The coat of arms of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (, lit. ' Penn's forest country ' ), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Dutch : Pennsylvanie ), is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic , Northeastern , Appalachian , and Great Lakes regions of the United States . Pennsylvania borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio and the Ohio River to its west, Lake Erie and New York to its north, the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east, and the Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest.
Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous state in the United States , with over 13 million residents as of the 2020 United States census . The state is the 33rd-largest by area and has the ninth-highest population density among all states. The largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is the southeastern Delaware Valley , which includes and surrounds Philadelphia , the state's largest and nation's sixth-most populous city. The second-largest metropolitan area, Greater Pittsburgh , is centered in and around Pittsburgh , the state's second-largest city. The state's subsequent five most populous cities are Allentown , Reading , Erie , Scranton , and Bethlehem . The state capital is Harrisburg .
Pennsylvania's geography is highly diverse. The Appalachian Mountains run through the center of the state; the Allegheny and Pocono mountains span much of Northeastern Pennsylvania ; close to 60% of the state is forested . While it has only 140 miles (225 km) of waterfront along Lake Erie and the Delaware River, Pennsylvania has the most navigable rivers of any state in the nation, including the Allegheny , Delaware, Genesee , Ohio , Schuylkill , Susquehanna , and others. (Full article... )
This is a Featured article , which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia..
Portrait of Priestley, 1801
Joseph Priestley FRS (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist , natural philosopher , separatist theologian , grammarian , multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist . He published over 150 works, and conducted experiments in several areas of science.
Priestley is credited with his independent discovery of
oxygen by the thermal decomposition of mercuric oxide, having isolated it in 1774. During his lifetime, Priestley's considerable scientific reputation rested on his invention of
carbonated water , his writings on
electricity , and his discovery of several "airs" (gases), the most famous being what Priestley dubbed "dephlogisticated air" (oxygen). Priestley's determination to defend
phlogiston theory and to reject what would become the
chemical revolution eventually left him isolated within the scientific community. (
Full article... )
List of Featured articles
The Pocono Mountains , commonly referred to as the Poconos (), are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania . They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, Wyoming Valley and the Coal Region to the west, and the Lehigh Valley to the south. The name Pocono is derived from the Munsee word Pokawachne, which means "Creek Between Two Hills".
Much of the Poconos region lies within the
Greater New York–Newark, NY–NJ–CT–PA Combined Statistical Area . The wooded hills and valleys have long been a popular recreation area, accessible within a two-hour drive to millions of metropolitan area residents, with many Pocono communities having resort hotels with fishing, hunting, skiing, and other sports facilities. (
Full article... )
List of geography articles
Johnstown, Pennsylvania Scranton, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Philadelphia Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Allentown, Pennsylvania Lancaster, Pennsylvania State College, Pennsylvania Warren, Pennsylvania DuBois, Pennsylvania Erie, Pennsylvania Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Juniata County, Pennsylvania Pithole, Pennsylvania Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Larrys Creek State Route 1002 (Lehigh County, Pennsylvania) Pennsylvania Route 563 Hull Creek (Lackawanna River tributary) Little Fishing Creek Ganoga Lake Mahoning Creek (Susquehanna River tributary) Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania Roaring Brook (Lackawanna River tributary) Pennsylvania Route 463 Kettle Creek (Pennsylvania) Spanish Hill West Branch Fishing Creek West Creek (Pennsylvania) Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 White Deer Hole Creek Plunketts Creek (Loyalsock Creek tributary) Horseshoe Curve (Pennsylvania) Kinzua Bridge Quehanna Wild Area Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Levittown, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Turnpike Altoona, Pennsylvania
... that alleged paranormal activity at the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library (pictured) in Bellevue, Pennsylvania reportedly peaked in 1998, when a 400-year-old elm tree on the property was dying of Dutch elm disease ?
... that Frederic A. Godcharles served as a Pennsylvania Representative and Senator , as director of its state library and museum , and wrote twelve volumes on its history ?
… that Larrys Creek in Lycoming County , Pennsylvania has 42 named tributaries in its watershed , including one named "Little Dog Run"?
… that the Intelligencer Journal of Lancaster, Pennsylvania , established in 1794, is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States ?
… that, during a Fersommling , the only language spoken is Pennsylvania Dutch and that anyone who speaks English has to pay a fine for each word?
As the home of the MLB 's Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, PNC Park is located in North Shore , in front of the Allegheny River , Roberto Clemente Bridge , and the Pittsburgh city skyline .
Sports in Pittsburgh have been played dating back to the American Civil War . Baseball , hockey , and the first professional American football game had been played in the city by 1892. Pittsburgh was first known as the "City of Champions" when the Pittsburgh Pirates , Pittsburgh Panthers football team , and Pittsburgh Steelers won multiple championships in the 1970s. Today, the city has three major professional sports franchises, the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins ; while the University of Pittsburgh Panthers compete in a Division I Power Five conference , the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States, in both football and basketball. Local universities Duquesne and Robert Morris also field Division I teams in men's and women's basketball and Division I FCS teams in football. Robert Morris also fields Division I men's and women's ice hockey teams.
