Toledo (Ohio), city in northwestern Ohio, USA extending along both banks of the Maumee River where it empties into Lake Erie. Toledo is a major port of the Great Lakes and famed for its glass manufacturing. It is the seat of Lucas County.

The city grew in a region known as the Black Swamp, a vast, ancient lake bed on either side of the Maumee River. When drained in the late 19th century, the Black Swamp soils provided a fertile base for agriculture which helps support the Toledo area today. The city's mean elevation is 179 m (587 ft).

Toledo's climate is moderated somewhat by proximity to Lake Erie. Extreme temperatures are rare, but the city has frequent cloudiness and high humidity. In January the average high temperature is 0° C (32° F) and the average low is -8° C (17° F); in July the highs average 29° C (84° F) and lows average 16° C (61° F). Annual precipitation totals about 810 mm (about 32 in).*1)

The Toledo region maintains a number of significant educational and cultural institutions. In the city are the University of Toledo (1872), a state-supported facility and a major regional university; and the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo (1964). In the metropolitan region are Bowling Green State University (1910), in Bowling Green; and Lourdes College (1958), an independent Roman Catholic school in suburban Sylvania.

The Toledo Art Museum possesses, in addition to its collection of paintings and statuary, one of the world's finest displays of glass art. A symphony orchestra, ballet company, opera, and several theater groups stage regular performances. The Wolcott House Museum Complex preserves six historic and authentically furnished buildings to depict the life of 19th-century Maumee Valley residents, while the Wildwood Manor House opens to view an industrialist's mansion. A unique underwater look at hippopotamuses is one of the attractions at the Toledo Zoo. The Toledo Botanical Gardens occupy a site at the western edge of the city.

Toledo's lake and river setting provides ample opportunities for outdoor activities. The extensive Toledo Metroparks system includes trails along the towpath of a 19th-century canal, a water-powered gristmill, and an historic battlefield. Along the lakeshore is Maumee Bay State Park and the Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge.

While Toledo has no major league sports teams, it supports a widely known minor league baseball team, the Mud Hens. Professional golf has long included Toledo as part of its venue. A men's tournament is held annually at the Inverness Golf Course, while the women's professional circuit annually includes the Belmont Country Club.

Manufacturing accounts for roughly one-fifth of all employment in the Toledo metropolitan region. Traditionally two types of manufacturing have been important to Toledo's economyglass and automotive.

Toledo's proximity to the center of vehicle manufacturing in Detroit, Michigan, accounts for the importance of the automotive industry. Toledo supplies parts to automobile assembly plants, even though many assembly plants have moved away from Detroit in recent years. Toledo continues to be a viable supplier because of its location near the center of the nation. Leading automotive-related employers in the metropolitan area are Chrysler (Jeep vehicle assembly), General Motors (auto and truck transmissions), Cooper Engineered Products (hoses and seals), and the Dana Corporation (vehicular component parts).

Major glass and related companies include Libbey Incorporated (glass manufacturing), Owens-Illinois (glass, plastics, and paper), Owens Corning (glass fiber, building products, and materials), and Libbey-Owens-Ford (glass). Other products manufactured in the region are processed foods, refined petroleum, furniture and cabinets, and plastics.

The Port of Toledo is one of the largest deepwater ports on the Great Lakes. Coal and iron ore, grain, and a wide range of general cargoes are the three primary categories of shipping. The Toledo region is also one of the leading rail centers in the United States, with an integrated railroad system providing connections between industrial areas and their markets. Crossing the Maumee River at Toledo is Interstate 75, a principal north-south route that ties the city to the important manufacturing regions around Detroit and to Cincinnati in the south of the state. Passing just south of the city is the Ohio Turnpike, the leading route between Chicago, Illinois, and the cities of the East. Commercial air transportation is through Toledo Express Airport.