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Philadelphia Metropolitan Area

Delaware Valley
Greater Philadelphia
Southeastern Pennsylvania

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Wilmington Delaware skyline.jpg CamdenNJ WaterfrontIndustry.jpg
Philly skyline.jpg
Clockwise from top left,Wilmington, Camden, and Philadelphia
Map of the Lower Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area
Map of the Lower Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States
State  - Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Pennsylvania
 - Flag of New Jersey.svg New Jersey
 - Flag of Delaware.svg Delaware
 - Flag of Maryland.svg Maryland
Principal cities Philadelphia, Camden & Wilmington
CSA: Reading, Trenton, Atlantic City, Vineland, Hammonton, Dover
Area
 • Urban 1,981.4 sq mi (5,131.7 km2)
 • Metro 5,118 sq mi (13,256 km2)
Elevation 0 - 1,080 ft (0 - 329 m)
Population (2013 est.)
 • Density 2,746.32/sq mi (1,060.36/km2)
 • Urban 5,441,567 (5th)
 • MSA 6,034,678 (6th)
 • CSA 7,146,706 (8th)
  MSA/CSA = 2013, Urban = 2010
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EST (UTC-4)

The Delaware Valley is the valley through which the Delaware River flows. By extension, this toponym is commonly used to refer to the Philadelphia metropolitan area ("the [Lower] Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area"), which straddles the Lower Delaware River just north of its estuary.

In geology and geography, a strict sense of the term would incorporate the Delaware River's main drainage basin, and so encompass major tributaries such as the Schuylkill River and Lehigh River and their valleys or sub-basins. These extensions also apply culturally with decreasing degree gradually decreased by proximal distance because the ease of land travel enables a great deal of daily interaction; for example, the large number of commuters who travel daily 45–90 minutes creates cultural blends and parallel values.


The Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area is located at the southern part of the Northeast megalopolis extending from Boston to Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas.

The Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area is composed of several counties in southeastern Pennsylvania and southwestern New Jersey, one county in northern Delaware and one county in northeastern Maryland. The MSA has a population of over 6 million, while the CSA has a population of over 7.1 million (as of the 2010 Census Bureau count). Philadelphia, being the region's major commercial, cultural, and industrial center, wields a rather large sphere of influence that affects the counties that immediately surround it.

As of March 2011, the Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington, PA–NJ–DE–MD Metropolitan Statistical Area constitutes the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Its CSA ranks 8th.


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