Although Swedes and Dutch were the first European settlers, William Penn, a Quaker, named Pennsylvania in honor of his father by combining the name Penn and the Latin term sylvania, which translates as "woodlands," to come up with "Penn's woodlands." Known as the "Keystone State," Pennsylvania is one of the original 13 colonies (it entered the Union in 1787). Today, two major cities dominate the state--Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, and a thriving metropolitan area, and Pittsburgh, a busy inland river port. The Amish, a group of people who live without the use of modern technology, live in the countryside of Pennsylvania. The capital is Harrisburg and the state bird is the ruffed grouse.
State Flower: Mountain laurel
State Motto: Virtue, liberty, and independence
State Nickname: Keystone State
State Bird: Ruffed grouse
Land area, 2000 (square miles): 44,817
Length: 283 miles
Width: 160 miles
10 largest cities, 2000:
Philadelphia, 1,517,550
Pittsburgh, 334,563
Allentown, 106,632
Erie, 103,717
Upper Darby, 81,821
Reading, 81,207
Scranton, 76,415
Bethlehem, 71,329
Lower Merion, 59,850
Bensalem, 58,434
Geographic Center: 2.5 miles southwest of Bellefonte
Geographic Center County: Centre
Highest Point: 3,213 ft. — Mt. Davis
Lowest Point: sea level — Delaware River
Number of counties: 67
State forests: 20 (2,100,000 ac.)
State parks: 116
Persons per square mile, 2000: 274
This page last updated July 10, 2007
GDP Data — Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
Population and Economic Data — US Census Bureau
Government Data — Congress.Org
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