Portal:Pennsylvania

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Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, forming the Mason–Dixon line, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio to its west, the Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest via Lake Erie, New York to its north, and the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east. Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous U.S. state, home to over 13 million residents as of the 2020 United States census, and the ninth-highest state by population density. It is the 33rd-largest state by land area. The largest metropolitan statistical area is the Philadelphia metropolitan area/Delaware Valley, centered on Philadelphia, the state's most populous city and sixth-most populous U.S. city, and an expanding biopharmaceutical, commercial, educational, entrepreneurial/venture capital, industrial, and transportational hub. Pennsylvania's second-largest metropolitan area, Greater Pittsburgh, is centered in and around Pittsburgh, also a biopharmaceutical hub and the Commonwealth's second-largest city. Geographically situated between the two larger metros lies Harrisburg, the capital city of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania's geography is highly diverse. The Appalachian Mountains run through the center of the state, the Allegheny and Pocono mountains span much of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and approximately 59% of the state is forested. Although Pennsylvania technically has no oceanic shoreline, it has 140 miles (225 km) of waterfront along Lake Erie and along the tidal Delaware River, the latter of which reaches the Delaware Bay, a marginal bay of the Atlantic Ocean.

Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn, the son of the commonwealth's namesake. Before that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of New Sweden, a Swedish colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the British colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania was known for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes, innovative government system, and religious pluralism. Pennsylvania played a vital historical role in the American Revolution and the ultimately successful quest for independence from the British Empire, hosting the First and Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, the latter of which formed the Continental Army commanded by George Washington in 1775, during the American Revolutionary War, unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year. On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution after Delaware. (Full article...)

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Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a major general in the United States Army and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican–American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War. Known to his Army as "Hancock the Superb", he was noted in particular for his personal leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. His military service continued after the Civil War, as Hancock participated in the military Reconstruction of the South and the United States's western expansion and war with the Native Americans at the Western frontier. This concluded with the Medicine Lodge Treaty. From 1881 to 1885 he was president of the Aztec Club of 1847 for veteran officers of the Mexican-American War.

Hancock's reputation as a war hero at Gettysburg, combined with his status as a Unionist and supporter of states' rights, made him a potential presidential candidate. When the Democrats nominated him for president in 1880, he ran a strong campaign, but was narrowly defeated by Ohio congressman and Republican Party nominee James A. Garfield. Hancock's last public service involved the oversight of President Ulysses S. Grant's funeral procession in 1885. (Full article...)

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Juniata County Courthouse in Mifflintown

Juniata County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,509. Its county seat is Mifflintown. The county was created on March 2, 1831, from part of Mifflin County and named for the Juniata River. The county is part of the Central region of the commonwealth.

Mountains in Juniata County include Tuscarora Mountain and Shade Mountain. Agricultural land and forested land make up most of the county's area. Major rivers and creeks in the county include the Susquehanna River, the Juniata River, Tuscarora Creek, and West Branch Mahantango Creek. It borders seven other counties. The county lies over 16 different rock formations (which are from the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian) and 51 different soils. (Full article...)

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Credit: Derek Ramsey
Fulmer Falls in the George W. Childs Recreation Site in Pike County.

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... that the Gudgeonville Covered Bridge (pictured) in Girard, Pennsylvania was said by local residents to be haunted by the ghost of a donkey?
... that the trolley believed to have been used in the film A Streetcar Named Desire is housed at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum?
... that when 400 registered nurses unionized with the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals on July 19, 2007, it was the largest successful organizing effort among nurses in the state since 2000?
... that although enterprising citizens were said to have dragged a flatboat up Spring Creek to establish Bellefonte, Pennsylvania as the head of navigation and the county seat in 1800, the Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation canal did not reach the town until 1848?
... that the Old Loggers Path, a loop hiking trail in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, uses old logging railroad grades and roads, and its trailhead is a lumber ghost town?

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Erie	Lehigh Valley	Pennsylvania Roads

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Commerce Square in February 2014

Commerce Square is a Class-A, high-rise office building complex in Center City Philadelphia. Commerce Square consists of One and Two Commerce Square, two identical 41-story office towers 565 feet (172 m) high that surround a paved courtyard of 30,000 square feet (2,800 m²).

