Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania
State
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  Keystone State; Quaker State
Motto(s):  Virtue, Liberty and Independence
Anthem: " Pennsylvania"
Map of the United States with Pennsylvania highlighted
Country	United States
Before statehood	Province of Pennsylvania
Admitted to the Union	December 12, 1787 (2nd)
Capital	Harrisburg
Largest city	Philadelphia
Largest metro and urban areas	Delaware Valley
Government
•  Governor	Josh Shapiro ( D)
•  Lieutenant Governor	Austin Davis (D)
Legislature	General Assembly
•  Upper house	State Senate
•  Lower house	House of Representatives
Judiciary	Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
U.S. senators	Bob Casey Jr. (D) John Fetterman (D)
U.S. House delegation	9 Democrats 9 Republicans ( list)
Area
• Total	46,055 sq mi (119,283 km2)
• Land	44,816.61 sq mi (116,074 km2)
• Water	1,239 sq mi (3,208 km2)  2.7%
• Rank	33rd
Dimensions
• Length	170 mi (273 km)
• Width	283 mi (455 km)
Elevation	1,100 ft (340 m)
Highest elevation ( Mount Davis)	3,213 ft (979 m)
Lowest elevation ( Delaware River at Delaware border)	0 ft (0 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	13,011,844
• Rank	5th
• Density	290/sq mi (112/km2)
• Rank	9th
•  Median household income	$59,195
• Income rank	25th
Demonym	Pennsylvanian
Language
•  Official language	None
•  Spoken language	English 90.15% Spanish 4.09% German (Including Pennsylvania German) 0.87% Chinese 0.47% Italian 0.43%
Time zone	UTC−05:00 ( Eastern)
• Summer ( DST)	UTC−04:00 ( EDT)
USPS abbreviation	PA
ISO 3166 code	US-PA
Traditional abbreviation	Pa., Penn., Penna.
Latitude	39°43′ to 42°16′ N
Longitude	74°41′ to 80°31′ W
Website	www.pa.gov

Pennsylvania state symbols
Flag of Pennsylvania
Living insignia
Amphibian	Eastern Hellbender
Bird	Ruffed grouse
Dog breed	Great Dane
Fish	Brook trout
Flower	Mountain laurel
Insect	Firefly (Colloquially "Lightning Bug") ( Photuris pensylvanica)
Mammal	White-tailed deer
Tree	Eastern hemlock
Inanimate insignia
Beverage	Milk
Dance	Polka
Food	Chocolate Chip Cookie
Fossil	Trilobite
Soil	Hazleton
State route marker
State quarter
Released in 1999
Lists of United States state symbols

Pennsylvania is one of the 50 states in the United States of America. It is in the northeastern part of the country. It has a border with Ohio on the west, West Virginia on the south and west, Maryland and Delaware on the south, New Jersey on the east, and New York and Lake Erie on the north.

The state capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg. The largest city in Pennsylvania is Philadelphia. The state nickname of Pennsylvania is "The Keystone State". The current governor of Pennsylvania is Josh Shapiro.

Pennsylvania is well known for its role in the American Revolution, its large communities of Amish, and its heavy industry.

History

Pennsylvania was home to many Native American groups before Europeans settled there. These include the Delaware, Susquehanna, and Iroquois.

The first European settlers in Pennsylvania were from Sweden. They arrived in 1643. The area was later ruled by the Netherlands and Great Britain. In 1681, Charles II of England, gave the land to William Penn. Penn used the land to create a home for Quakers. The land became known as "Penn's Woods", as Pennsylvania has many forests. In Latin this is "Pennsylvania". This became adopted as the name of the colony.

Meanwhile, in the western part of the state, armies from France and Great Britain fought for control of the source of the Ohio River. This conflict was part of the French and Indian War. Great Britain eventually won the conflict for this location and built a fort called Fort Pitt. The fort grew into a city which is now called Pittsburgh.

The state of Delaware was once part of Pennsylvania. In 1704, Delaware formed when three Pennsylvania counties left the colony and created their own government.

Pennsylvania was one of the 13 colonies that fought Great Britain in the American Revolution. The United States Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin, an important figure in the Revolution, was also from Philadelphia. Pennsylvania was the second state to join the United States. Philadelphia was capital of the United States before Washington, D.C..

Later, Pennsylvania became an important center of industry. Kerosene was discovered in Titusville in the 19th century. This was the start of the oil industry in the United States. Large deposits of coal were found in and around Pittsburgh. This caused Pittsburgh to become a major industrial city.

Industry began leaving Pennsylvania in the late 20th century, because most heavy industry was being transferred to other nations. Many people left, too. It also caused many of its cities and towns to decay.

Geography

Most of Pennsylvania is part of the Appalachian Mountains, including the south central and northeastern areas of the state. Much of the rest of the state is very hilly, partly due to the closeness to mountains and partly due to the steep river valleys in the state. The Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio rivers are in the western part of the state, and the Susquehanna is in the central part of the state. The northwestern and southeastern parts of the state are mostly flat and low-lying.

Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest state in the United States, with a land area of 44,817 square miles. The highest point in the state is Mount Davis, at 3,213 feet above sea level. The lowest point is the Delaware River, which is at sea level.

Demographics

Pennsylvania is the 5th most populated state. In 2020, there were 13,002,700 people.

More than half of the people live in the areas of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Few people live in the north central area of the state. Towns and cities tend to be small in size and densely populated, more so than in other states. This is because many of the towns and cities in Pennsylvania were built around a specific factory or factories.

Education

Pennsylvania has many colleges and universities. Officially, the state's public university is Pennsylvania State University. Best known are a few private university systems which are partially (around 10%) funded by the state, like University of Pittsburgh. The state's most well-known private university is the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution. Pennsylvania also has a number of state run colleges in Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, and West Chester. Those fourteen schools make up one of the largest state run higher education systems in the country. Other significant private universities are Carnegie-Mellon University, known for its computer science research, and Bucknell University.

Related pages

• List of counties in Pennsylvania