Portage County in northeastern Ohio combines the Kent–Ravenna area with northern communities such as Streetsboro, Aurora, Mantua, and Hiram and eastern places including Garrettsville and Windham. Its water geography is equally divided: the Cuyahoga River, Lake Rockwell, and Lake Pippen define much of the western side, while West Branch Reservoir and the West Branch Mahoning River dominate the east. This page separates roads and settlements, community distribution, waterways, and elevation, and high-resolution JPG originals of all four maps are available in the download ZIP.
Kent and Ravenna are the easiest starting points. They sit close together in the west-central part of the county, connected by local roads and rail lines, while Streetsboro and Aurora lie to the north and Garrettsville and Windham are farther east. The elevation map adds another layer: high ground is concentrated across much of the north-central and northwestern county, while the eastern side and major stream valleys are noticeably lower.
Table of Contents
Kent and Ravenna anchor the west-central road network
The general county map places Ravenna slightly west of center and Kent farther west. Routes 44, 59, 5, and 14 converge around the Ravenna area, with University Hospitals Portage Medical Center and county facilities providing additional reference points. Kent is easy to locate along Route 59 and Route 43, and its position near the Summit County side makes it a useful anchor for the county’s western urban edge.
Streetsboro lies north of Kent near the I-80 corridor, while Aurora is farther northwest along the Route 82 side of the map. These communities form a more developed northern-western cluster than the rural southeast. Small streams, lakes, and wooded terrain interrupt the road grid, so even this part of the county is not simply a continuous urban strip.
Mantua and Hiram occupy the northern interior, where Routes 82, 305, and 700 provide useful orientation. Garrettsville lies farther southeast of Hiram, and Windham is separated toward the eastern edge. I-80 crosses the central-northern part of the county from the Streetsboro side toward Windham, while Routes 76, 225, 224, and 183 help organize the south and southeast.
Ravenna is the county seat, a fact reflected in the concentration of county offices and transportation references around the city. Kent and Ravenna are also linked by a rail corridor and by the PORTAGE Hike & Bike Trail network. The road map is useful for regional orientation, but current construction, closures, and driving times should be checked through live transportation sources.
Six highlighted communities stretch from Kent to Windham
The city-distribution view highlights Kent, Streetsboro, Aurora, Ravenna, Garrettsville, and Windham. Kent and Ravenna form the west-central pair, Streetsboro and Aurora occupy the northwestern side, and Garrettsville and Windham create a separate eastern group. With most secondary labels removed, the map makes the county’s broad west-to-east settlement pattern much easier to compare.
The CITY INDEX includes values beside the six community names, but those values belong to the supplied map and are not reused here as current official population estimates. Census reference years and municipal boundaries can change. The durable geographic information is the arrangement: Kent and Ravenna anchor the west-central county, Streetsboro and Aurora define the northwest, and Garrettsville and Windham represent the east.
Returning to the general map adds useful transportation context. Streetsboro aligns with I-80, Kent is associated with Routes 59 and 43, Ravenna with Routes 44, 5, and 14, and the eastern communities depend on a different set of state and local roads. Portage Park District’s PORTAGE Hike & Bike Trail links Ravenna and Kent and continues into the broader western trail network, reinforcing the close geographic relationship between those two cities.
Cuyahoga waters in the west and the West Branch system in the east
The western water map is centered on the Cuyahoga River and the Lake Rockwell–Lake Pippen area north of Kent. Smaller lakes and wetlands are scattered nearby, and the Aurora Branch system appears farther northwest. This side of the county has a complex water pattern associated with glacial lakes, wetlands, and short stream valleys rather than one dominant reservoir.
West Branch Reservoir is the most prominent waterbody on the eastern side. The West Branch Mahoning River continues from the reservoir toward the east, while Tinkers Creek appears farther northeast. River Creek and Muddy Lake occupy the central-western interior, and Mogadore Reservoir and Wingfoot Lake sit near the southwest. Mahoning Reservoir provides another named water reference near the southeastern edge.
The contrast between the western and eastern water systems is one of the county’s most useful geographic features. Lake Rockwell and Lake Pippen are tied to the Cuyahoga side, while West Branch Reservoir belongs to the Mahoning River system. Looking at both areas on the same map makes it clear that Portage County lies across multiple drainage directions rather than within one simple river valley.
Portage Park District manages and interprets several sites that fit this water-rich landscape, including the PORTAGE Hike & Bike Trail near Kent and Ravenna, Towner’s Woods beside Lake Pippen, and Trail Lake Park in Streetsboro. Those local resources provide useful context for the lakes, wetlands, and stream corridors visible on the map. The water layer itself is not a flood-hazard map, legal shoreline record, depth chart, or navigation product.
