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Mad River Interlobate Area

↑About the Mad River Interlobate Area

The Mad River Interlobate Area is a small, unique region in Ohio, centering around the Mad River, formed by the union of two glacial lobes, which deposited large amounts of debris.

This region ranges from level to hilly, and has more rugged terrain than any of the surrounding regions, with local relief ranging from 50-325 feet. Like surrounding areas to the south, east, and west, this region is covered in loamy, lime-rich glacial till, but there is abundant coarse glacial outwash, filling the valleys that predate glaciation. The piled-high outwash has since become dissected by erosion, creating locally rugged terrain, especially in the regions west of the Mad River.

West of the Mad River, natural forest cover was mostly beech, with scattered elm-ash swamp forest. To the east was mostly mixed oak forest, interspersed with fens and wet prairies.

Much of the forests here have been cleared for agriculture, but more forest cover remains here than in any of the surrounding areas, especially on the steeper slopes. Agriculture is mostly corn and soybeans, with some livestock farming. There is also some mining of sand and gravel. Springfield, OH is the largest city contained entirely within this region, which also includes the northeastern suburbs of Dayton, and numerous small towns. There are some small protected wild areas, mainly of wetlands.

This region is bordered to the east by the Darby Plains, and has a small border to the northeast with the Clayey High Lime Till Plains. In all other directions, northwest, west, and south, it is surrounded by the Loamy High Lime Till Plains.

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↑References

1. Woods, A.J, Omernik, J.M., Brockman, C.S., Gerber, T.D., Hosteter, W.D., Azevedo, S.H. "Ecoregions of Indiana and Ohio (Poster)", US Geological Survey (1998) Web.