~ Pennsylvania Facts ~
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~ Fun Facts ~
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| Nickname |
"Keystone State" - During colonial times Pennsylvania
was the middle colony of the original 13 colonies. It held the colonies
together like the "keystone" in a window or door arch. |
| Background |
Pennsylvania was settled in 1643. Philadelphia was our
state capital during the revolutionary War and York was the first capital
of the United States. |
| Meaning of the State's name |
Penn’s Woods (after Admiral William Penn's father) |
| State Motto |
Virtue, Liberty and Independence |
| State Capital |
Harrisburg in Dauphin County |
| Population |
12,009,000 (Lancaster County has more people than
the entire state of Wyoming) |
| Important Documents written in Pennsylvania |
The Constitution of the United States, The American Declaration
of Independence, and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address |
| State Flower |
Mountain Laurel |
| State Tree |
Hemlock |
| State Bird |
Ruffed Grouse |
| State Animal |
Whitetail Deer |
| State Insect |
Firefly |
| State Dog |
Great Dane |
| State Beverage |
Milk |
| State Fish |
Brook Trout |
| State Fossil |
Phacops Rana |
| State Ship |
United States Brig Niagara |
| Pennsylvania is the home of the first..... |
Hospital, Library, Zoo, Newspaper,
Nation's Capitol, all motion-picture theater, television broadcast,
radio broadcast, educational public-television station, paper
mill, druggist, locomotive for railroad use, high-speed multi-lane
highway - the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Banana Split, electronic
computer built, commercial use of computer, cable television,
government low-interest, long term business financing program |
| PA is First Among US in.... |
Rural Population, number of licensed hunters, State Game
Lands, covered bridges, potato chip production, pretzel bakeries, licensed
bakeries, meat packing plants, mushroom production, sausage production,
scrapple production. |
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~ Geography ~
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| Area |
45,888 square miles |
| Rank |
32nd in the Nation |
| Width |
310 miles (east to west) 180 miles (N to S) |
| Geographic center |
Centre County, home of Penn State University |
| Highest point |
Mt. Davis in Somerset County - 3,213 feet |
| Lowest point |
Delaware River |
| Counties |
67 |
| Largest County |
Lycoming County with its county seat of Williamsport
(the Home of Little League Baseball) is larger than the State of Rhode
Island. Bradford County is second in size. |
| Counties with NO traffic lights |
Forest County and Perry County |
| Headwaters of three major rivers |
Potter County |
| Lakes |
50 natural lakes (over 20 acres wide) and 2,500 man-made
lakes |
| Rivers and streams |
45,000 miles |
| Christmas Tree Capital of the World |
Indiana County |
| State Parks |
116 Acreage: 282,500 |
| State Forest Districts |
20 Acreage: 2,200,000 |
| State Game Lands |
294 Acreage: 1,379,002 |
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~ Agriculture ~
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| Farms |
55,000 |
| Farmland |
9,000,000 acres |
| Agricultural product sales |
$3,500,000,000 |
| Leading Farm products |
dairy products, mushrooms, apples, tobacco, grapes,
peaches, cut flowers |
| Rural Population |
3,700,000 |
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