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Lehigh Valley, Pa

The Valley is named for the Lehigh River, which runs through it. The Lehigh Valley's principal cities are Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, comprising the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metropolitan area. 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 50 miles (96 km) north of Philadelphia, the country's sixth largest city, and 70 miles (144 km) west of New York City, the country's largest city. The Valley is home to some 790,000 people. Recent census studies show it to be the fastest growing region of the state, due mostly to its growing popularity as a bedroom community for the highly-populated neighboring regions of Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York City.

The Lehigh Valley is geologically and geographically part of the Great Appalachian Valley, a region largely made up of limestone that stretches along the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. As such, the Valley suffers from a great number of sinkholes, which have caused millions of dollars of property damage annually. The Lehigh Valley is so named because it comprises an actual valley that lies between two mountain ranges, Blue Mountain to the north and South Mountain to the
south.

The Lehigh Valley is known historically for its production of steel, Portland cement and apparel. 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 lower wage, off-shore locations for industrial mining and manufacturing.

The Lehigh Valley boasts the honor of being the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, which began in the borough of Catasauqua with the development of anthracite iron.

Climate
The Lehigh Valley has four distinct seasons, which typically include humid summers, cold winters, and very short and mild springs and falls.

Recreation
The Lehigh Valley is home to Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, a popular amusement and water park. Located in South Whitehall Township, Dorney Park is known nationally for its elaborate roller coasters and water rides.

Dorney Park's Steel Force and Thunderhawk roller coasters, in South Whitehall Township.The region's ski resorts are Bear Creek Ski and Recreation Area and Blue Mountain Ski Area. Bear Creek is a 21 slope resort located outside of Macungie, Pennsylvania. Blue Mountain is located near Danielsville, Pennsylvania. The Poconos, which feature some of the East Coast's best-known ski resorts, is approximately 30 miles north of the Lehigh Valley. Several large lakes used for boating and fishing also are located there. The Pocono 500, a NASCAR Nextel Cup race, is run each June at Pocono Raceway in the Poconos.

New Jersey shore beaches are approximately 45 miles east of the Lehigh Valley.

Dutch Springs, the nation's largest SCUBA amusement park, is located in Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth Township. Over 40,000 divers annually utilize the facilities, which have sunken "treasures" to enhance the underwater experience. In addition to scuba diving, kayaking and paddle boats are available. The facility has a water park, camping grounds, and picnic areas.

Cities:
Towns with more than 10,000 people	Towns with fewer than 10,000 people
Allentown Bethlehem Easton Emmaus Phillipsburg	Alburtis Alpha Bangor Bath Beaver Meadows Belvidere Bowmanstown Catasauqua Chapman Coopersburg Coplay East Bangor East Side Fountain Hill Freemansburg	Glendon Hellertown Jim Thorpe Lansford Lehighton Macungie Nazareth Neffs Nesquehoning North Catasauqua Northampton Palmerton PalmerTownship Parryville Pen Argyl	Portland Roseto Schnecksville Slatington Stockertown Summit Hill Tatamy Walnutport Washington Weatherly Weissport West Easton Wilson Wind Gap
Census-designated places
Allamuchy-Panther Valley Ancient Oaks Beattystown Belfast Brass Castle Eastlawn Gardens Fullerton Great Meadows-Vienna Hokendauqua Middletown Old Orchard Oxford Palmer Heights Pleasant Corners Tresckow Weissport East