The Niagara Escarpment begins in Central New York then proceeds north and west around the Great Lakes and then ends in Wisconsin.  This area is also known as the Great Arc.  This feature was once a vast ocean.  Over time the basin dried up and became what is now Ohio, Pennsylvania, portions of West Virginia, Indian, Michigan, Kentucky, Wisconsin and the Great Lakes.  The Southern basin of this feature was bordered by the Appalachian Mountains.

The map to the right shows the geology of this area with respect to the Niagara Escarpment. Notice the southern section in Ohio, this feature was the southern basin and is our area of interest.  The specific rock formations have resulted in a conglomerate type rock.  This sedimentary rock is filled with shell and coral deposits left by the dried up ocean.  

Glaciation has played a major role in the landscape formation of the area.  Over time the southern basin located in Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Indiana was heavily eroded. The many years of erosion lead to a non-prevalent feature unlike the Northern section. 

The objective of this Land use Classification is to create a representation of the Southern Ohio portion of the Niagara Escarpment and to relate the land to specific features using a Geographic Information Science (GIS) database. 

The area that we are interested in describing, according to the landscape are: underlying geological, soil features along with an updated land use classification.  These are the key components for this study.  The map above depicts this Northern area as a thick black line, also know as the Great Arc.  Rocks taken from the area depict the numerous fossils within a conglomerate rock.  Many of the fossils are sea shells and coral fragments.  Thus, our hypothesis is, using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Science (GIS), can we depict unique features that characterize this section of Southwestern Ohio as prevalent and distinct feature? 

Features such as the one on the top right, the Niagara Escarpment in Southwestern Ontario, are very prevalent features.  However, the bottom right feature are typical in the southern basin of the Niagara Escarpment.  These rolling hills and large grassy fields are found in Highland County.  This picture was taken by Patrick Lawrence, Professor of Geography and Planning.  Dr. Lawrence has written journals related to this subject and the area affiliated with it, both the Northern and Southern Basins of the Escarpment.