Geographical position
Ohio is located in the Midwest of the USA between Pennsylvania in the east, West Virginia in the southeast, Kentucky in the southwest, Indiana in the west and Michigan and Lake Erie in the north. In Lake Erie, Ohio borders the Canadian province of Ontario. The boundaries with West Virginia and Kentucky are formed by the north bank of the Ohio River according to its 1792 course, and the boundaries with Indiana and Pennsylvania run due north-south. The boundary with Michigan was originally intended to run due west-east on the latitude of the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Since its location was not precisely known, and therefore it was feared that the boundary might miss the southern shore of Lake Erie, the Constitution of 1803 defined the northern boundary as a direct line running from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the most northerly cape of the Miami Bay (a straight line from the southern tip of Lake Michigan to the northernmost cape of Maumee Bay [at the mouth of the Maumee River]). Since the Michigan Territory had established its southern boundary according to the original definition, a boundary dispute arose between the two that intensified into what became known as the Toledo War (though no one was killed) by 1835.
The eastern part of the state is part of the Allegheny Plateau (part of the Appalachian Plateau). The south of the plateau is hilly, and the north, which was ice-covered during the last cold period, is less rugged. The western part of the state was also ice-covered and is defined by ground and terminal moraines, rising to 472 m in Campbell Hill, the highest elevation in the state. The level of Lake Erie is at 174 m, and the lowest point of Ohio is at the junction of the Great Miami River with the Ohio River at 137 m. On average, Ohio is 260 m above sea level.
Rivers and lakes
The Eastern North American Continental Divide cuts through Ohio. The northern part of the state is part of the Lake Erie drainage basin, which drains to the Atlantic Ocean via the Niagara River and the St. Lawrence River; the southern part drains to the Gulf of Mexico via the Ohio River and the Mississippi River.
Important tributaries of the Ohio River in Ohio are Little Muskingum River, Duck Creek, Muskingum River, Hocking River, Scioto River, Little Miami River and the Great Miami River. The latter is connected to Lake Erie by the Miami Canal. The Wabash River rises in Ohio and flows through Indiana and Illinois also into the Ohio River. Cuyahoga River, Grand River, Huron River, Sandusky River, and Maumee River (from east to west) empty into Lake Erie.
