Scioto County occupies Ohio’s southern edge, where Portsmouth sits beside the junction of the Scioto and Ohio rivers and a broad low valley gives way quickly to deeply cut hills. U.S. 23 follows the central corridor north through Lucasville, while U.S. 52 tracks the Ohio River side toward Wheelersburg and Franklin Furnace. Otway and Rarden lie among the western hills, and South Webster sits in the eastern interior. This page separates roads and communities, waterways, and elevation, and high-resolution JPG originals of all four supplied maps are available in the download ZIP.
Portsmouth is the natural starting point. Rosemount and Lucasville lie north along the Scioto valley, New Boston and Sciotodale extend east from the city, and Wheelersburg continues farther along the river corridor. South Webster is separated in the eastern hills, while Otway and Rarden provide western references. The water and elevation maps explain much of this settlement pattern: low river valleys offer the broadest corridors, while the outer county is broken into narrow creeks and steep ridges.
Table of Contents
Portsmouth connects U.S. 23, U.S. 52, and the county’s main valley routes
The general county map places Portsmouth near the southern center, directly beside the Ohio River. U.S. 23 leaves the city to the north through Rosemount and Lucasville, and State Route 104 follows the same broad central direction. U.S. 52 runs east along the river side toward Wheelersburg and Franklin Furnace. County government offices and the courthouse are in Portsmouth, reinforcing the city’s role as the administrative and transportation hub.
Lucasville is the next major reference north of Portsmouth. U.S. 23 remains the clearest route, with Routes 73 and 104 also visible nearby. Route 139 heads east toward Clarktown and Minford, while Route 335 and Route 776 help locate the northeastern interior. South Webster lies farther east along Route 140, giving the map a useful reference beyond the central Scioto valley.
East of Portsmouth, New Boston and Sciotodale occupy a continuous developed corridor before the map reaches Wheelersburg. U.S. 52 stays close to the Ohio River through this section. Franklin Furnace lies farther southeast, and Route 522 climbs into the eastern hills. The county’s southern boundary follows the bends of the Ohio River, so its shape is much less regular than counties defined mostly by straight survey lines.
The west is more sparsely settled. Otway lies near Route 348, Route 772 appears along the northwestern side, and Route 125 provides an important connection through the hills toward Portsmouth. Scioto County’s official site places county government in Portsmouth, while its nature guide highlights the Ohio River, Scioto River, and Shawnee State Park & Forest as major regional resources. The static road map is useful for orientation, not live construction or current travel times.
Five highlighted communities separate the river corridor from the outer hills
The city-distribution view highlights Portsmouth, New Boston, South Webster, Rarden, and Otway. Portsmouth and New Boston sit close together along the southern river corridor. South Webster is well to the east, while Rarden and Otway occupy the western and northwestern hill country. Removing most secondary road labels makes the contrast between the densely settled river side and smaller outer communities easy to see.
The CITY INDEX includes values beside the five community names, but those figures belong to the supplied map and are not treated here as current official population estimates. Census reference years and municipal boundaries can change. The lasting geographic information is the arrangement: Portsmouth and New Boston form the southern core, South Webster anchors the east, and Rarden and Otway provide western references.
Returning to the general map shows why those places have different road patterns. Portsmouth and New Boston sit where U.S. 23 and U.S. 52 reach broad river lowlands. South Webster occupies a smaller eastern valley along Route 140. Otway and Rarden lie among higher ridges, where fewer through roads cross the terrain and local routes follow narrow creek valleys.
The Scioto River meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth
The most important feature on the water map is the confluence at Portsmouth. The Scioto River flows south through the central county and meets the Ohio River along the southern boundary. The Scioto valley is broad from the Lucasville area toward Portsmouth, while the Ohio River forms an even larger low corridor across the county’s southern edge.
Western Scioto County is divided by Scioto Brush Creek and many smaller tributaries that cut through the high ridge country. Bear Creek appears in the northwest. Frasure Lake and Lake Margaret provide two named water references farther east, while Turkey Creek Lake and Roosevelt Lake sit in the southwestern hills. Pond Creek, Dry Run, and Pond Lick Run add more narrow drainage lines between the ridges.
On the east, the Little Scioto River forms a long north-south valley, with Rocky Fork joining from the northeast. Pine Creek drains the southeastern side toward the Ohio River. These valleys are narrower than the central Scioto corridor but remain easy to match with the low green bands on the elevation map.
