• The physiography of Pennsylvania is hierarchical—as is the whole country. Historically, Pennsylvania has been described using Provinces (the largest units) and Sections (the first sub-unit). Pennsylvania has parts of six physiographic provinces:
  
  • Central Lowlands
    
  • Appalachian Plateaus
    
  • Ridge and Valley
    
  • Piedmont
    
  • New England
    
  • Coastal Plain
    
    
• Birds and planes take off into the wind.
  
  
• World records were set from a gliderport in Centre County, Pennsylvania. These record flights went from Pennsylvania to outside Knoxville, Tennessee and back in one day. Flights have even been made all the way from Centre County to Selma, Alabama.
  
  
• The ETA, which was first flown in 2001, is the largest flying sailplane in the world with a wingspan of 101.4 feet—10 feet wider than a Boeing 737-400.
  
  
• Some sailplanes fill their wings with water to use as ballast to make the plane heavier—the heavier the plane, the higher the inter-thermal cruise speed.
  
  
• The largest raptor in Pennsylvania is the Golden eagle.
  
  
• Golden eagles rely primarily on ridge lift for their Spring migration through Pennsylvania. This migration takes place during late February through March.
  
  
• Seasonally, an estimated 800 Golden eagles migrate through Pennsylvania. There are only approximately 1200 breeding pairs of Golden eagles in the eastern US and Canada.
  
  
• The smallest diurnal raptor in Pennsylvania is the American kestrel.
  
  
• Sailplanes have flown as high as almost 50,000 feet, as far as 1800 miles, and at speeds up to 175 miles per hour.
  
  
• The most Golden eagles counted during a single day during Spring migration was 32 at Tussey Mountain.
  
  
• Orville Wright set the world record for gliding—9 minutes and 45 seconds, on October 24, 1911. This record remained unbroken for ten years

Physiographic Provinces