Pennsylvania, PA

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a state located in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States of America.

One of Pennsylvania's nicknames is the Quaker State; in colonial times, it was known officially as the Quaker Province, in recognition of Quaker William Penn's First Frame of Government constitution for Pennsylvania that guaranteed liberty of conscience.

Penn knew of the hostility Quakers faced when they opposed rituals, oaths, violence, and ostentatious frippery.

Pennsylvania has also been known as the Keystone State since 1802, based in part upon its central location among the original Thirteen Colonies forming the United States.

It was also a keystone state economically, having both the industry common to the North, making such wares as Conestoga wagons and rifles,and the agriculture common to the South, producing feed, fiber, food, and tobacco.

Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km)[11] of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km)of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary.

Philadelphia is Pennsylvania's largest city and is home to a major seaport and shipyards on the Delaware River.

Geography

Pennsylvania is 170 miles (274 km) north to south and 283 miles (455 km) east to west.[14] Of a total 46,055 square miles (119,282 kmē), 44,817 square miles (116,075 kmē) are land, 490 square miles (1,269 kmē) are inland waters and 749 square miles (1,940 kmē) are waters in Lake Erie.

It is the 33rd largest state in the United States.

The highest point of 3,213 feet (979 m) above sea level is at Mount Davis, which was named for its owner, John Davis, a schoolteacher who fought for the Union Army at the Battle of Gettysburg.

The lowest point is at sea level on the Delaware River, and the approximate mean elevation is 1,100 feet (335 m).

Pennsylvania is in the Eastern time zone.

The original southern boundary of Pennsylvania was supposed to be at 40° North latitude, but as a result of a bad faith compromise by Lord Baltimore during Cresap's War, the king's courts moved the boundary 20 miles (32 km) south to 39° 43' N.

The city of Philadelphia, at 40°0'N 75°8'W, would have been split in half by the original boundary.

While he was a captive, Cresap, a Marylander, was paraded through Philadelphia. He taunted the officers by announcing that Philadelphia was one of the prettiest towns in Maryland.

Climate

Pennsylvania's diverse geography also produces a variety of climates. Straddling two major zones, the southeastern corner of the state posses the warmest climate.

Greater Philadelphia lies at the southernmost tip of the Humid continental climate zone, with some characteristics of the Humid subtropical climate that lies in Delaware and Maryland to the south.

Moving toward the mountainous interior of the state, the climate becomes markedly colder, number of cloudy days increases, and winter snowfall amounts are greater.

Western areas of the state, particular cities near Lake Erie can receive over 100 inches of snowfall annually, and the entire state receives plentiful rainfall throughout the year.

Demographics

The center of population of Pennsylvania is located in Perry County, in the borough of Duncannon.

As of 2006, Pennsylvania has an estimated population of 12,440,621, which is an increase of 35,273 from the previous year, and an increase of 159,567 since the year 2000.

Net migration from other states resulted in a decrease of 27,718, and immigration from other countries resulted in an increase of 126,007.

Net migration to the Commonwealth was 98,289. Migration of native Pennsylvanians resulted in a decrease of 100,000 people. In 2006, 5.00% of Pennsylvanians were foreign born (621,480 people).

Foreign-born Pennsylvanians are largely from Asia (36.0%), Europe (35.9%), Latin America (30.6%), 5% coming from Africa, 3.1% coming from North America, and 0.4% coming from Oceania.

Pennsylvania's reported population of Hispanics, especially among the Asian, Hawaiian and White races, has markedly increased in the last years.

It is not clear how much of this change reflects a changing population, and how much reflects increased willingness to self-identify minority status.

Pennsylvania's population was reported as 5.9% under 5 and 23.8% under 18, with 15.6% were 65 or older. Females made up 51.7% of the population.

The five largest ancestry groups self-reported in Pennsylvania are: German (27.66%), Irish (17.66%), Italian (12.82%), English (8.89%) and Polish (7.23%).

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pennsylvania".