Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is bordered by New York, Lake Erie, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Ohio. The mean elevation is 1,100 feet above sea level with its highest point being Mt. Davis at 3,213 feet. Major bodies of water include Allegheny River, Susquehanna River, Delaware River, Ohio River and Lake Erie. Pennsylvania is not only home to the Groundhog who tells the rest of us when to expect spring, but also to historic architecture, Amish villages, Victorian manors, theaters, and world-renowned museums.

LOCATION :

North America, Bordering Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. Pennsylvania lies in the northeastern part of the country.

LANGUAGE :

English

CURRENCY :

US dollar

TIPPING :

15% is customary in restaurants although you never tip in fast food or self service establishments. Taxi drivers, bartenders and hairdressers depend on similar-sized gratuities.

ELECTRICITY :

110V, 60Hz

HIGHLIGHTS

• Dutch Springs - Aqua Park- water-filled playground, and their Sky Challenge- a rope course 4 stories high
• Watercraft rental, picnics and camping throughout many of Pennsylvania's rivers, lakes and quarries
• Man-made dive sites bring divers through an underwater plethora of wrecks including school buses, trucks, helicopters, and underwater platforms

QUICK FACTS:
Pennsylvania is bordered by New York, Lake Erie, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Ohio. The mean elevation is 1,100 feet above sea level with its highest point being Mt. Davis at 3,213 feet. Major bodies of water include Allegheny River, Susquehanna River, Delaware River, Ohio River and Lake Erie. Pennsylvania is not only home to the Groundhog who tells the rest of us when to expect spring, but also to historic architecture, Amish villages, Victorian manors, theaters, and world-renowned museums.

TOPOGRAPHY:
Pennsylvania borders New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio. The Allegheny Mountains run diagonally from the southwest to the northeast. Piedmont and coastal plains in the southeast triangle make up the Allegheny Front, which cuts a line across the state. A plateau falls in the northwest to the Lake Erie lowlands and on to Lake Erie.

CLIMATE:
Depending on season, average temperatures range anywhere from a low of 18º to a high of 86º. The highest temperature recorded being 111º on July 10, 1936 and the lowest being 42º below zero on Jan. 5, 1904.

HISTORY
When Europeans were still discovering what today would be known as America, Native Americans were its only inhabitants. As the country was in the process of becoming settled by the Europeans, a man called William Penn asked King Charles II to grant him the land in the territory between Lord Baltimore's province of Maryland and the Duke of York's province of New York. King Charles II already owed him £16,000, money which Penn's father had lent him. The King signed the Charter of Pennsylvania on March 4, 1982. Although Penn was granted all the land in Pennsylvania, he chose not to settle on it until buying the claims of the Native Americans who already lived there. All of Pennsylvania except the northwestern third was purchased by 1768. It was the second state to enter the union on Dec. 12, 1787. The state was named in honor of Adm. Sir. William Penn, father of William Penn. It means Penn's Woodland. Historical sites include the Gettysburg National Military Park, Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Valley Forge National Historical Park, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

CAPITAL :

Harrisburg

AREA SIZE :

283 miles long and 160 miles wide from its most distant points

TAXES :

Sales taxes vary from state to state but are typically 5-8%. Departure taxes are included in the price of a ticket, though the local airport departure tax may not have been included if your ticket was purchased outside the US

TIME :

Eastern

DOCUMENTS :

Most visitors to the US require a visa. However, Canadians need only proof of citizenship. A reciprocal visa-waiver program allows citizens of the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland to stay up to 90 days without a visa if they have an onward ticket.

POPULATION :

12,281,054

AVERAGE WATER TEMPERATURE :

Surface temp is in the mid-upper 70ýs during the summer season. Bottom temp remains constant in the mid-upper 40ýs year-round.

AVERAGE VISIBILITY :

30 ft.

TYPES OF DIVING :

Wreck, boat and shore freshwater diving

BEST TIME TO DIVE :

June-Sept. is the best time to dive although the colder months offer greater visibility due to the lack of algae blooms that often occur during the months of June and July.

WHAT TO WEAR :

The water can tend to get colder the deeper you go so a minimum of a 7mm with hood and gloves is recommended.

DIVES NOT TO MISS :

Dutch Springs is a 47-acre rock quarry near Bethlehem, PA, purposely intended to be a diving environment. The 100-max depth quarry is filled with everything from a helicopter, small plane and fire truck, to submerged platforms and reef systems.

Guppy Gulch is a 15-acre quarry located in Delta, PA, just north of the Maryland state line. The water is treated for improved visibility and offers underwater platforms, boats, trains, trucks and cycles. An air station is on-site with 120-feet of floating docks and depths down to 80 feet.

Outside of Slippery Rock, PA, is Crustyýs Quarry. The origin of the eight-acre spring-fed lake is unknown but locals believe it was mined for sand and gravel needed to build the Interstate. Today, green vegetation extends 20-feet below the surface providing an abundance of aquatic life. In addition to the new attractions added every year, divers find buses, cars, training platforms, a replicated pirate cannon and a treasure chest.