Wyoming Valley | |
|---|---|
| Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA MSA | |
 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Pennsylvania |
| Largest city | Scranton |
| Other cities | -Wilkes-Barre -Hazleton -Carbondale -Pittston City (Greater Pittston) -Nanticoke |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,776 sq mi (4,600 km2) |
| Highest elevation | 2,460[1] ft (750 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 400 ft (100 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 567,559 |
| • Rank | 100th in the U.S. |
| GDP | |
| • Total | $32.328 billion (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
TheWyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region ofNortheastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel theAmerican Industrial Revolution with its manyanthracitecoal mines. As ametropolitan area, it is known as theScranton–Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, after its principal cities,Scranton andWilkes-Barre. With a population of 567,559 as of the2020 United States census, it is thefifth-largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania, after theDelaware Valley,Greater Pittsburgh, theLehigh Valley, and theHarrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical areas.
Within the geology of Pennsylvania the Wyoming Valley makes up its own uniquephysiographic province,[not verified in body] theAnthracite Valley.Greater Pittston occupies the center of the valley. Scranton is the most populated city in the metropolitan area with a population of 77,114. The city of Scranton grew in population after the 2015 mid-term census while Wilkes-Barre declined in population. Wilkes-Barre remains the second most-populated city in the metropolitan area, whileHazleton is the third most-populated city in the metropolitan area.
The valley is a crescent-shaped depression, a part of theridge-and-valley or foldedAppalachians. TheSusquehanna River occupies the southern part of the valley, which is notable for its deposits ofanthracite. These have been extensively mined. Deep mining of anthracite has declined throughout the greaterCoal Region, however, due to the greater economics of strip mining. Parts of the local mines had already shut down because some coal beds were on fire and had to be sealed, but the exodus of mining companies came quickly following the legal and political repercussions of the 1959Knox Mine disaster when the roof of the Knox Coal Company's mine under the Susquehanna River collapsed.
ThePocono Mountains, a ridgeline away, are often visible from higher elevations to the east and to the southeast of the Wyoming Valley.[notes 1]
The nameWyoming derives from the LenapeMunsee namexwéːwamənk, meaning "at the big river flat."[4]
According toThe Jesuit Relations in 1635, the Wyoming Valley was inhabited by theScahentoarrhonon people, an Iroquoian-speaking group; it was then known as the Scahentowanen Valley. By 1744, it was inhabited byLenape,Mohican,Shawnee and others who had been pushed out of eastern areas by theIroquois Confederacy. From the 1740s to the 1760s, the valley was the site ofMoravian mission work among the Native Americans living there. They envisioned a settlement forChristian Indians. But the violence of theFrench and Indian War, known outside the U.S. as part of theSeven Years' War, drove these settlers away withDavid Zeisberger, theMoravian "Apostle to the Indians."
This led to conflicting claims to the territory by the colonies of Pennsylvania and Connecticut.King Charles II of England granted the land to theColony of Connecticut in 1662, and then toWilliam Penn in 1681, who established theProvince of Pennsylvania, leading to military skirmishes known as thePennamite–Yankee War. AfterYankee settlers from Connecticut foundedWilkes-Barre in 1769, armed bands of Pennsylvanians,, known as Pennamites, tried unsuccessfully to expel them between 1769 and 70, and then again in 1775.
During theAmerican Revolutionary War, theBattle of Wyoming took place in the valley on July 3, 1778, in which more than 300 Revolutionaries died at the hands ofLoyalists and theirIroquois allies. The incident was depicted by the Scottish poetThomas Campbell in his 1809 poemGertrude of Wyoming. At the time, rebel colonists widely believed thatJoseph Brant, a Mohawk chief, had led the Iroquois forces; in the poem, Brant is described as the "Monster Brant" because of the atrocities committed. Later colonists determined that Brant had not been present at this conflict. The popularity of the poem may have led to the state ofWyoming later being named after the valley.
The Yankee-Pennamite Wars were eventually settled in the 1780s. The disputed land was granted to Pennsylvania. The Wyoming Valley became part ofNorthumberland County. However, settlers in what was then theColony of Connecticut wanted to create anew state inNortheastern Pennsylvania. Massachusetts businessmanTimothy Pickering was sent to the region to politically examine the situation.
