Stark County in northeastern Ohio is organized around a broad Canton–Massillon urban area, with North Canton immediately north, Louisville to the east, and Alliance forming a separate northeastern center. Canal Fulton sits beside the Tuscarawas River in the northwest, while smaller communities such as Navarre, Brewster, East Sparta, Magnolia, and Minerva extend into the southern half. The four supplied maps separate roads and settlements, city distribution, water features, and elevation, and high-resolution JPG originals are available in the download ZIP for printing and closer inspection.
Canton is the easiest reference point. I-77 runs through North Canton and Canton, U.S. 30 crosses from Massillon through the southern side of the city, and U.S. 62 approaches from the west. The physical landscape changes sharply away from that central area. The Tuscarawas River occupies a broad low valley to the west, while the eastern and southeastern half of the county rises into a much more strongly ridged landscape.
Table of Contents
Canton and Massillon form the county’s strongest urban pair
The general map places Canton near the center, North Canton directly above it, and Massillon to the west. I-77 provides the main north-south reference through the Canton corridor, while U.S. 30 runs east-west between Massillon and Canton. U.S. 62, Route 43, Route 44, Route 172, and Route 800 add several secondary approaches, making this the most interconnected part of the county.
Massillon has its own large developed area rather than appearing as a small satellite of Canton. Navarre and Brewster lie farther south, while Canal Fulton occupies the northwest near the Tuscarawas River. Routes 21 and 93 help orient the western side. This half of the county generally has broader lowlands than the eastern ridge country, which is one reason the road grid and developed areas look more open.
East of Canton, Louisville and East Canton provide intermediate references before the map reaches Alliance in the northeast. Routes 153 and 173 help organize that side, while Route 183 follows the eastern edge toward Minerva. Hartville appears in the north near Route 619. The distance between the Canton area and Alliance is filled by a mix of smaller settlements, farmland, streams, and increasingly rugged uplands.
Southern Stark County is more dispersed. East Sparta, Magnolia, and Waynesburg occupy the lower half, with Routes 800 and 44 providing useful orientation. Navarre and Brewster connect the southwest toward Tuscarawas County, while Minerva sits near the eastern edge toward Carroll County. Stark County’s official communities page identifies Canton as the county seat, which matches the concentration of roads, institutions, and development shown on the map.
Six highlighted cities separate the Canton core from the outer centers
The city-distribution view highlights Canton, Massillon, Alliance, North Canton, Louisville, and Canal Fulton. Canton is the central anchor, North Canton lies just to the north, and Massillon sits west of the core. Alliance is clearly separated in the northeast. Louisville fills part of the space between Canton and Alliance, while Canal Fulton provides a northwestern reference beside the Tuscarawas valley.
The CITY INDEX includes values beside the six city names, but those figures 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 pattern is more useful: Canton and North Canton form a central pair, Massillon defines the west, Alliance the northeast, Louisville the east-central area, and Canal Fulton the northwest.
Stark County’s official communities page describes Canton, Alliance, Canal Fulton, and other local communities, providing a useful county-specific check on the settlement pattern shown here. Returning to the road map adds the transportation relationships: U.S. 30 connects Canton and Massillon, I-77 links Canton and North Canton, and Route 173 points toward the Alliance side.
Tuscarawas River lowlands meet the Nimishillen and Mahoning systems
The western water map is dominated by the Tuscarawas River. It runs past the Canal Fulton side and continues along the western half toward the southwest, creating one of the broadest low corridors in the county. The Ohio & Erie Canal corridor appears nearby as well, reinforcing the importance of this valley as a long north-south water and transportation feature.
Nimishillen Creek and its branches organize much of the central drainage near the Canton area. Sippo Lake and Meyers Lake lie between the Canton and Massillon sides, while Lake Cable and Willowdale Lake appear farther north and northwest. Stark Parks identifies Sippo Lake Park in Perry Township between Canton and Massillon and describes a landscape of lake shoreline, wetlands, woods, trails, fishing, paddling, and wildlife areas.
