Pennsylvania General Information
GENERAL
Abbreviated as PA on ABBREVIATIONFINDER.ORG, Pennsylvania or German Pennsylvania (Latin for “Penns Woodland”), official name “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania”, is a federal state in the east of the USA named after William Penn. It is bordered to the east by New Jersey, to the southeast by Delaware, to the south by Maryland, to the southwest by West Virginia, to the west by Ohio and to the north by New York and Lake Erie.
Nickname
The Keystone State
Capital
Harrisburg
Biggest town
Philadelphia
Area
Rank (within the US): 33rd out of 50 states
Total: 119,283 km²
Land: 116,074 km²
Water (%): 3,208 km² (2.7%)
Residents
Rank (within the USA): 6th out of 50 states
Total (2000): 12,281,054
Density: 106 / km²
State membership
Place: 2nd
Since: December 12, 1787
GEOGRAPHY
Time zone: Eastern: UTC -5 / -4
Latitude: 39 ° 43’N to 42 ° N
Longitude 74 ° 43’W to 80 ° 31’W
Width: 255 km
Length: 445 km
Highest position: 979 m
Average location: 335 m
Lowest position: 0 m
The main river through the country is called Allegheny. From Pittsburgh, the river is called the Ohio River. Pennsylvania is characterized by deciduous forests and rolling hills. In the east of the country you can find the low mountain range of the Appalachians.
HISTORY
Pennsylvania was originally the settlement area of the Susquehannock, exterminated by the Iroquois and European colonists. In 1643 the first settlers from Sweden settled. It later came under the control of England. King Charles II granted William Penn a deed of ownership for the area of the present-day state, where Quakers settled.
The city of Philadelphia is known as the cradle of the nation: the American Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were signed here.
ECONOMY
Heavy industry has grown steadily since the late 19th century, when significant oil reserves were discovered. Many workers were required for coal mining and the steel industry, so that the state attracted many immigrants from Europe. Since the decline of heavy industry, Pennsylvania has made great efforts to implement the necessary structural change.
POPULATION
Pennsylvania is one of the most densely populated states in the United States, with a population of 103 per km². About 88% of the population are white and 9% are of African origin. The state became a center of German-speaking immigrants, the Pennsylvania Dutch, among them Mennonites and Amish. These settled mainly in the south, especially in Lancaster County.
CITIES
Broomall, Gettysburg, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia.
PITTSBURGH
Pittsburgh has its name origin from the year 1758. Named after the English Prime Minister William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. In his honor, the French Fort Duquesne, which was destroyed in the French and Indian War, was renamed Fort Pitt. The former settlement grew into a town by 1816 and is located where the rivers Allegheny and Monongahela meet. Pittsburgh is located in the state of Pennsylvania and can be found on the map between the well-known cities of Cleveland and New York or Columbus and Philadelphia.
One of the City of Bridges nicknames is easy to explain. With 446 bridges, the city has more river and road crossings than Venice. Most of the bridges are painted a yellow shade. Although you have to correct this immediately, this is not yellow but “Aztec gold”.
One reason for the many bridges could be the nickname “Steel City”. The city was a leader in the steel industry until the 1970’s and had the most successful industrial company in the world under its wing with US Steel. After the steel crisis in the 70’s, more and more people were devoted to the service industry and companies were founded in research and the healthcare sector. The best-known companies based in and around Pittsburgh include HJ Heinz Company (Heinz Ketchup), Lanxess Corporation, US Airways, US Steel, Alcoa and Giant Eagle.
From a purely sporting point of view, Pittsburgh is one of the most successful cities in American professional sport. The Steelers (American football), the Pirates (baseball) and the Penguins (ice hockey) all come from the same metropolis. The nickname “City of Champions” is no coincidence either. The Steelers are historically the most successful team in American football. The team has already won the Super Bowl six times. The Pirates won the 1979 World Series in baseball and the Penguins are among the top teams in the NHL. Most recently in 2009 they won the coveted trophy – the Stanley Cup. It is interesting that these three top teams wear the same club colors, consisting of black and gold. The clubs fully identify with the colors of the city.
There are plenty of tourist attractions and destinations in Pittsburgh. The Carnegie museums are worth mentioning. For example, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History has a large dinosaur exhibition spread over several floors. And of course you shouldn’t forget the Andy Warhol Museum. On seven floors and a total of 8,200 m² of space, art lovers can see a lot here. Sports and concert enthusiasts should go to the Consol Energy Center, Heinz Field or PNC Park. The CE Center offers space for up to 20,000 spectators for games or concerts.
Those who are not enthusiastic about sports or concerts may find themselves in the Phipps Conversatory & Botanical Gardens. The Phipps is one of the largest botanical gardens in the world and offers visitors numerous attractions of plant origin.
