Where are the areas of lowest elevation in Ohio?

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Where are the areas of lowest elevation in Ohio?

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Step 1
  • Ohio's terrain is remarkably diverse and has been favorable to settlement and population growth in many areas due to minimal natural barriers.
  • Both the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and the continental glaciation during the Pleistocene Ice Age significantly contributed to the shape of the earth's surface.
  • The majority of the state is divided into two main divisions, with several subdivisions i.e.  Central Lowlands and Appalachian Plateau.
  • The two regions of  Central Lowlands and Interior Lower Plateau, where the areas of lowest elevation are concentrated in Ohio.
  • The  Central Lowlands with low relief, dominate the central and western parts of the province.
  • Then the Interior Lower Plateau is made up of a small portion of the territory, part of Adams County, and a narrow band along the Ohio River. 
Step 2

Central Lowlands

  • The Central Lowlands Province of western Ohio is dominated by limestone and dolomite, with some shale deposits, mainly of the Silurian period, but with a large portion of the Ordovician age in the southwest.
  • There are few outcrops of these rocks due to the presence of sediments deposited on them by the Pleistocene glaciers.
  • Prior to the advance of the glaciers, the region had mild relief and was highly dissected by rivers and streams.
  • However, the movement of many glaciers through the region swept and smoothed the bedrock, weakening the drainage systems and filling the valleys with sediment.
  • Nowadays these ancient preglacial valleys, some of which, including the valley of the Teays River, are more than 400 feet deep, but there is no sign of them on the almost flat surface.
  • Most of this area can be found in a subdivision known as Till Plains. Till refers to the heterogeneous mixture of mud, silt, sand, and boulders accumulated under the advancing glacier or fallen to the surface when the ice eventually melted.
  • Here and there the flat plains are punctuated by low, hummocky arcades of low hills, which marked the temporary stable location of the snout of the last glacier as it made its final retreat northward. These are the so-called recession moraines.
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