Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve is located in Jackson County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, just northwest of and outside the city of

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

. It is owned and administered by the State Division of Natural Areas and Preserves and comprises . The nature preserve is centered at Lake Katharine, an artificial lake. The valley is a small gorge, located in southerly extensions of the same geological series of rocks that forms the

Hocking Hills The Hocking Hills is a deeply dissected area of the Allegheny Plateau in Ohio, primarily in Hocking County, that features cliffs, gorges, rock shelters, and waterfalls. The relatively extreme topography in this area is due to the Blackhand Sand ...

Region. The bluffs are formed of weathering-resistant sandstone, including the blackhand

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

. The stream that drains the lake is a tributary of Little Salt Creek, which flows through the eastern end of the reserve. This nature preserve represents the northernmost extension of some southern species, such as bigleaf magnolia ('' Magnolia macrophylla'') and umbrella magnolia (''

Magnolia tripetala ''Magnolia tripetala'', commonly called umbrella magnolia or simply umbrella-tree, is a deciduous tree native to the eastern United States in the Appalachian Mountains, the Ozarks, and the Ouachita Mountains. The name "umbrella tree" derives fr ...

''), but also includes more northerly species such as wolf-foot clubmoss (''

Lycopodium clavatum ''Lycopodium clavatum'' (common club moss, stag's-horn clubmoss, running clubmoss, or ground pineBailey, L.H.; Bailey, E.Z.; the staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. ''Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the Un ...

''). The preserve features three principal trails, the one-mile Calico Bush Trail, the two-mile Salt Creek Trail, and the 2.5-mile Pine Ridge Trail. Boating is allowed on the lake by written permit only. The western portion of the preserve is off-limits to visitors, and is reserved for scientific research.

External links

ODNR page describing Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve
*Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve Ohio State Nature Preserves

Katherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

Katharine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

1975 establishments in Ohio Protected areas established in 1975 {{JacksonCountyOH-geo-stub