The Oak Openings Region

The Oak Openings Region. . , The Oak Openings Region is unlike any other region in Ohio. It is where the eastern hardwood forest meets the western prairie, forming a beautiful blend of habitats sustaining many rare species. Here you will find amazing diversity: sand, clay, dunes, woodlands, floodplain and fire-adapted savannas and prairies. , Settlers traveling west in the early 1800s emerged from the Great Black Swamp that covered much of northwest Ohio to find a more hospitable setting.They described oak trees spaced far enough apart they could drive their wagons between them. To scientists, the broad oaks towering over grasses and wildflowers are called.oak savannas. The settlers called them the Oak Openings.