Archaeologists know that humans have lived in what is now Ohio for at least 13,000 years, thanks to discoveries such as some lazy Ice Age bones marked with human tools for at least that long. Many thousands of years after these ancient hunters lived, other American Indian tribes lived on earth, including the Erie, Kickapoo, and Shawnee. The first known non-native to reach the area was the French explorer Robert de la Salle, who arrived around 1670. French fur traders followed and began to settle in the area, but in 1763 the British captured the area after conquering the French and Indian War. After the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, Ohio became part of the American territory.
Ohio became the 17th state in 1803. The Ohio and Lake Erie Canal opened almost 30 years later and connected Lake Erie to the Ohio River. This made it much less expensive to ship goods from the east, so more settlers began to arrive in the state. Most people from Ohio fought for the Union during the Civil War. Those who were against the war and refused to fight were called Copperheads, because they were considered poisonous snakes, waiting to be attacked in favor of the south. No one is sure where the name Ohio came from, but some experts believe it comes from the Iroquois word “oyo,” which roughly means “great river” and refers to the Ohio River (the river formed in present-day Pennsylvania, where the Iroquois lived.) The Buckeye State gets its nickname from a common tree in Ohio called the horse chestnut. His nuts are like a deer’s eye, that is, a dollar.
Geography of Ohio
According to itypetravel.com, Ohio is bordered by Michigan and Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to the east, Kentucky and West Virginia to the south, and Indiana to the west. The state is mostly made up of plains, but it can be divided into five geographical regions. The northern Great Plains are fertile lowlands, while the shores of Lake Erie have sand and clay beaches, lofty clay cliffs, and sand dunes that line the shore. The Till Plains is a large area in the west and the center of the state, which is also very fertile. In fact, there is so much corn there that it is considered the beginning of America’s corn belt. The lowland area contains the highest point in Ohio, Campbell Hill, but it is not yet high enough to be considered a mountain. The Appalachian Plateau is the largest region of Ohio and covers almost the entire eastern half of the state. It is also the most rugged area of the state, with high hills and deep valleys. The Bluegrass region is a small area in the south with steep cliffs and deep valleys. Shells and caverns dot the land. You can also see the five-mile-long Snake Mound Meteor Crater, which scientists believe could have been formed by a meteor crash millions of years ago.
Wildlife of Ohio
Black bears, coyotes, bobcats, American beavers, and white-tailed deer (the state animal) are some of Ohio’s most common mammals. Round-necked pheasants, wild turkeys, great horned owls, rufous woodpeckers, blue jays, and American robins are among the approximately 350 bird species found throughout the state. Ohio’s reptiles include the black racer, a non-venomous snake that is also the state reptile. Other reptiles here include Lake Erie water snakes and woodland box turtles. Amphibians such as western choir frogs, red-spotted newts, and American toads hop across the state. Beech, aspen, daddy, boxer, American elm, and slippery elm are a few common trees that grow in Ohio. The state is also filled with wildflowers, including many types of phlox, trillia, asters, and wild lilies.
CLEVELAND
Population: 478.403 thousand people (2000)
Area: 213.4 sq. km
Founded: 1796
City status since: 1836
Time zone: UTC-5
Cleveland is the second largest city in Ohio and is the seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northern part of the state, on the shores of Lake Erie. On the territory of the city, the Cuyahoga River flows into the lake. Cleveland’s nickname is Forest City. See Ohio cities.
The founder of the city is General Moses Cleveland, who in 1796 approved the plan for the future settlement, visited these places and never returned here. The first settler was a certain Lorenzo Carter, who built a dwelling on the Cuyahoga River. The development of the city predetermined the construction of the Erie -Ohio Canal, completed in the 1830s. The canal linked the Great Lakes system to the Mississippi basin, making Cleveland an important transportation hub. This status was strengthened by the construction of the railway. In 1836, Cleveland became a city.
The favorable location of the city affected its development. For example, Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company in Cleveland in 1870. The city was also famous for its weaving manufactories. Thanks to the growth of industrial enterprises, by 1920 Cleveland became the fifth most populated city in the United States. In the following decades, the city experienced periods of economic decline, but still holds the leading position in the country in some industries.
One of these industries is medicine. The Cleveland Clinic (opened in 1921) is known throughout the world. Her patients are many world celebrities. Within its walls, several significant medical discoveries were made and, for the first time in the world, operations such as coronary artery bypass grafting, face transplantation, and others were performed. Also far beyond Cleveland, Case Western Reserve is a private research university.
The main cultural asset of Cleveland is the local symphony orchestra, performing at the Severen Halls Theatre. The museums of the city are diverse – the history of art in Cleveland, natural history, the steamboat-museum “William J. Mather”. Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, founded in 1986. The place was not chosen by chance: a DJ worked in Cleveland, who “invented” the term “rock and roll” in the early 1950s. In addition, the city is rich in ancient architecture: administrative buildings, churches, mansions.
