Ohio (state)

State in northern central USA, bordered to the west by Indiana, to the north by Michigan's Lower Peninsula and Lake Erie, to the east by Pennsylvania, to the east and southeast by West Virginia, and to the southwest by Kentucky, the southeastern and southern borders being formed by the Ohio River; area 106,055 sq km/40,948 sq mi; population (2006) 11,478,000; capital Columbus. It is called the Buckeye State after the region's native tree. Ohio is part of the Midwest and comprises the eastern section of the Corn Belt. Western Ohio's level, verdant topography and thick fertile soils contrast with the southeast quarter of the state, which retains the more rugged hills and valleys of the Appalachian Plateau, along with its deposits of coal and oil. Ohio's economy is sustained by manufacturing, principally of steel, rubber, plastics, motor vehicles and parts, and industrial machinery, along with service-based industries. Cereals, livestock, and dairy foods are the main products of farmland in the west. The Cleveland-Akron consolidated area is the state's most populous metropolitan region; other major towns and cities include Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, Youngstown, and Canton. Originally, Ohio was home to the Miami, Shawnee, Ottawa, and Huron peoples. It was explored for France by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle in 1669. Ceded to Britain by France in 1763, and to the USA after the American Revolution, the state was settled extensively in 1787 following the Northwest Ordinance. Ohio was admitted to the Union in 1803 as the 17th US state.