Ohio, situated in the Midwestern United States, is a state of immense beauty and history. Its total area encompasses 44,826 square miles (116,098 sq km), with its northern border touching Lake Erie and its southeastern and southern boundaries outlined by the Ohio River.
Inhabited by prehistoric Hopewell mound builders, who disappeared around 400 CE, the Ohio region was later occupied by Miami, Shawnee, and other Native American tribes. In 1803 it became the 17th state and the first to be created from the Northwest Territory.
Today, Ohio is home to 11,799,448 people (2022 est.), with an estimated population of 11,756,058 in 2022. It is known as the Buckeye State and its capital city is Columbus. It shares borders with Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana.
Ohio's state motto is "With God, All Things Are Possible," and its state bird is the Northern Cardinal. Other symbols for the state include the Scarlet Carnation and White Trillium as the official flowers, and “Beautiful Ohio” as the state song. It has eighteen seats in the United States House of Representatives, and falls under the Eastern Time Zone (GMT -5 hours).