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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".
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