Architecturally, the granite-clad towers feature setbacks on the north and south sides of the building and are topped with a pair of stone diamonds with cutout squares in the center. The towers were built as part an office-building boom Philadelphia was experiencing on West Market Street in the late 1980s. Designed by IM Pei & Partners (now called Pei Cobb Freed & Partners), the towers were developed in a joint venture between Maguire Thomas Partners and IBM. (Full article...)

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Coat of arms

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Chartered in 1755 by its first president Benjamin Franklin, who advocated for an educational institution that trained leaders in academia, commerce, and public service, it is one of nine colonial colleges in the country.

The university has 4 undergraduate schools and 12 graduate and professional schools. Schools enrolling undergraduates include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Wharton School, and the School of Nursing. Among its graduate schools are its law school, whose first professor, James Wilson, helped write the U.S. Constitution, and its medical school, the first in North America. (Full article...)

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Pennsylvania news

July 24, 2026 – 2026 United States cyclosporiasis outbreak: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak, which is caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis, has spread to an additional four states: Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. (CNBC)
July 23, 2026 –: The International Mathematical Union awards the 2026 Fields Medals to Yu Deng, John Pardon, Jacob Tsimerman, and Hong Wang at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Wang becomes the third woman to receive the prize after Maryam Mirzakhani in 2014 and Maryna Viazovska in 2022. (AFP via Le Monde)

State facts

State Facts

Nickname: The Keystone State
Capital: Harrisburg
Largest city: Philadelphia
Total area: 119,283 square kilometers (46,055 square miles)
Population (2000 census): 12,281,054
Date admitted to the Union: December 12, 1787 (2^nd)

State symbols

Bird: Ruffed grouse
Fish: Brook trout
Floral emblem: Mistletoe
Flower: Mountain laurel
Insect: Pennsylvania firefly
Mammal: White-tailed deer
Tree: Eastern Hemlock
Fossil: Trilobite
Soil: Hazleton
Song: Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania topics

