of snow is about 37 in. in the N. and 22 in. in the S. The prevailing winds in most parts are westerly, but sudden changes, as well as the extremes of temperature, are caused mainly by the frequent shifting of the wind from N.W. to S.W. and from S.W. to N.W. At Cleveland and Cincinnati the winds blow mostly from the S.E.
Soil.—In the driftless area, the S.E. part of the state, the soil is largely a decomposition of the underlying rocks, and its fertility varies according to their composition; there is considerable limestone in the E. central portion, and this renders the soil very productive. In the valleys also are strips covered with a fertile alluvial deposit. In the other parts of the state the soil is composed mainly of glacial drift, and is generally deep and fertile. It is deeper and more fertile, however, in the basins of the Great Miami and Little Miami rivers, where there is a liberal mixture of decomposed limestone and where extensive areas with a clay subsoil are covered with alluvial deposits. North of the lower course of the Maumee river is a belt of sand, but Ohio drift generally contains a large mixture of clay.
Agriculture.—Ohio ranks high as an agricultural state. Of its total land surface 24,501,820 acres or nearly 94% was, in 1900, included in farms and 78·5% of all the farm land was improved. There were altogether 276,719 farms; of these 93,028 contained less than 50 acres, 182,802 contained less than 100 acres, 150,060 contained less than 175 acres, 26,659 contained 175 acres or more, and 164 contained 1000 acres or more. The average size of the farms decreased from 125·2 acres in 1850 to 99·2 acres in 1880 and 88·5 acres in 1900. Nearly seven-tenths of the farms were worked in 1900 by owners or part owners, 24,051 were worked by cash tenants, 51,880 were worked by share tenants, and 1969 were worked by negroes as owners, tenants or managers. There is a great variety of produce, but the principal crops are Indian corn, wheat, oats, hay, potatoes, apples and tobacco. In 1900 the acreage of cereals constituted 68·4% of the acreage of all crops, and the acreage of Indian corn, wheat and oats constituted 99·3% of the total acreage of cereals. The Indian corn crop was 67,501,144 bushels in 1870; 152,055,390 bushels in 1899 and 153,062,000 in 1909, when it was grown on 3,875,000 acres and the state ranked seventh among the states of the Union in the production of this cereal. The wheat crop was 27,882,159 bushels in 1870; 50,376,800 bushels (grown on 3,209,014 acres) in 1899; and 23,532,000 bushels (grown on 1,480,000 acres) in 1909. The oat crop was 25,347,549 bushels in 1870; 42,050,910 bushels (grown on 1,115,149 acres) in 1899; and 56,225,000 bushels (grown on 1,730,000 acres) in 1909. The barley crop decreased from 1,715,221 bushels in 1870 to 1,053,240 bushels in 1899 and 829,000 bushels in 1909. The number of swine was 1,964,770 in 1850; 3,285,789 in 1900; and 2,047,000 in 1910. The number of cattle was 1,358,947 in 1850; 2,117,925 in 1900; and 1,925,000 in 1910. In 1900 there were 868,832 and in 1910 947,000 milch cows in the state. The number of sheep decreased slightly between 1870 and 1900, when there were 4,030,021; in 1910 there were 3,203,000 sheep in the state. The number of horses was 463,397 in 1850; 1,068,170 in 1900; and 977,000 in 1910. The cultivation of tobacco was of little importance in the state until about 1840; but the product increased from 10,454,449 ℔ in 1850 to 34,735,235 ℔ in 1880, and to 65,957,100 ℔ in 1899, when the crop was grown on 71,422 acres; in 1909 the crop was 83,250,000 ℔, grown on 90,000 acres. The value of all farm products in 1899 was $257,065,826. Indian corn, wheat and oats are grown in all parts, but the W. half of the state produces about three-fourths of the Indian corn and two-thirds of the wheat, and in the N. half, especially in the N.W. corner, are the best oat-producing counties. The N.E. quarter ranks highest in the production of hay. Domestic animals are evenly distributed throughout the state; in no county was their total value, in June 1900, less than $500,000, and in only three counties (Licking, Trumbull and Wood) did their value exceed $2,000,000; in 73 counties their value exceeded $1,000,000, but was less than $2,000,000. Dairying and the production of eggs are also important industries in all sections. Most of the tobacco is grown in the counties on or near the S.W. border.
Fisheries.—Commercial fishing is important only in Lake Erie. In 1903 the total catch there amounted to 10,748,986 ℔, valued at $317,027. Propagation facilities are being greatly improved, and there are stringent laws for the protection of immature fish. Inland streams and lakes are well supplied with game fish; state laws prohibit the sale of game fish and their being taken, except with hook and line.
Mineral Products.—The mineral wealth of Ohio consists largely of bituminous coal and petroleum, but the state also ranks high in the production of natural gas, sandstone, limestone, grindstone, lime and gypsum. The coal fields, comprising a total area of 10,000 sq. m. or more, are in the E. half of the state. Coal was discovered here as early as 1770, and the mining of it was begun not later than 1828, but no accurate account of the output was kept until 1872, in which year it was 5,315,294 short tons; this was increased to 18,988,150 short tons in 1900, and to 26,270,639 short tons in 1908—in 1907 it was 32,142,419 short tons. There are 29 counties in which coal is produced, but 81·4% of it in 1908 came from Belmont, Athens, Jefferson, Guernsey, Perry, Hocking, Tuscarawas and Jackson counties. Two of the most productive petroleum fields of the United States are in part in Ohio; the Appalachian field in the E. and S. parts of the state, and the Lima-Indiana field in the N.W. part. Some petroleum was obtained in the S.E. as early as 1859, but the state’s output was comparatively small until after petroleum
