Pennsylvania

3663

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh the mean for January is 30°, for
July 74°, and the extremes are -20° and 103°.
The winters are long and colder north and
west of the mountains. The mean annual
precipitation of 39.8 inches at Philadelphia,
36.7 inches at Pittsburgh, and 41.3 inches at
Erie. The snowfall on the western plateau
is heavy. The soils are generally fertile, be-
ing composed either of alluvial deposits or of
eroded limestone. Some of the valleys, not-
ably the beautiful Wyoming and the pictur-
esque Lebanon, are remarkably fertile, the
soil being peculiarly suited to grain growing.
To the west of the Susquehanna, in the south-
ern part of the State, is the Cumberland Val-
ley, also noted for its fertility. The most re-

550,741 tons, (the peak years), while that
for 1940 was 1:5,000,000 tons. This coal is
mined in the western part of the State, and
covers an area of 12,200 sq. m. Pennsylvania
produces about 33 per cent, of the annual out-
put of coke in the United States. In 1859
petroleum was discovered in the submerged
basal Carboniferous strata of Northwest
Pennsylvania. The output increased at a re-
markable rate. The output in 1929 was n,-
820,000 bbls., which was the highest recorded
since 1902. In 1939 the production was 17,-
337,000 bbls. The natural gas region includes
nearly all the Alleghany plateau. Pennsylva-
nia ranks very high in the total value of the
product of its stone quarries. Especially

Pack Saddle, Conemaugk Valley, Pennsylvania.

cent formations in Pennsylvania are the
Cretaceous and Triassic along the Delaware
River, covering most of the Bucks and parts
of Lehigh and Montgomery counties. The
remainder of the State belongs to the Azoic
and Palaeozoic periods.

Pennsylvania is a leading State in the
annual value of its mineral products. By
far the most valuable and most abundant re-
source is coal. From 1830 to 1880 Penn-
sylvania produced two-thirds of the annual
tonnage of coal mined in the United States.
Anthracite coal was discovered at the mouth
of Mill Creek, on the Susquehanna, in 1762.
Since 1870 anthracite has been mined regu-
larly. This coal is obtained in four narrow
fields, having a total area of only 484 sq.
m.—the Northern of Wyoming, the Eastern
Middle, or Lehigh, the Middle—the last two
being sometimes combined as the Schuylkill.
The Pennsylvania fields represent practically
the entire supply of anthracite in the United
States. Scranton is the largest hard coal cen-
ter of the country and makes much steel. The
mining of bituminous coal began prior to
1790. By 1918 the total production was 178,-

important are limestone, basalt, graphite,
slate, sand and clay. Iron ore occurs in
commercial quantities in every county of
the State. Previous to 1850 the produc-
tion was sufficient to supply the iron and
steel mills of the State, but the discovery
that rich ore could be obtained from the
Lake Superior region at less cost resulted in
a decreased output. Pennsylvania has large
areas of limestone rock suitable for making
cement, and Northampton and Lehigh coun-
ties are centers of the cement industry. Cop-
per, feldspar, gold recovered from pyritifer-
ous magnetite, mineral paints, peat, silica,
talc, tripolij silver, and mineral waters are also
produced.

Pennsylvania has always been of import-
ance in the lumber industry. The principal
trees are the hemlock, oak, chestnut, maple,
beech, white pine, birch, yellow poplar, hick-
ory and larch. According to the Federal Cen-
sus for 1930, there were 172,419 farms in the
State, comprising an area of 15,309485 acres.
Market gardening is important in the south-
eastern part of the State. Tobacco is raised
chiefly in Lancaster and York counties. The