Sporting Geography: Pennsylvania
January 06, 2003 01:14 PM | General
December 16, 2002
This week the women’s basketball team will host the Villanova University Wildcats. Let’s take a moment to learn more about the state of Pennsylvania.
Rich in historic lore, the Pennsylvania territory was disputed in the early1600s between the Dutch, the Swedes, and the English. England acquired the region in 1664 with the capture of New York and in 1681, Pennsylvania was granted to William Penn -- a Quaker -- by King Charles II. Philadelphia was the seat of the federal government almost continuously from 1776 to 1800; there the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 and the U.S. Constitution drawn up in 1787.
Valley Forge, of Revolutionary War fame, and Gettysburg, site of the pivotal battle of the Civil War, are both in Pennsylvania. The Liberty Bell is located in a glass pavilion across from Independence Hall in Philadelphia. With the decline of the coal, steel, and railroad industries, Pennsylvania's industry has diversified, although the state still leads the country in the production of specialty steel. Pennsylvania is a leader in the production of chemicals, food, and electrical machinery and produces 10 percent of the nation's cement.
Pennsylvania's eight-million-plus agricultural acres produce a wide variety of crops, and its 51,000 farms are the backbone of the state's economy. Leading products are milk, poultry, eggs, a variety of fruits, sweet corn, potatoes, mushrooms, cheese, beans, hay, maple syrup, and Christmas trees.
Pennsylvania has the largest rural population in the nation. The state's farmers sell more than $3.6 billion in crops and livestock annually, and agribusiness and food-related industries account for another $39 billion in economic activity annually.
Tourists now spend approximately $six billion in Pennsylvania annually.
Among the chief attractions are the Gettysburg National Military Park, Valley Forge National Historical Park, Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Dutch region, the Eisenhower farm near Gettysburg, and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
Please comeback next week to learn more about the city of Boston.
Let's Goooooo Mountaineers!!!
