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Ohio is a state in the United States. Historically (but not universally) considered a part of the Midwest, Ohio is a multi-regional, cultural and geographical crossroads, with elements of the Midwest, Northeast, Appalachia and the South. "This slice of the mid-west contains a bit of everything American—part north-eastern and part southern, part urban and part rural, part hardscrabble poverty and part booming suburb," notes The Economist. [1] Prior to 1984, the United States Census Bureau considered Ohio part of the North Central Region.[2] That region concept was renamed "Midwest" and split into two divisions. Ohio is now in the East North Central States division. Ohio was the first and eastern-most state admitted to the Union under the Northwest Ordinance. Its U.S. postal abbreviation is OH; its old-style abbreviation is O. Ohio is an Iroquois word meaning "good river." The name refers to the Ohio River that forms its southern border. Ohio's geographic location has proved to be an asset for economic growth and expansion. Because Ohio straddles the Northeast to the east, and the Midwest to the west, much cargo and business traffic passes through its borders on its well-developed highways. Ohio has the nation's 10th largest highway network, and is within a one-day drive of 50% of North America's population and 70% of North America's manufacturing capacity.[4] To the North, Lake Erie gives Ohio 312 miles of coastline,[5] which allows for numerous seaports. Ohio's southern border is defined by the Ohio River (with the border being at the 1793 low-water mark on the north side of the river), and much of the northern border is defined by Lake Erie. It borders Pennsylvania on the east, Michigan in the northwest near Toledo, Ontario, Canada across Lake Erie to the north, Indiana to the west, Kentucky on the south, and West Virginia on the southeast. Much of Ohio features glaciated plains, with an exceptionally flat area in the northwest being known as the Great Black Swamp. This glaciated region in the northwest and central state is bordered to the east and southeast first by a belt known as the glaciated Allegheny Plateau, and then by another belt known as the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. Most of Ohio is of low relief, but the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau features rugged hills and forests. The rugged southeastern quadrant of Ohio, stretching in an outward bow-like arc along the Ohio River from the West Virginia Panhandle to the outskirts of Cincinnati, forms a distinct socio-economic unit. Known somewhat erroneously as Ohio's "Appalachian Counties" (they are actually in the Allegheny Plateau), this area's coal mining legacy, dependence on small pockets of old manufacturing establishments, and even distinctive regional dialect set this section off from the rest of the state and, unfortunately, create a limited opportunity to participate in the generally high economic standards of Ohio. Significant rivers within the state include the Cuyahoga River, Great Miami River, Maumee River, Muskingum River, and Scioto River. The rivers in the northern part of the state drain into the northern Atlantic Ocean via Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River, and the rivers in the southern part of the state drain into the Gulf of Mexico via the Ohio and then the Mississippi.
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