About The Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valley (known to local residents simply as The Valley) is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, located along the Lehigh River in the eastern part of the state.

The Valley's official census area includes Pennsylvania's Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Cities and location

The Lehigh Valley's principal cities are Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. The traditional bounds of the region are The Poconos to the north, the Delaware River to the east, the boundaries of Berks County and Montgomery County to the southwest, and the boundary with Bucks County to the south. More recently, however, the area around Phillipsburg, New Jersey west of Pohatcong Mountain, parts of upper Bucks County around Quakertown, and portions of northeastern Berks County and southwestern Carbon County in Pennsylvania are considered outer parts of The Valley.

The Lehigh Valley is located approximately 60 miles (96 km) north of Philadelphia, the country's fifth largest city, and 90 miles (144 km) west of New York City, the largest city. The Lehigh Valley is home to some 740,000 people, making it Pennsylvania's third most populated metropolitan region. Recent Pennsylvania census studies show it to be the fastest growing region of the state, due mostly to its growing popularity as a bedroom community for neighboring Philadelphia and New York City.

The Lehigh Valley is geologically and geographically part of the Great Valley, a region largely made up of limestone that stretches along the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. As such, the Lehigh Valley suffers from a great number of sinkholes, which have caused millions of dollars of property damage annually.

Industry

The Lehigh Valley is historically important for its production of steel, anthracite coal, and other natural resources. It has historically served as a major U.S. center of industrial manufacturing, though this role has diminished at least slightly in the 21st century as companies have shifted to Asia and other off-shore locations for industrial mining and manufacturing.

Companies based in the Lehigh Valley include Agere Systems, Air Products & Chemicals, the Bethlehem Steel Corporation (which ceased operations in 2003), Buckeye Pipe Line, Mack Trucks, Olympus Corporation USA, Pennsylvania Power & Light, Rodale Press and others.

After the demise of Bethlehem Steel, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, one of Pennsylvania's largest hospital systems, has taken Bethlehem Steel's place as the Lehigh Valley's largest employer.

Education

Colleges and universities

The Lehigh Valley is a center of post-secondary education, with seven four-year colleges and universities. These include: Cedar Crest College (in Allentown), DeSales University (in Center Valley), Lafayette College (in Easton), Lehigh University (in Bethlehem), Moravian College (in Bethlehem), Muhlenberg College (in Allentown), and Penn State Lehigh Valley (in Fogelsville).

The Lehigh Valley is also home to three two-year colleges: Lehigh Carbon Community College (with campuses in Allentown, Carbon County and Schnecksville), Lehigh Valley College, formerly known as Allentown Business School (in Center Valley), and Northampton Community College (with campuses in Bethlehem Township and Monroe County).

Primary education

As the third most populous region in Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley is served by numerous school districts, public and private high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools.

Lehigh Valley-based high schools include: Allentown Central Catholic High School (Allentown), Bangor Area High School (Bangor), Bethlehem Catholic High School (Bethlehem), Catasauqua High School (Catasauqua), Easton High School (Easton), Emmaus High School (Emmaus), Freedom High School (Bethlehem), Lehigh Valley Christian High School (Allentown), Liberty High School (Bethlehem), Louis E. Dieruff High School (Allentown), Moravian Academy (Bethlehem), Nazareth High School (Nazareth), Northampton Area High School (Northampton), Northern Lehigh High School (Slatington), Notre Dame Area High School (Easton), Parkland High School (Allentown), Pen Argyl Area High School (Pen Argyl), Phillipsburg High School (Phillipsburg, New Jersey), Pius X High School (Bangor), Salisbury High School (Salisbury Township), Saucon Valley Area High School (Hellertown), Southern Lehigh High School (Center Valley), Whitehall High School (Whitehall), William Allen High School (Allentown) and Wilson Area High School (Easton).

Athletics and entertainment

Philadelphia Eagles

The Lehigh Valley is the home of pre-season training camp for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, who hold their pre-season training camp each summer on the practice fields of Lehigh University in Bethlehem. The camp routinely draws some of the largest crowds of any NFL team's pre-season training.

Stabler Arena

Stabler Arena, one of the East Coast's premier indoor arenas, is based in the Lehigh Valley. Stabler hosts regular sporting and music events. It is home to Lehigh University men's and women's college basketball teams and also to the Lehigh Valley Outlawz, an indoor football team that plays in the Great Lakes Indoor Football League.

Minor League baseball

In 2008, the Lehigh Valley is scheduled to open an 8,000-seat AAA minor league stadium, to be located in Allentown's east side. The stadium will host a yet unannounced AAA-level minor league baseball team, though there is speculation that the Ottawa Lynx may be bought by the owners of the Philadelphia Phillies-affiliated Reading Phillies and Lakewood BlueClaws and moved to Allentown. At the end of the 2006 season, the Phillies will most likely choose to part ways with their AAA affiliate of the past 18 seasons, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. The Ottawa franchise is expected to sign a Player Development Contract with the Phillies at this time in an effort to bring the team to Allentown and vastly closer to its Philadelphia fan base. However, since the stadium will not be complete until 2008, the Phillies will likely be affiliated with the Ottawa Lynx for a transitional year, in 2007, until the Allentown stadium's construction is completed. The Red Barons, owned by the Lackawanna County Stadium Authority, will then be free to negotiate affiliations with any of the other remaining Major League Baseball teams.

Recreation

The Lehigh Valley is home to Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, based in South Whitehall Township. The park is one of the most popular amusement and water parks in the country, featuring some of the country's most elaborate roller coasters and water rides.

The Lehigh Valley is also approximately 30 miles south of the Poconos, which features some of the region's best skiing and several large lakes used for boating and fishing. New Jersey shore beaches are approximately 45 miles east of the region.

Transportation

The Lehigh Valley is served by air tranportation through Lehigh Valley International Airport (IATA: ABE), located in the Lehigh Valley's Hanover Township, three miles northeast of Allentown. Private bus companies provide multiple daily roundtrip transportation to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal, Philadelphia, Atlantic City and other regional locations. Public bus service in The Valley is provided by LANTA, which serves Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and neighboring suburbs with various routes.

This copy courtesy of Wikipedia

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