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About this cache: Ohio is located in the Midwest and was the first state created out of the Northwest Territory, which originally included all of modern-day Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and parts of Michigan and Wisconsin. The word "Ohio" comes from the Iroquois Indian term "O-Y-O," which means "the great river." Chillicothe was Ohio's original capital, but in 1816, the city of Columbus became the seat of government. The north bank of the Ohio River defines Ohio's southern border. To the north, Ohio is bordered by the state of Michigan and an international boundary with Canada that passes through Lake Erie. On the east, Pennsylvania and West Virginia neighbor the state, with Indiana forming Ohio's western border. Ohio is approximately 355 kilometers across at its widest point. It is exactly the same distance from its most southerly to its most northerly point. The state encompasses 116,096 square kilometers of area. Land mass comprises 106,054 square kilometers, with water making up the additional 10,042 square kilometers. The state is shaped somewhat like a heart. As a result, Ohio leaders often use the phrase "The Heart of It All" to tout its business, educational, and recreational opportunities. The highest point in the state is Campbell Hill near Bellefontaine. It rises 1,549 feet above sea level. The lowest point in the state is at the Ohio River near Cincinnati, 455 feet above sea level. Within its boundaries, Ohio enjoys some of the most fertile soil in the United States. Much of that soil was deposited by a series of glaciers that advanced into the area thousands of years ago. The most recent of these left the region about thirteen thousand years ago. The glaciers also had a major impact on the topography of Ohio, smoothing and flattening the central and western areas of the state. Eastern Ohio, which was untouched by the glaciers, features more rugged terrain marking the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Another important geographical feature in early Ohio was the Black Swamp located in the northwestern part of the state. It originally consisted of dense forests, and for much of the year, the land was flooded. During the mid-nineteenth century, Ohioans drained the swamp. This area now consists of some of the most fertile agricultural land in the entire United States. During prehistoric times, American Indians from several major traditions occupied the area. The Paleo-Indian people were hunters and gatherers who entered the region about 13,000 B.C. People of the archaic tradition were also hunters and gatherers who lived in the region from about 8000 B.C. until 500 B.C. The Woodland tradition, which lasted from about 800 B.C. to A.D. 1200 introduced pottery, cultivated plants, settled village life, and mound building to the region. Many of the mounds and earthworks created by various cultures of the Woodland tradition are now preserved as prehistoric treasures within the state. Perhaps the most famous of these is Serpent Mound in Adams County. Just a mile and a half from here stands Miamisburg Mound it is one of the two largest conical mounds in eastern North America. It is a burial mound built by the people that archaeologists have called the Adana culture (800 B.C. to 100 A.D.). Miamisburg Mound is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. It is 65 feet tall, 800 feet in circumference, and contains 54,000 cubic yards of dirt, which corresponds to the contents of more than 3,400 dumptrucks.The last prehistoric people to occupy the region were members of the Late Prehistoric tradition. These people, who lived in large villages surrounded by farms, lived in the area from about A.D. 1000 to 1650. French explorers in search of furs first came to the area now known as Ohio in the 1660s. They found a richly forested area with abundant water and mineral resources and a generally pleasant climate. Those same features later attracted English settlers from the colonies on the Atlantic seaboard who were more interested in farming and settling than fur trading. At the same time that the region was attracting the interest of Europeans, it was in the process of being re-settled by historic Indian tribes including the Chippewa, Delaware, Eel River, Iroquois, Kaskaskia, Miami, Mingo, Munsee, Ottawa, Piankashaw, Potawatomi, Sauk, Seneca, Shawnee, Wea, and Wyandot. The English colonists eventually established their dominance in the area with victories in the French and Indian War and the Ohio Indian Wars. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries Ohioans reshaped the state's landscape with networks of canals, railroads, and highways. During the same period, Ohio's population swelled and the state developed into a dominant economic and political force nationally.
I picked this location near Dayton because it's Historical significance in OHIO. Ohio - where the phrase "Birthplace of Aviation" is etched on license plates - was where flight was born, because the Wright brothers made their plans and constructed their aircraft in their bicycle shop on Dayton's West Side. Developing and flying their aircraft took place at Huffman Field, which is now Wright Patterson AFB. Orville was born in Dayton and Wilbur was born nearby in Indiana. Both lived and died in the Dayton area. Ohio is also the state that has produced the most astronauts, 24 in all, including John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. Just on the Eastern border of Dayton lies the National Muesum of the US Air Force. You could spend a day there and not see it all.
There are plenty of great geocaches in the area to do. Dayton Ohio is a Geocachers Dream. We are loaded with every kind of Geocache imaginable. Ammo cans to evil micros!! So if you geocache for numbers or for the scenery you'll love this area. Dayton is just minutes away and has Fifth Third Field, home of the Dayton Dragons, Which currently has the longest running string of sold out games in the history of professional sports, and should exceed 11 years this summer. There is so much to do around here that I can't possibly name it all .
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