This led thePennsylvania General Assembly to pass a resolution creatingLuzerne County. This ended the idea of creating a new state. On September 25, 1786, Luzerne County was formed from part of Northumberland County. It was named afterChevalier de la Luzerne, aFrench soldier anddiplomat during the 18th century. When it was founded, Luzerne County occupied a large portion of Northeastern Pennsylvania. From 1810 to 1878, it was divided into several smaller counties. The counties ofBradford,Lackawanna,Susquehanna, andWyoming were all formed from parts of Luzerne County.[5]
The Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Wyoming Valley, coversLackawanna,Luzerne, andWyoming counties.[6] It had a combined population of 558,166 in 2015. The counties adjacent to Wyoming Valley includeMonroe County (Southeast),Susquehanna County (Northeast),Wayne County (East),Columbia County (West),Bradford County (Northwest),Carbon County (South),Sullivan County (West) andSchuylkill County (Southwest).
As of the2000 census, the area also had the highest percentage ofnon-Hispanic whites of any U.S. metropolitan area with a population over 500,000, with 96.2% of the population stating theirrace as white alone and not claimingHispanic ethnicity, however the Hispanic demographic has been significantly rising since then.[7]
When metropolitan areas were first defined in 1950, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre were in separate metropolitan areas. Lackawanna County was defined as the Scranton Standard Metropolitan Area, while Luzerne County was defined as the Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton metropolitan area. The two metropolitan areas were merged after the 1970 census as the Northeast Pennsylvania Standard metropolitan statistical area, withMonroe County added as a component. It was renamed the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metropolitan statistical area after the 1980 census, andColumbia and Wyoming counties were added. Hazleton was added as a primary city in the 1990 census, while Monroe County lost its metropolitan status.
After the 2000 census, Columbia County lost metropolitan status, while Hazleton was removed as a primary city.Scranton is the largest city inLackawanna County as well as the entire metropolitan area by a large margin, nearly doubling the population of the second largest city in the metropolitan area,Wilkes Barre.
| County | 2022 Estimate | 2020 Census | Change | Area | Density |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luzerne County | 326,369 | 325,594 | +0.24% | 890.33 sq mi (2,305.9 km2) | 367/sq mi (142/km2) |
| Lackawanna County | 215,615 | 215,896 | −0.13% | 459.08 sq mi (1,189.0 km2) | 470/sq mi (181/km2) |
| Wyoming County | 26,014 | 26,069 | −0.21% | 397.32 sq mi (1,029.1 km2) | 65/sq mi (25/km2) |
| Total MSA Population | 567,998 | 567,559 | +0.08% | 1,746.73 sq mi (4,524.0 km2) | 325/sq mi (126/km2) |
The physical Wyoming Valley, also referred to as theAnthracite Valley Section, is different from the Wyoming Valleymetropolitan statistical area. The physical Wyoming Valley is a canoe-shapedvalley, about 25 miles (40 km) long, which extends from the counties ofSusquehanna andWayne (in the north) toColumbia County (in the south). It includes the cities ofCarbondale,Scranton,Pittston,Wilkes-Barre, andNanticoke. Even thoughWyoming County is part of the Wyoming Valley Metropolitan Statistical Area, it is not part of the physical valley.
Scranton is the cultural center of the Wyoming Valley, being the largest city by population in the metropolitan area.
The Wyoming Valley also has professional sports teams; they include theScranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Minor League BaseballClass AAA), theWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (American Hockey League), and theScranton/Wilkes-Barre Steamers (Premier Basketball League). TheWilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers were a minor leaguearena football team in Wilkes-Barre (from 2001 to 2009).
Local attractions include theMohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza inWilkes-Barre, thePocono Raceway inLong Pond,PNC Field inMoosic,Mohegan Pennsylvania inPlains, theToyota Pavilion inScranton, theWyoming Valley Mall inWilkes-Barre, theShoppes at Montage inMoosic, theSteamtown Mall inScranton, theViewmont Mall inScranton/Dickson City, Pennsylvania, and theMontage Mountain Waterpark/Ski Resort inScranton. Other historic attractions includeEckley Miners' Village and theSteamtown National Historic Site.
This area is celebrated inLydia Sigourney's poemVale of Wyoming published in her Scenes in my Native Land, 1845, with accompanying descriptive text.[8]
In the science-fiction storyArmageddon 2419 A.D. byPhilip Francis Nowlan, American Radioactive Gas Corporation employeeAnthony "Buck" Rogers is investigating an abandoned coal mine in the Wyoming Valley when a cave-in traps him. A gas which fills the mine shaft places him in suspended animation for nearly 500 years. He awakens to find that the United States has been destroyed by a Chinese invasion, and he joins a "gang" of Americans who survive by hiding in the forests of the Wyoming Valley area. With the help of Buck's experience as a soldier in World War I, they unite all of the scattered Americans in a "Second War of Independence" against the "Han" colonial administration.[9]
The airports for this area areWilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport and theWilkes-Barre Wyoming Valley Airport.
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