Cuyahoga County is diagonally bisected, from NE to SW, by the Portage Escarpment which merges into the Allegheny Escarpment. The county is nearly evenly divided along this major landform, with the western part of the county, and the entire section along Lake Erie located in the Lake Plains ecoregion, and the southern and eastern part of the county located in the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau. The Cuyahoga River splits the county in half, flowing almost due north from neighboring Summit County, where it completes a 180 degree bend from the south flowing Upper Cuyahoga in Geauga County. Once considered one of the most polluted rivers in the country, especially in the industrial area of the city of Cleveland, where the river meets Lake Erie, the Cuyahoga River has benefitted from decades of cleanup. The county is entirely within the Lake Erie Watershed (See p. 12 in Ohio Coastal Atlas: Chapter 2 for a detailed watershed map). Although it has the highest population density of any county in the state, greenspace can be found in the ‘Emerald Necklace’ the series of Cleveland Metroparks reservations chained around the county, which is contiguous to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Places to Visit

• 65 species have been identified in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park

• Cuyahoga River Water Trail Map 3 and Map 4 show river access points, trails, parks, and facilities from the southern county line through Brecksville.

• The Cleveland Metro Parks are called the Emerald Necklace because they surround the county like jewels.

  • Lagoon Picnic Area and Rocky River Oxbow Lagoon, in the Rocky River Reservation. 24 species have been observed here. Toilet and picnic area.

  • CanalWay Center Trailhead 21 species have been observed here, along the canal and around a wetland area. Location has access to Cuyahoga River. Canalway Center has toilets.

  • North Chagrin Reservation 33 species have been observed here. Includes a pond, a marsh and a visitors center with toilets.

County Observation Activity

This graph shows the total number of odonata observations for the county in brown, with the average for all Ohio counties in blue. The season is divided into 10 or 11 day segments by Month – basically early-month, mid-month, and late-month.