Pennsylvania Geography

Pennsylvania's nickname, the Keystone State, derives from the fact that the state forms a geographic bridge both between the Northeastern states and the Southern states, and between the Atlantic seaboard and the Midwest. It even has a toehold on the Great Lakes.

What do you know about Pennsylvania Geography? Explore this Quick US Geography Quiz.

1. Pennsylvania is 180 miles north to south and 310 miles east to west. What is the total land area in square miles?

• 24,817 square miles
• 44,817 square miles
• 64,817 square miles

2. What is the highest point at 3,213 feet above sea level?

• Mount Davis
• Mount Cummings
• Mount Lincoln

3. At the Delaware River, what is the lowest point?

• Sea Level
• 50 feet
• 100 feet

4. In Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania the Allegheny and Monongahela River meet. What river do they form?

• Potomac River
• Northern River
• Ohio River

5. In 1859, near Titusville, they drilled the first oil well in the U.S. Who made the discovery?

• Michael L. Benedum
• Edwin L. Drake
• David R. White

6. What is the name of the coal that is mined near Wilkes-Barre and Hazelton?

• anthracite (hard coal)
• metamorphic (hard coal)
• timbercoal (hard coal)

7. How much shoreline does Pennsylvania have along the Delaware River?

• 57 miles
• 114 miles
• 224 miles

8. In 1889, the South Fork Dam, impounding a recreational mountain lake for sportsmen, burst after a heavy rain and destroyed the downstream factory town, killing over 2,200 inhabitants in the notorious flood. What is the name of the flood?

• Johnstown Flood
• Allegheny Flood
• West Fork Flood

9. In 1961, an exposed seam of coal at Centralia caught fire and eventually forced almost the entire community to abandon the area; the underground coal fire is still burning today and it is estimated that it can burn for another 250 years.

• True or False?

10. The river rises in northern West Virginia, in Preston County southeast of Kingwood and near Backbone Mountain. The headwaters are approximately 10 miles north of the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac River. It flows NNE into Garrett County, Maryland, flowing north past Oakland and roughly parallel to the West Virginia border, separated by approximately 3 miles. It enters southwestern Pennsylvania on the border between Fayette and Somerset counties. It flows northwest through a gap in Chestnut Ridge and then past Connellsville. It joins the Monongahela from the southeast at McKeesport, southeast of Pittsburgh. What is the river?

• Youghiogheny River
• Keyser River
• Frostburg River

Pennsylvania Geography Answers

1. 44,817 square miles
2. Mount Davis
3. Sea Level
4. Ohio River
5. Edwin L. Drake
6. anthracite (hard coal)
7. 57 miles
8. Johnstown Flood
9. True
10. Youghiogheny River

1 page of 1