For those who want to see Pittsburgh from above, Mount Washington can take a look at the city. However, Mount Washington is not a mountain in the strict sense of the word, but rather the highest point in Pittsburgh. One should go up this little mountain especially in the evening hours.
Location: southwest in the state of Pennsylvania
Population: approx. 307,500 (metropolitan area approx. 2.4 million)
Foundation: November 27, 1758
Area: 151 km²
Nicknames: City of Bridges, Steel City, City of Champions, The Burgh, Iron City, Steel Town, The College City, Roboburgh
Cultural / Museums: Carnegie Museum of Art, Andy Warhol Museum, Heinz History Center, Benedum Center, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, The Mattress Factory Art Museum
Sights: Bridges like the Three Sisters or Smithfield Street Bridge, Golden Triangle, Mount Washington and the Inclines, Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, PNC Park, Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens
Hotels: Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, Courtyard Pittsburgh Downtown, Hampton Inn & Suites Pittsburgh-Downtown, Omni William Penn Hotel, Sheraton Station Square Hotel
Famous people from the city: Andy Warhol (artist), Ted Cassidy (actor), Henry John Heinz (businessman and founder of the Heinz Company, manufacturer of the Heinz tomato ketchup), James Irwin (astronaut, 8th person on the moon), Gene Kelly (Actor), Gertrude Stein (writer), Jeff Goldblum (actor)
Pennsylvania Counties and County Seats
According to Countryaah, there are a total of 67 counties in the state of Pennsylvania.
- Adams County (County Seat: Gettysburg)
- Allegheny County (County Seat: Pittsburgh)
- Armstrong County (County Seat: Kittanning)
- Beaver County (County Seat: Beaver)
- Bedford County (County Seat: Bedford)
- Berks County (County Seat: Reading)
- Blair County (County Seat: Hollidaysburg)
- Bradford County (County Seat: Towanda)
- Bucks County (County Seat: Doylestown)
- Butler County (County Seat: Butler)
- Cambria County (County Seat: Ebensburg)
- Cameron County (County Seat: Emporium)
- Carbon County (County Seat: Jim Thorpe)
- Centre County (County Seat: Bellefonte)
- Chester County (County Seat: West Chester)
- Clarion County (County Seat: Clarion)
- Clearfield County (County Seat: Clearfield)
- Clinton County (County Seat: Lock Haven)
- Columbia County (County Seat: Bloomsburg)
- Crawford County (County Seat: Meadville)
- Cumberland County (County Seat: Carlisle)
- Dauphin County (County Seat: Harrisburg)
- Delaware County (County Seat: Media)
- Elk County (County Seat: Ridgway)
- Erie County (County Seat: Erie)
- Fayette County (County Seat: Uniontown)
- Forest County (County Seat: Tionesta)
- Franklin County (County Seat: Chambersburg)
- Fulton County (County Seat: McConnellsburg)
- Greene County (County Seat: Waynesburg)
- Huntingdon County (County Seat: Huntingdon)
- Indiana County (County Seat: Indiana)
- Jefferson County (County Seat: Brookville)
- Juniata County (County Seat: Mifflintown)
- Lackawanna County (County Seat: Scranton)
- Lancaster County (County Seat: Lancaster)
- Lawrence County (County Seat: New Castle)
- Lebanon County (County Seat: Lebanon)
- Lehigh County (County Seat: Allentown)
- Luzerne County (County Seat: Wilkes-Barre)
- Lycoming County (County Seat: Williamsport)
- McKean County (County Seat: Smethport)
- Mercer County (County Seat: Mercer)
- Mifflin County (County Seat: Lewistown)
- Monroe County (County Seat: Stroudsburg)
- Montgomery County (County Seat: Norristown)
- Montour County (County Seat: Danville)
- Northampton County (County Seat: Easton)
- Northumberland County (County Seat: Sunbury)
- Perry County (County Seat: New Bloomfield)
- Philadelphia County (County Seat: Philadelphia)
- Pike County (County Seat: Milford)
- Potter County (County Seat: Coudersport)
- Schuylkill County (County Seat: Pottsville)
- Snyder County (County Seat: Middleburg)
- Somerset County (County Seat: Somerset)
- Sullivan County (County Seat: Laporte)
- Susquehanna County (County Seat: Montrose)
- Tioga County (County Seat: Wellsboro)
- Union County (County Seat: Lewisburg)
- Venango County (County Seat: Franklin)
- Warren County (County Seat: Warren)
- Washington County (County Seat: Washington)
- Wayne County (County Seat: Honesdale)
- Westmoreland County (County Seat: Greensburg)
- Wyoming County (County Seat: Tunkhannock)
- York County (County Seat: York)