Windwolf
US Land Use ... Region M Area 111 E
Indiana and Ohio Till Plain, Eastern Part
Till Plains Section of the CentralLowland Province of the Interior Plains.
The northeast tip of the area is in the Southern New York Section of the Appalachian Plateaus Province of the
Appalachian Highlands.
Entire area in Ohio.
27% of this are within Ohio.
Total Land Area 2,980 square miles (7,720 square kilometers).
Towns/cities include:
Ashland, Bucyrus, Columbus,Lancaster, Mount Gilead, Shelby and Sunbury.
Mount Gilead State Park is in this area.
Geology
This area is underlain by Late Devonian shale and sandstone.
The surficial materials in this area include glacial deposits of till, glaciolacustrine sediments, and outwash from Wisconsin and older glacial periods.
The entire area has been glaciated. It is dominated by ground moraines that are broken in places by kames, lake plains, outwash plains, terraces, and stream valleys. Narrow, shallow valleys commonly are along the few large streams in the area.
Topography -Elevation ranges from 580 to 1,400 feet (175 to 425 meters) increasing west to east. Relief is mainly a few meters, but in some areas hills rise as much as 100 feet (30 meters) above the adjoining plains.
Climate
The average annual precipitation in this area is 35 to 41 inches (890 to 1,040 millimeters).
Most of the rainfall occurs as convective thunderstorms during the growing season.
The average annual temperature is 48 to 52 degrees F (9 to 11 degrees C).
The freeze-free period averages about 185 days and ranges from 165 to 205 days.
Major Hydrologic Unit Areas
| Name | Code | Extent* |
| Scioto | (0506) | 33% |
| Muskingum | (0504) | 31% |
| Western Lake Erie | (0410) | 28% |
| Upper Ohio | (0503) | 5% |
| Southern Lake Erie | (0411) | 3% |
* this is the percent of area drained by each named hydrologic unit
The headwaters for the Vermilion, Black Fork, Sandusky, Little Scioto and Olentangy rivers are in this MLRA.
Water
Estimated withdrawls in this MLRA:| Public supply | surface water | 21.6% | ground water | 37.7% |
| Livestock | surface water | 0.9% | ground water | 1.3% |
| Irrigation | surface water | 2.1% | ground water | 0.6% |
| Other | surface water | 29.8% | ground water | 6% |
Total daily withdrawls average 84 million gallons per day (320 million liters).
46% Ground water sources
54% Surface water sources
Reservoirs are one of the sources of industrial and municipal water use. Surface waters are suitable for almost all uses.
Ground water in ancestral valleys in the layers of sand and gravel is the primary source of water. Median level of total disolved solids is 413 parts per million (milligrams per liter). Some areas rely on wells in the Shaly Sandstone and Sandstone aquifers beneith the glacial drift but water yields can be so low, some landowners use cisterns.
Soils
The soils are generally deep, loamy or silty, and can range from well drained to very poorly drained. Dominant soil parent materials are till, glaciolacustrine sediments, outwash, loess, and alluvium.
Dominant Soils:
| Great Group | Series | Location |
| Hapludalfs | Amanda, Cardington, and Centerburg series | on till plains. |
| Epiaqualfs | Bennington and Condit Haskins and Tiro series | on till plains and lake plains. |
| Endoaquolls | Marengo series | on till plains. |
| Argiaquolls | Luray and Pewamo series | on till plains and lake plains. |
| Hapludalfs | Chili, Gallman, and Ockley series | on terraces and outwash plains. |
| Endoaqualfs | Sleeth series | on terraces |
| Hapludalfs | Glenford and Mentor series | on lake plains and terraces |
| Endoaqualfs | Fitchville and Sebring series | on lake plains and terraces |
| Endoaquolls | Patton series | in depressions on terraces and outwash plains. |
| Haplosaprists | Carlisle series | in deep depressions and potholes. |
| Eutrudepts | Eel series | on flood plains. |
| Endoaquepts | Shoals series | on flood plains. |
| Endoaquolls | Sloan series | on flood plains. |
Fauna and Flora
Pin oak, Swamp white oak, Blackgum, American sycamore, green ash, silver maple, and cottonwood grow on the wetter soils. White oak, northern red oak, black walnut, tuliptree, shagbark hickory, sugar maple, and white ash are major species on the better drained soils.
Some of the major wildlife species include whitetailed deer, red fox, gray squirrel, raccoon, opossum, cottontail rabbit, quail, ducks, turkey, dove, and geese.
Land Use
| 58% - | Cropland | - private |
| 5% - | Grassland | - private |
| 18% - | Forest | - private |
| 14% - | Urban development | - private |
| 1% - | Water | - private |
| 4% - | Other | - private |
Corn, soybeans, other feed grains, and hay for livestock are the principal crops. Dairying is an important enterprise near the cities in the area, and truck and canning crops are grown extensively in areas where the soils and markets are favorable.
The major resource concerns include seasonal wetness, water erosion; maintenance of the content of organic matter and productivity of the soils; excessive sediments, nutrients, and pesticides in surface water; nutrients and pesticides in ground water; and loss of wildlife habitat.
Conservation practices on cropland generally include surface and subsurface drainage systems, conservation crop rotations, crop residue management, filter strips, nutrient and pest management, protection of streambanks, agrichemical containment facilities, and management of wildlife habitat.