| Pennsylvania was the 2nd state in the USA; it became a state on December 12, 1787.
 State Abbreviation - PA
State Capital - Harrisburg
Largest City - Philadelphia
Area - 46,058 square miles [Pennsylvania is the 33rd biggest state in the USA]
Population - 12,281,054 (as of 2000) [Pennsylvania is
the sixth most populous state in the USA, after California, New York, Texas, Florida
and Illinois]
Name
for Residents - Pennsylvanians
Major
Industries - steel, farming (corn, oats, soybeans, mushrooms), mining
(iron, portland cement, lime, stone), electronics equipment, cars,
pharmaceuticals
Presidential
Birthplace - James Buchanan was born in Cove Gap (near Mercersburg)
on April 23, 1791 (he was the 15th US President, serving from 1857 to 1861)
Major Rivers - Allegheny River,
Susquehanna River, Delaware River, Ohio River
Major
Lakes - Lake Erie
Highest Point
- Mt. Davis - 3,213 feet (979 m) above sea level
Bordering States - New
York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio
Origin of
the Name Pennsylvania - This state was named to honor Admiral William
Penn and his son, William Penn,
Pennsylvania's founder.
State Nickname -
Keystone State
State Motto - "Virtue,
Liberty, and Independence"
State Song -
Pennsylvania, lyrics by Eddie Khoury, music by Ronnie Bonner
Dinosaur Fossils Found in Pennsylvania - Atreipus (fossilized
footprints)
Pennsylvania State Symbols and
Emblems:
| State Flag
 Pennsylvania's official flag was adopted
in 1907. The flag has a deep blue background. In the center are two harnessed
draft horses surrounding a shield picturing a ship, a plow, and 3 sheaves of
wheat. Above is a bald eagle.
Below are a stalk of corn, an olive branch, and a draped red ribbon that
reads,"VIRTUE, LIBERTY, AND
INDEPENDENCE."
|
Animal Symbols:
Plant Symbols:
| State Flower
Mountain laurel
|
State Tree
Eastern hemlock |
Earth Symbol:
| State Fossil
Trilobite
(Phacops rana)
A marine arthropod with
a three-part body; it lived from about 540 to 245 million years ago.
| |
