The Ohio River is the largest
tributary by volume of the
Mississippi River. It is approximately 981 miles (1,579 km) long and is located in the eastern
United States. The
river had great significance in the history of the
Native Americans. It was a primary transportation route during the westward expansion of the early U.S. It flows through or along the border of six
states, and its
watershed encompasses 14 states, including many of the states of the
southeastern U.S. through its largest tributary, the
Tennessee River. During the eighteenth century, it was the southern boundary of the
Northwest Territory, thus serving as the border between free and
slave territory. It is sometimes referred to as the "
Mason-Dixon line" as it is commonly acknowledged as the western natural extension of the original Mason-Dixon line that divided Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (and at one time part of Virginia) thus being the unofficial, and at times disputed, border between the
Northern United States and the
American South or
upland South. The Ohio River interestingly is also a climatic transition area, its water runs along the periphery of the
humid subtropical climate and
humid continental climate thereby being inhabited by fauna and flora of both climates.
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