Pittsburgh's major teams have seen great success, with the MLB's Pirates winning 5 World Series titles, the NHL's Penguins winning 5 Stanley Cups, and the NFL's Steelers winning a tied league record 6 Super Bowls. The Pittsburgh Panthers have also been successful in the NCAA with 9 national championships in football and 2 in basketball. (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories
State Facts
Pennsylvania's largest city Philadelphia
Nickname: The Keystone State
Capital: Harrisburg
Largest city: Philadelphia
Total area: 119,283 square kilometers (46,055 square miles)
Population (2000 census): 12,281,054
Date admitted to the Union: December 12, 1787 (2nd )
State symbols
Mountain laurel, Pennsylvania's state flower
The following are images from various Pennsylvania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 2 The Birth of Pennsylvania , a portrait of
William Penn (standing with document in hand), who founded the
Province of Pennsylvania in 1681 as a refuge for
Quakers after receiving a royal deed to it from
King Charles II (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 4 One of only two confirmed photos of
Abraham Lincoln (sitting in center, facing camera, without his traditional top hat) at
Gettysburg a few hours prior to giving the
Gettysburg Address at
Gettysburg National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. The address, which was only 271 words in length, ranks among the most famed speeches in American history. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 6 The
Philadelphia Eagles are presented with the
Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning
Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 8 Bethlehem Steel in
Bethlehem was one of the world's leading steel manufacturers for most of the 19th and 20th century. In 1982, however, it discontinued most of its operations, declared bankruptcy in 2001, and was dissolved in 2003. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 9 Philadelphia International Airport , the busiest airport in the state and the
21st-busiest airport in the nation with nearly 10 million passengers annually as of 2021 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 10 The
Stonycreek Township crash site of
Flight 93 , one of four planes hijacked in the
September 11 attacks ; the site is now a
national memorial . Flight 93 passengers wrestled with
al-Qaeda terrorist hijackers for control of the plane, preventing it from being flown into the
White House or
U.S. Capitol . (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 12 The
Gettysburg campaign , which culminated in the
Battle of Gettysburg , was a major turning point in the
American Civil War and the war's bloodiest battle with an estimated 46,000 to 51,000 casualties (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 13 Pittsburgh Steelers ' fans waving the
Terrible Towel , a tradition that dates back to
1975 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 15 Citizens Bank Park in
South Philadelphia , home of the
Philadelphia Phillies , the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in American professional sports (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 16 Shelter House in
Emmaus , constructed in 1734 by
Pennsylvania German settlers, is the oldest continuously occupied building structure in the
Lehigh Valley and one of the oldest in Pennsylvania (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 17 Simon Cameron of
Maytown was
Secretary of War and head of Pennsylvania's
Republican Party , whose party machine controlled Pennsylvania into the 20th century. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 18 The locomotive
Tioga in
Philadelphia in 1848; Pennsylvania was an important railroad center throughout the 19th century. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 19 The
statue of
Benjamin Franklin on the campus of the
University of Pennsylvania , an
Ivy League institution in
Philadelphia ranked one of world's top universities (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 20 Ethnic origins of Pennsylvanians (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 21 On November 19, 1863,
President Abraham Lincoln (center, facing camera) arrived in
Gettysburg and delivered the
Gettysburg Address , considered one of the best-known speeches in American history. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 24 Köppen climate types in Pennsylvania (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 26 Stephen Decatur , a 19th-century
naval commander who served in the
War of 1812 and other engagements (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 29 A map of
New Netherland (in magenta) and
New Sweden (in blue) in the 17th century; New Sweden was later absorbed by New Netherland and then the
British in the
Second Anglo-Dutch War . (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 31 Pennsylvania's unemployment rate between 1976 and 2021
The U.S. unemployment rate during these years
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 33 Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom 's
Steel Force and
Thunderhawk roller coasters in
Allentown ; Steel Force is the eighth-longest
steel roller coaster in the world with a first drop of 205 feet (62 m) and a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h). (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 34 2020 U.S. presidential election results by county in Pennsylvania
Democratic
Republican
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 35 The
Battle of Gettysburg , fought July 1–3, 1863 in
Gettysburg , was the Civil War's
deadliest battle but also is widely considered the
war's turning point in the
Union's ultimate victory. The battle is depicted in this 1887
Thure de Thulstrup painting,
Battle of Gettysburg . (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 36 Pat's King of Steaks in
South Philadelphia is widely credited with inventing the
cheesesteak in 1933 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 38 The
colonial possessions of
Britain (in pink),
France (in blue), and
Spain (in orange) as of 1750. The French later lost their possessions in
North America to Britain following its defeat in the
French and Indian War , fought from 1754 to 1763 (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 39 An
Amish family riding in a traditional
Amish buggy in
Lancaster County ; Pennsylvania has the largest
Amish population of any state. (from
Pennsylvania )