Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
| Lehigh County, Pennsylvania | ||
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 Location in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania |
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 Pennsylvania's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | March 6, 1812 | |
| Named for | Lehigh River | |
| Seat | Allentown | |
| Largest city | Allentown | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 348 sq mi (901 km2) | |
| • Land | 345 sq mi (894 km2) | |
| • Water | 3.1 sq mi (8 km2), 0.9% | |
| Population (est.) | ||
| • (2015) | 360,685 | |
| • Density | 1,046/sq mi (404/km²) | |
| Congressional district | 15th | |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | |
| Website | www |
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Lehigh County is a county located in the Lehigh Valley region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 349,497. Its county seat is Allentown, the state's third largest city behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The county, which was first settled around 1730, was formed in 1812 with the division of Northampton County into two counties. It is named after the Lehigh River, whose name is derived from the Delaware Indian term Lechauweki or Lechauwekink, meaning "where there are forks".
Lehigh County is included in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the New York City-Newark, New Jersey, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.
It is currently the fastest growing county in Pennsylvania and among the fastest growing nationwide, ranking in the 79th percentile overall for the 2010 to 2012 time period.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 348 square miles (900 km2), of which 345 square miles (890 km2) is land and 3.1 square miles (8.0 km2) (0.9%) is water.
The Lehigh Valley, which includes all of Lehigh and Northampton counties, is bounded on the north by Blue Mountain, a ridge of the Appalachian mountain range with an altitude of 1,300 to 1,604 feet (489 m), and on the south by South Mountain, a ridge of 700 to 1,100 feet (340 m) that cuts through the southern portions of the two counties. The highest point in Lehigh County is Bake Oven Knob, a mass of Tuscarora conglomeratic rocks that rise about 100 feet (30 m) above the main ridge of the Blue Mountain in northwestern Heidelberg Township.
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