Ohio's 85 mile long Cuyahoga River flows between Akron and Cleveland and into Lake Erie. Meaning "crooked river" in the Mohawk language, the river area was home to Native Americans. By the 20th century, the Cuyahoga River became one of the most polluted rivers in the United States. The sad state of the river culminated when it caught on fire in 1969. This incident contributed to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Water Act.