Elevation from about 277 to 409 meters creates a high north-central belt
The elevation legend gives an actual county range of about 277 to 409 meters, with a mean near 335 meters. The most extensive high terrain appears across the north-central and northwestern county, where orange and brown ridges occupy large areas. The eastern side is much greener and therefore lower, while stream valleys cut additional low corridors through the central and western hills.
Aurora and the Mantua area sit close to some of the highest terrain on the map, with broad warm-colored surfaces and strongly shaded ridges. Heights decrease toward Ravenna and then more noticeably toward the Windham and Garrettsville side. The West Branch Reservoir corridor also sits within lower terrain, matching the broad green areas visible on the elevation layer.
The Lake Rockwell and Cuyahoga River area has its own low valleys, but higher ground rises quickly around them. The southwest also contains isolated higher ridges among lower stream bottoms. Portage County therefore does not have one simple slope direction; uplands and drainage corridors alternate, with the eastern lowlands providing the largest continuous contrast.
Brown colors represent the high end of a locally scaled county legend, not mountain elevations comparable with major ranges. The map is useful for broad terrain comparison but not for site engineering. Exact parcel elevations, road grades, drainage design, and construction measurements should come from original USGS elevation data or professional surveying.
Use Kent–Ravenna and West Branch as reference pairs across the maps
Kent and Ravenna are the most useful fixed references in the western half. The general map shows Routes 59, 43, and 44, the city-distribution view places Streetsboro and Aurora to the north and the eastern communities farther away, the water map adds Lake Rockwell, Lake Pippen, and the Cuyahoga River, and the elevation layer shows those waters occupying lower corridors beneath nearby uplands.
West Branch Reservoir works as the eastern reference. On the water map it is impossible to miss, and on the general map its position helps relate Ravenna to Garrettsville and Windham. The elevation layer shows the reservoir and West Branch Mahoning River in lower green terrain, sharply contrasting with the high north-central ridge belt.
Aurora and Streetsboro offer a useful northwestern comparison. Route 82 and I-80 provide the road context, while nearby streams, small lakes, and higher terrain give this side of the county a very different appearance from the broad eastern lowlands. Switching between the four views from the same location is an efficient way to connect settlement, transportation, water, and terrain without specialized GIS software.
Choose the Portage County map that matches the task
Use the general county map when you need Kent, Ravenna, Streetsboro, Aurora, Garrettsville, Windham, and major roads on one page. The city-distribution map is cleaner when the main question is simply where the six highlighted communities sit relative to one another. Choose the water map for the Cuyahoga River, Lake Rockwell, Lake Pippen, West Branch Reservoir, Mogadore Reservoir, and the county’s contrasting drainage systems.
The elevation map is the clearest choice for comparing the high north-central and northwestern areas with the lower east and major stream valleys. The WebP previews on the page are convenient for quick viewing, while the high-resolution JPG originals in the ZIP below are better for printing and zooming into small labels. These maps are regional reference products and should not replace legal parcel records, live navigation, flood determinations, or survey-grade elevation data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which map best compares Kent and Ravenna?
The city-distribution map gives the simplest comparison, with Kent west of Ravenna in the west-central part of the county. The general map is better when you also need Routes 59, 43, and 44 and the surrounding road network.
Are Lake Rockwell and West Branch Reservoir part of the same drainage area?
They occupy different sides of the county. Lake Rockwell and Lake Pippen are associated with the western Cuyahoga River system, while West Branch Reservoir drains through the West Branch Mahoning River on the east. The water map makes that contrast especially clear.
Can the 277–409 meter elevation range be used for surveying?
No. The elevation map is intended for county-scale comparison of uplands and valleys. Exact parcel heights, road grades, drainage design, and construction measurements should come from original USGS data or a professional survey.
Map File Information
The download ZIP contains high-resolution JPG originals of the Portage County general map, city distribution map, water map, and elevation map.
- File Type: JPG
Related Maps
Sources and references
- Official Portage County, Ohio website – county government and local information
- City of Ravenna · Quick Facts & Statistics – Ravenna county-seat and transportation context
- Portage Park District · The PORTAGE Hike & Bike Trail – Kent, Ravenna, Lake Rockwell, and regional trail context
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles – county boundaries and geographic reference data
- USGS National Hydrography – rivers, streams, lakes, and hydrography reference data
- USGS 3D Elevation Program – elevation and terrain reference data
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data. These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
