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REGIONS
As with any Physical geographic map, borders aren't as applicable because they are an artificial invention. The "borders" you see are actually more like blurry lines. In reality, there are several way of arranging Pennsylvania into regions, with the simplest just using the cardinal directions. This specific arrangement of regions uses slightly modified borders of several real regions of Pennsylvania, making it an original arrangement that accurately captures much of what this state has to offer physically. You might notice some of the borders are a bit jagged, which is because these regions are made up of counties. Knowing which counties belong to which region is irrelevant and that is saved for the political geography section of the atlas.
Northwest - This region has its centre on the city of Erie. Away from the city, it eventually transitions to forest as population density decreases.
Forest - Contains large oil and gas deposits, but especially noted for its several varieties of hardwood trees. Most of this region of Pennsylvania is protected.
North - This heavily rural and sparsely populated region is also called the Northern Tier. Unfortunately, it is one of the poorest regions of Pennsylvania with relatively few fossil fuel formations compared to other regions.
Mountains - Part of the Appalachian mountains, this region is somewhat of a misnomer because it is more plateau rather than mountain. Glaciers from the last ice age have left several marks on this area.
Wyoming Valley - This region is a heavily populated metropolitan area also known as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, cities that experienced a boom both in terms of their population and economy during the industrial era of Pennsylvania.
Poconos - Still part of the Allegheny Plateau, this region is also popular as a tourist and vacation area for local residents.
Greater Pittsburgh - Includes most of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Unlike Philadelphia, Pittsburgh doesn't receive its own county. This region consists of several counties that border or are close to Allegheny County, which houses Pittsburgh.
Intersection - The only novel region that was created specifically for this atlas, which means what it says: This region is a crossroads between all the regions it borders. Many region maps of this state would have several regions intersect in the middle of this region.
Ridge & Valley - Occupies most of Central Pennsylvania. The Appalachian mountains are much smaller than the Rocky Mountains in the Western USA, but are much older. Running from the southern USA to New England, the Applachians are said to be the most prominent in Pennsylvania. This region is named because the Appalachian mountains are not one single mountain chain, but rather consists of several smaller units. Here, there are several near parallel ridges that alternate with valleys between them, almost giving this region of Pennsylvania a striped appearance. It also explains why some of the counties in this region are oddly shaped.
Coal - Obviously, this is a historically important coal-mining area. This is why the Wyoming Valley has grown into a large metropolitan area. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is actually a part of this region, but is split from this region mainly because it is more urban than the part of Coal region shown here, which is more rural and dedicated to coal-mining.
Piedmont - The Piedmont is, like Ridge and Valley, another part of the Appalachian mountains. East of the Appalachians, it is a large hilly plateau that allows the Appalachians to risk to their peaks a bit west. This word is French for "foothill".
Lehigh Valley - Named for the Lehigh River which runs through it, this region is the third largest metropolitan area behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh because it houses the third largest city in the state, Allentown. The population of this region of the state is growing very rapidly and other towns aside from Allentown such as Bethlehem (remember the steel?), Easton, and Phillipsburg.
Delaware Valley - This is the most populated and lowest lying region of the state because of Philadelphia. Obviously it is the river valley of the great Delaware river which forms the eastern border of the entire state of Pennsylvania. This region is heavily urbanised and several suburbs of Philadelphia are rather large. However, there is also much agricultural activity because the land is also rather flat unlike the rest of the state.
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RIVERS
In the picture below, rivers are not labelled with names but listed as numbers. The numbers given show in what order it appears in the text explanations of each river below. For example, the river marked as "1" on the map corresponds with the Delaware River because that appears FIRST in the explanations.
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| Each number is listed twice to show the beginning and end of each river in the state. |
Delaware - At 301 miles, this empties into the Atlantic through the Delaware Bay. The origin of the Delaware is found in New York's Catskill Mountains, part of the Allegheny Plateau. It is actually more accurate to pluralise the word "origin", because this river has two origins, the east and west branch Delaware. The course of the Delaware defines the eastern border of the state of Pennsylvania and feeds several cities including Easton, PA and the capital of New Jersey, Trenton.
Schuylkill - At 135 miles, this is a branch of the Delaware that flows through Philadelphia. It originates in Schuylkill County near the county seat of Pottsville. The Schuylkill river has several tributaries including, but not limited to, the Wissahickon and Perkiomen Creeks. This river flows through Berks county and its county seat of Reading. It also marks the border between Montgomery and Chester counties, flowing through Pottstown, Montgomery County as well as its county seat of Norristown.
Lehigh - At 109 miles, this is a branch of the Delaware and forms the densely populated Lehigh valley. It originates in the Poconos as a very fast flowing river, making it popular for whitewater rafting. It feeds the county seat of Carbon County (Jim Thorpe) as well as another city in the county, Lehighton. It also flows through the seat of Lehigh County, Allentown, as well as the city of Bethlehem in both Lehigh and Northampton Counties and the seat of Northampton County, Easton.
Susquehanna - At 464 miles, this is the longest river of the USA's East Coast that empties into the Atlantic through the Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Grace, Maryland. It originates in New York and flows through Wilkes-Barre, seat of Luzerne County and marks the border of several other counties in Pennsylvania. The Susquehanna also flows through the state capital of Harrisburg (also seat of Dauphin County).
West Branch - At 243 miles, this is the longest branch of the Susquehanna. Originating in Cambria County, it flows through the seat of Lycoming County, Williamsport.
Ohio - At 981 miles, most of which are not in Pennsylvania, this is formed by the Monongahela and Allegheny at Pittsburgh. Only the very beginning of the Ohio River is in Pennsylvania, more specifically the far west. The rest of the Ohio forms the border between several states including West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois before joining with the Mississippi which flows south and empties into the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.
Monongahela - At 130 miles, this meets with the Allegheny at Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River. Originating in West Virginia, it flows north into Pennsylvania.
Allegheny - At 325 miles, this meets with the Monongahela at Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River. It originates in Potter County and makes several bends so part of it is even in New York, before generally flowing south and joining the Ohio.
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