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Ohio
The Buckeye State, between the lake and the river
Ohio is framed by water at top and bottom — Lake Erie along its northern shore and the Ohio River tracing its entire southern and eastern border. Between them lies a state of gentle relief: glaciated plains across the west and center, flat and fertile, giving way to the rugged, unglaciated Appalachian Plateau in the southeast, where the ice never reached and the land folds into wooded hills and hollows. That divide between smooth farm country and broken hill country runs diagonally through the state.
Its position made Ohio a great American crossroads. The lake gave it ports and a route east through the Erie Canal — the river opened the way south and west — and the level interior carried roads, canals, and railroads in every direction. Campbell Hill, the high point at 1,550 feet (472 m), is a modest western rise. The "three C's" — Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati — anchor the corners of a populous, industrial state that long served as the manufacturing and transportation heart of the Midwest.
Economy
Ohio sits in the industrial heartland, and manufacturing - automobiles, steel, machinery, and rubber - remains central to its economy, complemented by large healthcare, finance, and insurance sectors in Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Agriculture across its glaciated plains adds corn, soybeans, and livestock. The state is a major logistics corridor between the East Coast and the Midwest.
Politics
Ohio carries 17 electoral votes and was long regarded as the ultimate bellwether - for decades it voted for the winner of nearly every presidential election - but it has leaned Republican since the mid-2010s. Its mix of industrial cities, suburbs, and rural Appalachian and farm country makes it a closely watched barometer of the national mood.