Archaeologists disagree when the first humans arrived in the area we now call Pennsylvania, but they have found artifacts that are at least 19,400 years old! Tribes of Native Americans, including the Lenape, Susquehannock, Erie, Seneca, and Oneida, lived in the land that would now become Pennsylvania thousands of years later. In 1681, Englishman William Penn, a member of a Christian group called the Quakers, founded the British colony of Pennsylvania. Because the Penn colony offered religious freedom to settlers, it attracted people of other faiths. A wave of German immigrants, including Quakers, Mennonites, and Amish, moved into the area. These settlers eventually developed their own dialect and their descendants are now called Pennsylvania Dutch.
The French and British fought for control of the land during the French and Indian War, which lasted from 1754 to 1763. The British won, but ended up in debt from the battles. To get the money back, they taxed the colonists, something that many didn’t think was fair. Anger over this action helped lead to the Revolutionary War, which began in 1775. In 1775, the second Continental Congress was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was when representatives from each of the colonies met for the second time after deciding to go to war with Britain. And it was at this time that Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. That same year, George Washington led the colonial troops known as the Continental Army across the Delaware River—and to a major victory—in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In 1787, after the end of the war, Pennsylvania became the second state of the United States. Pennsylvania supported the Union during the Civil War. One of the most important battles took place at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863. The Union won the battle, marking a turning point on the road to ultimate victory in the war.
Geography of Pennsylvania
According to itypetravel.com, Pennsylvania is a combination of Latin words that together mean “the woods of Penn.” The name was created by William Penn in honor of his father. Some believe that Pennsylvania’s alias comes from its central position among the 13 colonies. Pennsylvania borders New York and Lake Erie to the north; New York and New Jersey in the east; Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia in the south; and West Virginia and Ohio to the west. The land plot can be divided into six regions. The Atlantic Province of the Coastal Plain in the extreme southeast is a flat, low region with narrow valleys cut by streams. It contains Tinicum Marsh, the first urban wildlife refuge in the United States. To the west of the Atlantic Coastal Plain lies the province of Piedmont, with rolling hills, ridges, tower-shaped rocks, caves, and sinkholes. The province of New England lies to the northeast of the province of Piedmont and contains steep slopes and ridges. Further west is the Ridge and Valley Province, which contains part of the Appalachians. About half of the region is covered with forests. The Appalachian Highlands Province covers the central and western parts of the state. This is a heavily forested area that includes the Allegheny National Forest and the Pocono and Catskill Mountains. The Central Plains Province lies in the far northeast and has low ridges that have been created by glaciers.
Wildlife of Pennsylvania
Mammals in Pennsylvania include black bears, moose, red foxes, and white-tailed deer. Golden eagles, peregrine falcons and red woodpeckers fly overhead, while reptiles such as eastern spiny turtles, softshells, northern coal skinks and venomous eastern Massasaugua rattlesnakes crawl and slither across the ground. Pennsylvania also hosts amphibians such as dusky salamanders on Mount Allegheny and salamanders in the valley and ridge. With over half the state covered in forests, Pennsylvania has a wide variety of trees, including eastern white pine, red maple, sycamore, and eastern hemlock (the state tree). Wild Bergamot, Wild Bleeding Heart, Black Eyed Susan, and Penngift Crownvetch are among the state’s many wildflowers.
PITTSBURGH
Population: 312.819 thousand people (2006)
Area: 151.1 sq. km
Founded: 1758
Time zone: UTC-5, summer UTC-4
Altitude: 372.77 m
Pittsburgh is a city in the US state. Pittsburgh belongs to the state of Pennsylvania and is its second largest city. The city arose at the confluence of the Monongahila and Allegheny rivers. See Pennsylvania cities.
According to history, initially the territory of the city was inhabited by the Indian tribes of the Susquehannock, Seneca, Erie, Delaware. The French were the first Europeans to settle in what is now Pittsburgh. They sought to unite the area with their own holdings in Louisiana and Canada. Governor Dinwiddie sent George Washingtonso that he conveyed to the French the demand for the withdrawal of troops. The British built Fort George here. However, the French managed to push them out and soon they built their fortifications here (Fort Duquesne). In 1758, the French were expelled by John Forbes. Their fort was destroyed and in the same year they began to build Fort Pitt. It was named after British Prime Minister William Pitt Sr. The history of Pittsburgh begins with this fort. The settlement of people near the fort was named Pittsboro. In 1768, the lands on the territory of today’s Pittsburgh were acquired by the heirs of William Penn, and 1 year later the village received its current name.
During the war of 1812, supplies of English goods were cut off, this served as an impetus for the development of industry in the city. Already after 3 years bronze, tin, steel, glass were produced here. In 1845, there was a strong fire that destroyed thousands of city buildings, but the city was rebuilt. Since 1875, active steel production began. By 1901, a little more than a third of all steel in America was being produced here.
The second half of the 20th century was marked by the implementation of the Renaissance project. His goal was to improve the quality of life. The Renaissance-2 project was also implemented (aimed at the cultural development of Pittsburgh and its suburbs). By the 1980s, a large number of steel mills had closed. Tourism, medicine, education and high technologies began to be considered the main items of the city budget.
The largest educational institution is the University of Pittsburgh, one of the ten largest universities in America. The most famous university in Pittsburgh is Carnegie Mellon University, which ranks high in the world rankings. The city lives an active sports life. Professional teams are based in it: hockey, football, baseball, American football.
The current Pittsburgh is easy to recognize by its center – the “Golden Triangle” with its theaters, bridges, skyscrapers, office and shopping centers. Another attraction of the city is the zoo, which is considered one of the six largest zoos in America. The most famous museums in the city are the Andy Warhol Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
