Geological specimens, maps, atlases, letters, photographs, surveying equipment and records, products and buildings made from native materials illustrate Ohio's geography and natural resources. Subjects documented include surveying, glaciers, quarries, mining, and the oil, iron, salt, glass, and pottery industries.

Noteworthy items in this category include an early map of the state of Ohio created by pioneer settler Rufus Putnam, the 1819 Ohio Gazeteer, descriptions of earthquakes in 1811 and 1820, photographs of Standard Oil Company refineries in Cleveland, the first official geological map of Ohio from 1871, and a photograph of Edward Orton, president and professor of geology at the Ohio State University, in the university's geology museum around 1893.

Introduction

Geography is the science concerned with describing natural and man-made features of the earth's surface. It is closely related to geology, which is the study of the earth, its 4.5 billion-year history, and the processes that act upon it. Another closely related scientific field is paleontology, which deals with fossils. Natural resources are materials and capacities supplied by nature that have industrial uses or cultural value. Examples include fossil fuels, minerals, forests, and water.

Ohio's Geography

Ohio occupies 41,330 square miles, making it the 35th largest state in the union. Of that area, 41,004 square miles are land, while 325 are water. Eighty percent of the state's land area drains into the Ohio River, which forms its southern boundary and for which the state was named. The river, in turn, got its name from an Iroquois word meaning beautiful river. The rest of the streams in the state drain into Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes. The main tributaries of the Ohio River are the Muskingum, Hocking, Scioto, Great Miami, and Little Miami Rivers. Streams that flow into Lake Erie include the Maumee, Sandusky, and Cuyahoga Rivers.

Campbell Hill in Logan County, elevation 1,549 feet above sea level, is the highest point in the state. At the opposite extreme, the Ohio River near Cincinnati is the lowest point in the state at an elevation of 455 feet. Five states surround Ohio: Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. In addition, the Canadian border runs through Lake Erie. As the first state created north of the Ohio River and west of Pennsylvania, Ohio became a gateway for settlers moving westward.

Columbus was named the state capital in 1816, the fourth and last city to claim that honor. Chillicothe was the first and third capital city (1803-1809 and 1812-1816) and Zanesville the second (1810-1812). Ohio has 88 counties. Washington County, the first to be formed, was established in 1788, fifteen years before Ohio became a state. The last county to be established, Noble, was formed in 1851.

Major cities include:

• Akron (Summit County), incorporated 1865
• Canton (Stark County), incorporated 1854
• Cincinnati (Hamilton County), incorporated 1819
• Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), incorporated, 1836
• Columbus (Franklin County), incorporated 1834
• Dayton (Montgomery County), incorporated 1805
• Toledo (Lucas County), incorporated 1837
• Youngstown (Mahoning County), incorporated 1868