The
Great Black Swamp (also known simply as the
Black Swamp), was a
glacially fed
wetland in
northwest Ohio and extreme
northeast Indiana,
United States, that existed from the end of the
Wisconsin glaciation until the late 19th century. Comprising extensive
swamps and
marshes, with some higher, drier ground interspersed, it occupied what was formerly the southwestern part of
proglacial Lake Maumee, a
holocene precursor to
Lake Erie. The area was about wide (north to south) and long, covering an estimated . Gradually drained and settled in the second half of the 19th century, it is now highly productive
farm land. During the second half of the 20th century, efforts were undertaken to preserve and restore portions of the swamp to its pre-settlement state.