Pennsylvania

C

Plants and Animals

Forests cover about 56 per cent of the total land area of Pennsylvania. Trees are both hardwood and softwood; principal species include maple, beech, spruce, and black walnut.

Wildlife includes some black bear in the more remote parts of the north and west, as well as white-tailed deer, which are abundant in many areas. Common game birds include wild turkey, ruffed grouse, quail, and pheasant. The lakes and streams of Pennsylvania contain a variety of fish.

D

Resources, Products, and Industries

Mining accounts for only about 1 per cent of the annual gross state product. Nevertheless, Pennsylvania is one of the country’s leading mining states, ranking among the nation’s leaders in annual coal production. Farming accounts for about 1 per cent of the annual gross state product. Livestock and poultry raising, and dairy farming are important agricultural commodities.

Manufacturing accounts for about 22 per cent of the annual gross state product. The leading industry is the manufacture of primary and fabricated metals, especially iron, steel, and related products. Pennsylvania is also well known for its speciality industries, including the manufacture of chocolate at Hershey and silk production at Wilkes-Barre.

III

Population

The population of Pennsylvania is 12,432,792 (2007 estimate). The average population density in 1990 was 100 people per sq km (260 per sq mi). Whites made up 88.5 per cent of the population and blacks 9.2 per cent. The state had a substantial Jewish community (1.7 per cent) and was one of the principal centres of the Society of Friends (Quakers). The Pennsylvania Dutch, descendants of early German immigrants, lived in Lancaster County and other parts of eastern Pennsylvania. Most of them adhered to the Amish or Mennonite religion, wore distinctive clothing, and worked as farmers.

Pennsylvania’s major cities are the capital, Harrisburg (47,164 (2006)), Philadelphia (1,448,394 (2006)), Pittsburgh (312,819 (2006)), Allentown (107,294 (2006)), Erie (102,036 (2006)), and Scranton (72,861 (2006)).

A

Education

At the start of the 21st century Pennsylvania had 263 institutions of higher education. Among the most notable of these institutions were the University of Pennsylvania (the first institution of higher education in the state, founded as a charity school in 1740), Temple University (1884), La Salle University (1863), and Drexel University (1891), in Philadelphia; Pennsylvania State University (1855), in University Park; the University of Pittsburgh (1787), Carnegie Mellon University (1900), and Duquesne University (1878), in Pittsburgh; Bucknell University (1846), in Lewisburg; Dickinson College (1773), in Carlisle; Bryn Mawr College (1880), in Bryn Mawr; Franklin and Marshall College (1787), in Lancaster; Moravian College (1742) and Lehigh University (1865), in Bethlehem. Of special note are the Moore College of Art and Design (1844), University of the Arts (1876), and Curtis Institute of Music (1924), all in Philadelphia. In the late 1990s Pennsylvania spent about US$7,770 on each student’s education, compared to a national average of about US$6,835.

B

Places of Interest

Pennsylvania is rich in history, and many of the state’s historical sites commemorate events and people associated with the American War of Independence. Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia is a popular attraction; to be found there are Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was drafted, the US Constitution written, and the Liberty Bell sounded; and the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. Also in Philadelphia are the First Bank of the United States, established in 1795, and Carpenter’s Hall, the meeting place of the First Continental Congress in 1774. Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, attractions include the Delaware Water Gap Recreation area and the Pennsylvania Dutch county of Lancaster County. Other points of interest include Valley Forge National Historical Park, in Valley Forge; Gettysburg National Military Park, in Gettysburg; and Fort Washington State Park, in Ambler. Of special note are the preserved 18th- and early 19th-century buildings at the Old Economy Village, in Ambridge; Historic Fallsington, in Fallsington; and Ephrata Cloisters, in Ephrata.

Pennsylvania contains many fine art museums. Among them are the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, in Philadelphia; the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Frick Art Museum, in Pittsburgh; and the Brandywine River Museum, in Chadds Ford. Other museums of note are the Franklin Institute Science Museum, the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (the oldest institute of natural history in America), and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia; the Allentown Art Museum, in Allentown; and the Mercer Museum, in Doylestown.