Ohio

The Buckeye State is the birthplace of seven U.S. presidents, the first baseball team, and its counterpart, the all-American hot dog. Once part of the Northwest Territory won by the United States in the Revolutionary War, Ohio became the 17th state of the Union in 1803. Take time to cruise, fish or paddle along Lake Erie, the Ohio River, or any of the rivers and lakes that are part of Ohio¿s extensive system. Or visit a vineyard deep in the countryside. Once you don your dive gear, you¿ll find plenty of sites to keep you satisfied. Many of these are in abandoned quarries, but Lake Erie also offers some 1,400 wrecks to explore.

LOCATION :

Ohio is bordered by Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Lake Erie.

LANGUAGE :

English

CURRENCY :

US dollar

TIPPING :

15% is customary in restaurants although you never tip in fast food or self-service establishments. Taxi drivers, bartenders and hairdressers depend on similar-sized gratuities.

ELECTRICITY :

110V, 60Hz

WEBSITE :

HTTP://www.discoverohio.com

CAPITAL :

Columbus

AREA SIZE :

220 miles long and 220 miles wide at is most distant points

TAXES :

Sales taxes vary from state to state but are typically 5-8%. Departure taxes are included in the price of a ticket, though the local airport departure tax may not have been included if your ticket was purchased outside the U.S.

TIME :

Eastern

POPULATION :

11,353,140 (2000 U.S. Census)

AVERAGE WATER TEMPERATURE :

Mid-70s in the summer. At lower depths, the temperature remains at 40 degree year-round.

AVERAGE VISIBILITY :

5 to 80 feet; average of 35 feet

TYPES OF DIVING :

Boat, wreck and shore freshwater diving

BEST TIME TO DIVE :

Year-round, although the water temperature will occasionally equal the air temperature in the summer months.

WHAT TO WEAR :

7 mm wetsuit with hood and gloves or a drysuit

DIVES NOT TO MISS :

Portage Quarry is a 23-acre man-made lake located a mile south of the college town of Bowling Green. Look for a silo, a semi, a school bus, an airplane, a motorcycle, a phone booth and other odd items left over from the site¿s days of limestone quarrying.

Gilboa Quarry is a 14-plus¿acre stone quarry in northwest Ohio filled with sunken wrecks including a Grumman airplane. Sites range from shallow at 5 to 65 feet to the deeper sites, down to 120-plus feet.

White Star Quarry is a 15-acre quarry located in the 693-acre White Star Park. Divers will find sunken boats, training platforms, cars and a potato chip truck.

Nelson Ledges Quarry Park was mined in the 1940s and filled with water when miners hit a spring in the 1950s. The park also hosts several outdoor music concerts from April to September.

Circleville Twin Quarries dive site in central Ohio covers 70 acres including two 10-acre gravel quarries. Here you¿ll find sunken school buses, a Cessna airplane, boats and cars.