The coat of arms of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lit. ' Penn's forest country ' ), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Dutch : Pennsylvanie 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 was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn , the son of the state's namesake . Prior to that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of New Sweden , a Swedish Empire colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania was known for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes, innovative government system , and religious pluralism . Pennsylvania played a vital and historic role in the American Revolution and the ultimately successful quest for independence from the British Empire , hosting the First and Second Continental Congress leading to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence . On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution . The bloodiest battle of the American Civil War , at Gettysburg over three days in July 1863, proved the war's turning point, leading to the Union's preservation . Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, the state's manufacturing-based economy contributed to the development of much of the nation's early infrastructure, including key bridges, skyscrapers , and military hardware used in U.S.-led victories in World War I , World War II , and the Cold War .
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.. Union Station Amtrak railroad station and mixed-use commercial building in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania , United States. It is served by the Lake Shore Limited Chicago and (via two sections east of Albany ) New York City or Boston ; Erie is the train's only stop in Pennsylvania. The station's ground floor has been redeveloped into commercial spaces, including The Brewerie at Union Station, a brewpub . The building itself is privately owned by the global logistics and freight management company Logistics Plus and serves as its headquarters.
The first railroad station in Erie was established in 1851 but was replaced with the
Romanesque Revival -style Union Depot in 1866. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions by competing railroad companies which started not long after the establishment of Erie's
first railroads , Union Depot became jointly owned and operated by the
New York Central and
Pennsylvania railroads. To meet the changing needs of the rapidly growing city, planners designed a more modern structure to replace the original depot. The new
Art Deco Union Station, dedicated on December 3, 1927, was the first railroad station of that style in the United States. (
Full article... )
List of Featured articles
Harrisburg Pennsylvania German : Harrisbarrig ) is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , United States, and the seat of Dauphin County . With a population of 50,135 as of 2021, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania.
Harrisburg is situated on the east bank of the
Susquehanna River . It is the larger principal city of the
Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area , also known as the
Susquehanna Valley , which had a population of 591,712 as of 2020, making it the
fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Pennsylvania after the
Philadelphia ,
Pittsburgh , and
Lehigh Valley metropolitan areas. (
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 Levittown, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Turnpike Pocono Mountains Altoona, Pennsylvania
Credit: Kev72 Downtown Harrisburg and the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building as seen from Cumberland County, across the
Susquehanna River .
... that the Mid-Delaware Bridge (pictured) over the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New York is the uppermost four-lane bridge on the river's main stem?
... that Fort Antes Nippenose Township , Pennsylvania , survived a scorched earth attack during the American Revolutionary War , despite having been abandoned by its defenders?
... that the Susquehanna Boom Williamsport, Pennsylvania having more millionaires per capita than any other city at the time?
... that Peter Herdic Pennsylvania lumber baron, millionaire, and philanthropist, also invented the horse-drawn herdic , an early form of taxicab?
... that Sylvia Seegrist Pennsylvania shopping mall , even though she had a history of paranoid schizophrenia ?
This is a Good article , an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards. Jay Cooke, founder of the bank Jay Cooke & Company was a U.S. bank that operated from 1861 to 1873. Headquartered in
Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, with branches in New York City and Washington, D.C., the bank helped underwrite the
Union Civil War effort . It was the first "wire" brokerage house, pioneering the use of telegraph messages to confirm securities transactions with clients. The bank became overextended in the building of the
Northern Pacific Railway and failed, contributing to the
Panic of 1873 . (
Full article... )
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): 12,281,054Date 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
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 3 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 4 Pat's King of Steaks in
South Philadelphia is widely credited with inventing the
cheesesteak in 1933 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 5 The
Philadelphia Eagles are presented with the
Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning
Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 6 The locomotive
Tioga in
Philadelphia in 1848; Pennsylvania was an important railroad center throughout the 19th century. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 7 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 8 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 10 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 12 Pennsylvania's unemployment rate between 1976 and 2021
The U.S. unemployment rate during these years
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 14 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 17 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 18 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 19 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 22 Köppen climate types in Pennsylvania (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 23 An
Amish family riding in a traditional
Amish buggy in
Lancaster County ; Pennsylvania has the largest
Amish population of any state. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 24 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 25 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 26 2020 U.S. presidential election results by county in Pennsylvania
Democratic
Republican
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 27 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 28 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 31 Pittsburgh Steelers ' fans waving the
Terrible Towel , a tradition that dates back to
1975 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 32 Stephen Decatur , a 19th-century
naval commander who served in the
War of 1812 and other engagements (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 36 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 37 Ethnic origins of Pennsylvanians (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 39 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 )
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