Scioto County’s official nature page identifies both the Ohio River and Scioto River as major local water resources and also highlights Shawnee State Park & Forest and several regional lakes. Those references fit the supplied map well. The water layer itself is a geographic reference rather than a flood-hazard map, legal shoreline record, depth chart, or navigation product.
Elevation from about 147 to 405 meters reveals one of Ohio’s sharper county contrasts
The elevation legend reports an actual county range of about 147 to 405 meters, with a mean near 241 meters. The lowest dark-green terrain follows the Ohio River and the central Scioto River valley, including the Portsmouth–Lucasville corridor. In the west and southwest, orange and brown ridges rise repeatedly above narrow creek bottoms, creating a much stronger relief pattern than the river plain.
The western side contains the most extensive high terrain. Scioto Brush Creek and numerous unnamed tributaries cut narrow green corridors between densely packed ridges, and the warmest colors become especially widespread toward the Shawnee State Forest side. Portsmouth’s official tourism information describes the Scenic Scioto Heritage Trail as climbing from the Ohio and Scioto river lowlands into the county’s highest elevations through Shawnee State Forest, which matches the topographic pattern on the map.
The central Scioto valley is very different. A broad green strip runs from north of Lucasville through Portsmouth and expands where the river approaches the Ohio. Eastern Scioto County also has long low corridors, particularly along the Little Scioto River, but the surrounding landscape is more finely divided by smaller ridges than the central river plain.
Brown colors indicate the high end of Scioto County’s locally scaled legend, not mountain elevations comparable with major mountain ranges. The elevation image is useful for broad county-level 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 Portsmouth and Lucasville to connect the road, water, and terrain views
Keeping Portsmouth fixed while switching maps is the fastest way to connect the county’s geography. The road view shows U.S. 23 and U.S. 52, the city view places New Boston, South Webster, and the western communities around the southern hub, the water view shows the Scioto–Ohio confluence, and the elevation layer identifies the same area as the county’s lowest broad corridor.
Lucasville gives a second reference farther north. U.S. 23 and Route 104 follow the central valley, and the Scioto River runs through the same low corridor. The elevation map keeps this route within a broad green band all the way toward Portsmouth, helping explain why transportation and settlement are more concentrated there than in the western hills.
Otway and South Webster provide useful contrasts on opposite sides of the county. Around Otway, Scioto Brush Creek and smaller streams cut through some of the highest ridges. South Webster lies within the eastern hill country along Route 140, where the terrain is also broken but generally less elevated than the western ridge belt. Comparing those two areas makes the county’s east-west topographic difference easy to recognize.
Choose the Scioto County map that matches the task
Use the general county map when you need Portsmouth, Lucasville, Wheelersburg, South Webster, U.S. 23, U.S. 52, and major state routes together. The city-distribution map is cleaner when the main question is simply where the five highlighted communities sit. Choose the water map for the Scioto and Ohio rivers, Little Scioto River, Scioto Brush Creek, Rocky Fork, and the county’s named lakes.
The elevation map is the clearest choice for comparing the broad river lowlands with the high western ridge country and eastern creek 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
Where is Portsmouth in relation to the Scioto and Ohio rivers?
Portsmouth sits directly beside the point where the Scioto River reaches the Ohio River. The water map shows the confluence most clearly, while the general map adds U.S. 23 and U.S. 52 around the same low river corridor.
Where is the highest terrain in Scioto County?
The supplied elevation map shows the most extensive high terrain in the west and southwest. Scioto Brush Creek and many smaller tributaries cut deep valleys through those ridges, while the central Scioto and southern Ohio river corridors are much lower.
Can the 147–405 meter elevation range be used for surveying?
No. The elevation map is intended for county-scale comparison of river valleys and high ridges. 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 Scioto County general map, city distribution map, water map, and elevation map.
- File Type: JPG
Related Maps
Sources and references
- Official Scioto County, Ohio website – county government and local information in Portsmouth
- Scioto County · Nature – Ohio River, Scioto River, Shawnee State Park & Forest, and regional lake information
- City of Portsmouth · Discover Southern Ohio – Scenic Scioto Heritage Trail, river valleys, and Shawnee State Forest 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.