The northeastern side belongs to a different set of waters. Walborn Reservoir sits near the upper-right part of the county, and the Mahoning River appears near the eastern edge. Congress Lake is close to the northern boundary, with Berlin Reservoir visible just beyond the county. Sugar Creek drains the southwest, while Little Sandy Creek occupies the southeastern hill country. Together these features show that Stark County spans several drainage directions rather than one simple river basin.
Stark Parks also lists Walborn Reservoir and the Tuscarawas Water Trail among its park and trail resources, linking the mapped water features with local recreation and conservation areas. The supplied water layer remains a geographic reference, however. It is not a flood-hazard map, legal shoreline record, depth chart, current flow report, or navigation product.
Elevation from about 270 to 411 meters rises strongly toward the east
The elevation legend reports an actual county range of about 270 to 411 meters, with a mean near 337 meters. The deepest green terrain follows the Tuscarawas River valley in the west and several central stream corridors. The eastern and southeastern half contains much more orange and brown, with broad high ridges around the Alliance-to-Minerva side.
The Tuscarawas corridor is the clearest low feature. A long green band runs from the Canal Fulton side through western Stark County and continues toward the southwest. Small hills rise around it, but they are generally less extensive than the ridge systems on the opposite side of the county. Canton and North Canton sit on more moderate terrain, with lower drainage lines associated with Nimishillen Creek.
Eastern Stark County is much more varied. High ridges are concentrated south of Alliance and east of Canton, and the southeast toward Minerva and Waynesburg is broken into numerous narrow valleys. Little Sandy Creek and its tributaries cut green channels into these uplands, creating a strong relief pattern that is much more pronounced than the broad western river valley.
Brown represents the high end of Stark County’s locally scaled legend, not mountain elevations comparable with major mountain ranges. The image is useful for county-scale 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 a professional survey.
Use Canton to compare the western river valley with the eastern ridges
Keeping Canton fixed while switching views is the quickest way to connect the county’s geography. The general map shows I-77 and U.S. 30, the city view places Massillon to the west and Alliance to the northeast, the water map adds Sippo Lake and Nimishillen Creek, and the elevation layer shows terrain dropping toward the Tuscarawas valley and rising toward the east.
Massillon is the strongest western comparison. U.S. 30 and U.S. 62 provide road context, and the Tuscarawas River lies farther west in a broad low corridor. On the elevation map, that valley is unmistakably greener than the Alliance–Minerva side. Canal Fulton extends the same western lowland pattern northward along the river.
Alliance and Minerva provide the opposite comparison. Routes 173 and 183 help locate the eastern side, while the water map introduces the Mahoning River, Walborn Reservoir, and Little Sandy Creek. The elevation view shows closely packed ridges and narrow valleys, making this side of Stark County look markedly different from the flatter western river corridor.
Choose the Stark County map that fits the task
Use the general county map when you need Canton, Massillon, Alliance, North Canton, I-77, U.S. 30, U.S. 62, and the major state routes together. The city-distribution map is cleaner when the main goal is comparing the six highlighted cities. Choose the water map for the Tuscarawas River, Nimishillen Creek, Sippo Lake, Walborn Reservoir, and the county’s contrasting drainage systems.
The elevation map is the clearest choice for comparing the broad western river lowland with the higher eastern and southeastern ridge country. 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
How are Canton and Massillon positioned on the map?
Canton is near the county center, while Massillon lies to the west. U.S. 30 provides the clearest east-west road connection between the two, and the city-distribution view makes their relatively close spacing easy to compare.
Are Sippo Lake and the Tuscarawas River in the same place?
No. Sippo Lake lies between the Canton and Massillon sides in Perry Township, while the Tuscarawas River is farther west and runs past the Canal Fulton and western Massillon area. The water map shows both features clearly on the same page.
Can the 270–411 meter elevation range be used for surveying?
No. The elevation map is intended for county-scale comparison of river valleys and higher 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 Stark County general map, city distribution map, water map, and elevation map.
- File Type: JPG
Related Maps
Sources and references
- Stark County, Ohio · Communities – official information about Canton, Alliance, Canal Fulton, and other county communities
- Stark Parks · Sippo Lake Park – official park information for Sippo Lake between Canton and Massillon
- Stark Parks · Parks and Trails – Walborn Reservoir, Tuscarawas Water Trail, and other county park resources
- 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.
