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Mar 15, 2023 · Outline Map. Key Facts. Pennsylvania is in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, and New York. Pennsylvania covers an area of 46,055 square miles.
This map shows many of Pennsylvania's important cities and most important roads. Important north - south routes include: Interstate 79, Interstate 81 and Interstate 83. Important east - west routes include: Interstate 70, Interstate 76, Interstate 80, Interstate 84 and Interstate 90.
The detailed map shows the US state of Pennsylvania with boundaries, the location of the state capital Harrisburg, major cities and populated places, rivers, and lakes, interstate highways, principal highways, railroads and major airports.
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Pennsylvania, constituent state of the United States of America, one of the original 13 American colonies. The state is approximately rectangular in shape and stretches about 300 miles (480 km) from east to west and 150 miles (240 km) from north to south. It is bounded to the north by Lake Erie and New York state; to the east by New York and New Jersey; to the south by Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia; and to the west by the panhandle of West Virginia and by Ohio. Harrisburg, nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, is the capital.
Pennsylvania is classified as a Middle Atlantic state, along with New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. Its central location on the Eastern Seaboard is sometimes said to be the source of its nickname, the Keystone State. It does not, however, touch the Atlantic Ocean at any point. Water nonetheless has been nearly as crucial in the state’s growth as the wealth of its earth. The Delaware River forms the boundary between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In the northwest a small panhandle separates Ohio and New York and forms a 40-mile (65-km) waterfront on Lake Erie, giving the state access to the iron ore barges and other commerce of the Great Lakes.
The landforms of Pennsylvania had their origin about 500 million years ago, when a vast interior sea, up to several hundred miles wide, occupied the area from New England to Alabama. For about 250 million years, the rivers originating from an extensive mountain chain on the east poured sediments into the great Appalachian downwarp basin. Great swamps prevailed in southwestern Pennsylvania for millions of years and provided the vegetation that ultimately became the coal beds of the area.
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Beginning about 250 million years ago, plate-tectonic movement folded the flat-lying sediment into upwarps and downwarps. The heat created by this pressure also metamorphosed the rocks, changing the sandstone into quartzite, limestone into marble, and granite into gneiss. The pressure from the plate movement was confined to southeastern Pennsylvania, creating the Piedmont and Ridge and Valley provinces. The rocks of the Appalachian Plateau remained essentially flat-lying, and the dissection of the plateau has been created by erosion.
Pennsylvania includes parts of large physiographic regions that extend beyond its borders; those regions crossing the eastern and central parts of the state parallel one another along a sweeping northeast-southwest diagonal orientation. In the southeastern part of the state is a section of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, a narrow strip of sandy low-lying land immediately adjacent to the Delaware River. This region has played a major role in Pennsylvania history. It was the site of William Penn’s settlement and the initial city of Philadelphia. Immediately inland from the Coastal Plain is the Piedmont province, a gently rolling, well-drained plain that is rarely more than 500 feet (150 metres) above sea level; the eastern part is the Piedmont Upland. The boundary between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain is known as the fall line, with hard rock to the west and soft rock to the east. The Piedmont Lowland parallels the Piedmont Upland to its northwest. It is made of sedimentary rocks into which volcanic rocks have been intruded. Some of these volcanic rocks make ridges. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought there, the Northern army on the high ridges having the advantage over the Southern forces on the plains. The limestone rocks have weathered into fertile lowlands such as the Conestoga Lowlands of Lancaster county. Farther to the northwest lie two segments of a larger mountain range. The southern prong, extending to the Carlisle area, is the northernmost extension of the Blue Ridge system. The northern portion, known as the Reading Prong, is a small section of the larger New England topographic region. There is a major gap between these prongs.
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Pennsylvania has three major river systems. In the east is the Delaware River, fed mainly by the Lehigh and Schuylkill rivers. In the central part of the state is the Susquehanna, draining the largest section of the state; it is a wide, shallow stream that meanders finally into Maryland and Chesapeake Bay. In the west is the Ohio River—formed by th...
Map of Pennsylvania 's cities and rivers. The geography of Pennsylvania varies from sea level marine estuary to mountainous plateau. The state is known for its natural resources, ports, and the leading role it played in the nation's founding and history.
Find an overview of Pennsylvania geography, topography, geographic land regions, land areas, and major rivers. Access Pennsylvania almanac, furnishing more details on the state geography, geographical and land regions, climate and weather, elevation, land areas, bordering states, and other statistical data.
Jan 24, 2024 · Pennsylvania Map. Map of Pennsylvania: Click to see large. Description: This map shows states boundaries, lake Erie, the state capital, counties, county seats, cities and towns in Pennsylvania. Size: 1350x881px / 303 Kb.
