What Columbus is known for

The Columbus Region's most noted area would be Ohio's state capital, Columbus. Columbus offers a wide variety of places with interesting locations and businesses. One such noteworthy location is Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, where guests can see exotic animals of the land, air, and sea. Visitors to the Columbus Region can also spend time at one of the many museums. One such place would be the Center of Science and Industry, where there are various categories of science on display, from machinery and technology to astrology to dinosaurs and wildlife.[5] There are also a number of wooded areas outside of the larger cities, like Wayne National Forest, Deer Creek State Park, and Tar Hollow State Forest, where guests can spend their time doing recreational activities that are best enjoyed outside and away from many buildings. In the state parks and forests, guests can spend time camping, hiking, fishing, ride four-wheelers, and go horseback riding, among other things.[2] 

Tourists come from all over and at many times of the year, but the peak tourist season is reportedly around mid-June through to mid-September. Generally, that is when the city of Colombus sees the most traffic from people that are not from the area. Annual visits have been recorded to have reached roughly over 40 million in 2019.[10] Most attractions within the destination occur either within the city of Columbus or at one of the national or state parks. In the city, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium tends to be a hot spot for visitors to explore. The zoo features animals from all over the world, including creatures like African lions, Caribbean flamingos, and Humboldt penguins, to name a few. They also have an aquarium, with one of the more popular exhibits being the Zebra Shark Tank.[7] 

Outside of the cities, visitors to the destination can explore one of the forests and take part in some outdoor recreational activities. Wayne National Forest offers a number of activities for its visitors to do. Among these activities, guests can take the time to hike or go horseback riding on one of the trails, fishing, swimming, or boating in one of the rivers or lakes, or find a place to sit and see the natural plants and wildlife of the area.[2]

Geography

The destination's boundary follows Highway 77, wrapping around the city called Massillon and travels west, past Mansfield, and turning south after the town called Forest. It goes south until it passes Springfield, after which it begins traveling south-east until it reaches Albany, then it levels out and continues east until it comes to Highway 77. As mentioned before, there are a number of national forests and state parks. In the south-eastern corner of the Columbus Region, one can find Wayne National Forest, and those that travel to the north-eastern section can find Salt Fork State Park. Typically, most of the forests and state parks are located along the outskirts of the destination, specifically along the southern and eastern borders, while the biggest cities in the area are found near the northern and western border, with Columbus near the center, hence the region's name. 

The climate of the Columbus Region tends to consist of warm, muggy summers and cold, dry winters. During many parts of the year, the environment overall is usually humid, though the area rarely sees any snow or rain. The average rainfall in the month of May tends to be roughly 3.5 inches in total. This is also the rainiest month of the year for Ohio. It has been noted that the best season for tourism starts in mid-June and stays ample up until about mid-September.[3] 

Agriculturally, the destination is very diverse in what is seen and grown. The Columbus Region has a number of farms that grow and produce many different things, including strawberries, blueberries, corn, poultry, pork, and cattle.[9] Besides the plants and animals on the farm, there are also a number of native creatures that are found out in the wild. Several animals commonly found in the area include White-tailed Deer, which is Ohio's state mammal, Eastern Red Bats, American Minks, and Red Foxes.[11] There are also a number of plants found locally in the area, including gray dogwood, elderberry, and red trillium.[12]

History

The destination has records and evidence of civilizations that date back to about 1000 B.C., where the people lived in dirt and clay mounds built in the ground. These people are usually referred to as "Mound Builders" and are among the farthest recorded civilizations to have existed in the area that makes up the region. Some of these mounds can be found outside of the city, with one notable one, called Shrum Mound, still located in one of the parks of Columbus. In the 18th century, the French colonial empire had possession of what was then called the Ohio Country for nearly a century, from 1663 to about 1763. Several wars occurred that pushed them out and made room for European travelers and merchants. It wasn't until 1812 that the city was built and established as the state capital of Ohio. Ever since then, the city has seen an expansion of residents that move in from all over the world.[1] 

There was once a time around 1865 when one-third of the population consisted of immigrants that were from Germany. Due to the large numbers of German immigrants, the city adopted many German traditions and saw a number of German-themed stores and restaurants in the 19th century.[8] As of a 2019 survey done by the government, there were just under 790,000 residents in Columbus. A majority of them—about 58%—were white, roughly 29% were black, and the third-largest group was Asian, with a total of about 6%. Including the rest of the cities in the area, the total number of residents in the destination comes to over 1 million permanent residents.[6] 

Columbus has had a number of successful businesses start-up within the city limits. Several of these companies include Nationwide, which is an insurance company, and Fortune 500, which is a part of the Fortune magazine and will periodically compile a list of the top 500 successful businesses. Another company would be American Electric Power, which is responsible for generating electricity that is used in the United States.[1] 

An interesting fact about Columbus is that it is named after Christopher Columbus, the Italian navigator, and explorer that sailed for Spain. What is interesting about this is that, based on what's been recorded in history, Christopher Columbus likely never even set foot in Ohio or had anything to do with its creation or establishment. Instead, a state lawmaker persuaded the other lawmakers in the area to name the city Columbus because he was a great admirer of the explorer.[1] Another, more humorous, fact about the city is that there is a law in place that bars people from fishing for whales, but only on Sundays. It's a peculiar law, but it makes a little less sense than most because Ohio as a state is not near any oceans that would have whales.[8]