03/23/2026
Ever wonder how our landscape came to be the way that it is? This graphic from Ohio Geological Survey does a great job of showing how features like streams and gently rolling terrain was formed. Pretty cool stuff!
World Day for Glaciers 🌎🧊🏔️
Today we recognize World Day for Glaciers, a reminder of the vital role glaciers have played in Earth’s climate and water systems — and an opportunity to highlight how ancient ice helped shape the Ohio we know today.
While Ohio no longer has glaciers, the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered 2/3rds of the state during the last Ice Age—known to geologists as the Pleistocene Epoch—leaving behind features that continue to define our landscape. Glacial deposits, flattened plains, rolling moraines, and countless lakes and wetlands across northern and western Ohio are all lasting evidence of this powerful geologic history. These glacial processes influenced:
🩵The fertile soils that support Ohio’s agriculture
🤍The course of major river valleys, including the Scioto, Miami, Killbuck, Muskingum, Grand River, and Olentangy
🩵The distribution of Ohio’s natural resources and ecosystems
As glaciers around the world rapidly retreat due to a warming climate, today serves as a reminder of how interconnected Earth’s systems are — and how past geologic events continue to shape our present.
The Ohio Geological Survey remains committed to studying, documenting, and sharing Ohio’s geologic history so we can better understand and protect our natural resources. Learn more about Ohio’s glacial geology on our website: ohiodnr.gov/glacialgeology
Photo Caption: This diagram illustrates common glacial landforms left behind by the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, including moraines, eskers, kames, kettle lakes, outwash deposits, and regions of older and newer till. Features like these can be found across Ohio, and help geologists understand the sequence of glacial advances and retreats that shaped the state’s landscape.