General images

The following are images from various Pennsylvania-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1South Philadelphia High School on Broad Street in South Philadelphia in February 2010 (from Pennsylvania)
Image 2The Philadelphia Eagles are presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy on February 4, 2018, after winning Super Bowl LII, in which they defeated the New England Patriots 41–33. (from Pennsylvania)
Image 3NASCAR racing at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond (from Pennsylvania)
Image 4Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father of the United States and Pennsylvania delegate to the Second Continental Congress, which created the Continental Army in 1775 and unanimously adopted and issued the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 5Largest alone or in any combination ethnic origin by county in Pennsylvania, per the 2020 census (from Pennsylvania)
Image 6The Gettysburg campaign, which culminated in the Battle of Gettysburg, was a major turning point in the American Civil War and the war's bloodiest battle with an estimated 46,000 to 51,000 casualties (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 7A woodcut illustration of the crowd at the first Republican National Convention in 1856 at Musical Fund Hall at 808 Locust Street in Philadelphia (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 8Shelter House in Emmaus, constructed in 1734 by Pennsylvania German settlers, is the oldest continuously occupied building structure in the Lehigh Valley and one of the oldest in Pennsylvania (from Pennsylvania)
Image 9The Birth of Pennsylvania, a portrait of William Penn (standing with document in hand), who founded the Province of Pennsylvania in 1681 as a refuge for Quakers after receiving a royal deed to it from King Charles II (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 10The Statue of Benjamin Franklin on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in West Philadelphia, which pays tribute to Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father who founded the university, now an Ivy League institution and one of the world's top universities, in 1740 (from Pennsylvania)
Image 11Rivers Casino, located in the Chateau section of Pittsburgh on the Ohio River, one of Pennsylvania's 17 casinos (from Pennsylvania)
Image 12The Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg (from Pennsylvania)
Image 13A graph of unemployment in Pennsylvania vs United States average (from Pennsylvania)
Image 14On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln (center, facing camera) traveled to present-day Gettysburg National Cemetery and delivered the Gettysburg Address, a 271-word address considered one of the most famous speeches in American history. (from Pennsylvania)
Image 15Stephen Decatur, a 19th-century naval commander who served in the War of 1812 and other engagements (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 16The locomotive Tioga in Philadelphia in 1848; Pennsylvania was an important railroad center throughout the 19th century. (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 17William Penn, a Quaker and son of a prominent admiral, founded the colonial Province of Pennsylvania in 1681. (from Pennsylvania)
Image 18Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were adopted in 1776 and 1787–88, respectively (from Pennsylvania)
Image 19Pennsylvania population density map (from Pennsylvania)
Image 202024 U.S. presidential election results by county in Pennsylvania
Democratic
Republican
(from Pennsylvania)
Image 21Autumn in North Branch Township in Wyoming County in October 2011 (from Pennsylvania)
Image 22Pennsylvania Municipalities (from Pennsylvania)
Image 23A map of New Netherland (in magenta) and New Sweden (in blue) in the 17th century. New Sweden was later absorbed by New Netherland and then the British in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 24An Amish family riding in a traditional Amish buggy in Lancaster County. As of 2024, Pennsylvania has an Amish population of 92,660, the largest of any state in the nation. (from Pennsylvania)
Image 25Amtrak's Pennsylvanian on Horseshoe Curve in Logan Township (from Pennsylvania)
Image 26Josh Shapiro, the current and 48th Governor of Pennsylvania (from Pennsylvania)
Image 27Philadelphia International Airport, the busiest airport in the state and the 21st-busiest airport in the nation with over 13 million passengers in 2023 (from Pennsylvania)
Image 28The Köppen climate types of Pennsylvania based on 1991–2020 climate normals (from Pennsylvania)
Image 29Pat's King of Steaks in South Philadelphia is widely credited with inventing the cheesesteak in 1933. (from Pennsylvania)
Image 30Historical coat of arms of Pennsylvania (illustrated, 1876) (from Pennsylvania)
Image 31Lenape chief Lappawinsoe, depicted in a 1735 painting by Gustavus Hesselius (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 32The Hershey Company in Hershey (from Pennsylvania)
Image 33The Stonycreek Township crash site of Flight 93, one of four planes hijacked in the September 11 attacks; the site is now a national memorial. Flight 93 passengers wrestled with al-Qaeda terrorist hijackers for control of the plane, preventing it from being likely flown into the U.S. Capitol or the White House. (from Pennsylvania)
Image 34Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in American professional sports (from Pennsylvania)
Image 35Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem was one of the world's leading steel manufacturers for most of the 20th century. In 1982, however, it discontinued most of its operations, declared bankruptcy in 2001, and was dissolved in 2003. (from Pennsylvania)
Image 36Map of Pennsylvania's 67 counties (from Pennsylvania)
Image 37Simon Cameron of Maytown was Secretary of War and head of Pennsylvania's Republican Party, whose party machine controlled Pennsylvania into the 20th century. (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 38The Battle of Gettysburg, an 1887 portrait by Thure de Thulstrup depicting the Battle of Gettysburg, fought over three days from July 1 to 3, 1863, in Gettysburg. It was the deadliest battle ever fought on American soil and the bloodiest battle in all of American military history. But the Union army's victory at Gettysburg proved the Civil War's turning point, paving the way for the Union's ultimate victory two years later and the nation's preservation. (from Pennsylvania)
Image 39Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom's Steel Force and Thunderhawk roller coasters in Allentown; Steel Force is the eighth-longest steel roller coaster in the world with a first drop of 205 feet (62 m) and a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h). (from Pennsylvania)
Image 40Frederick Winslow Taylor of Philadelphia, a late 19th and early 20th century pioneer in scientific management (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 41Map of counties in Pennsylvania by racial and ethnic plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census (from Pennsylvania)
Image 42Pittsburgh Steelers' fans waving the Terrible Towel, a tradition that dates back to 1975 (from Pennsylvania)
Image 43The colonial possessions of Britain (in pink), France (in blue), and Spain (in orange) as of 1750. The French later lost their possessions in North America to Britain following its defeat in the French and Indian War, fought from 1754 to 1763 (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 44One of only two confirmed photos of Abraham Lincoln (sitting in center, facing camera, without his traditional top hat) at Gettysburg a few hours prior to giving the Gettysburg Address at Gettysburg National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. The address, which was only 271 words in length, ranks among the most famed speeches in American history. (from History of Pennsylvania)
Image 45Ethnic origins of Pennsylvanians (from Pennsylvania)