Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley, it had an estimated population of 40,766 in 2019. It is the second-largest city of the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census and is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania. Wilkes-Barre and the surrounding Wyoming Valley are framed by the Pocono Mountains to the east, the Endless Mountains to the north and west, and the Lehigh Valley to the south. The Susquehanna River flows through the center of the valley and defines the northwestern border of the city.
Luzerne County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 906 square miles (2,350 km2), of which 890 square miles (2,300 km2) is land and 16 square miles (41 km2) is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 320,918, making it the most populous county in the northeastern part of the state. The county seat and largest city is Wilkes-Barre. Other populous communities include Hazleton, Kingston, Nanticoke, and Pittston. Luzerne County is included in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a total population of 555,426.
Avoca is a borough within the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located 7.5 miles (12.1 km) northeast of Wilkes Barre and 3.4 miles (5.5 km) southwest of Scranton. The population was 2,661 at the 2010 census. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (AVP) is located near Avoca.
Duryea is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, 9 miles (14 km) south of Scranton. It is situated along the eastern bank of the Susquehanna. The Lackawanna River runs through the heart of Duryea's boundary. It was incorporated as a borough in 1901, and had an import switching rail yard, the Duryea yard, connecting the central Wyoming Valley to destinations in lower New York and down-state Pennsylvania. Coal mining and the manufacturing of silk were the chief industries in the early years of its existence. The population was 4,917 at the 2010 census.
Exeter is a borough in the Greater Pittston-Wilkes-Barre area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, about 10 miles (16 km) west of Scranton and a few miles north of Wilkes-Barre. It is located on the western bank of the Susquehanna River and has a total area of 5.0 square miles (12.9 km2). As of 2010, Exeter had a population of 5,652.
Jenkins Township is a township in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,442 at the 2010 census.
Newport Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2010, the population was 5,374. Newport is located on the outskirts of Nanticoke City.
Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. The city gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal mining city, drawing a large portion of its labor force from European immigrants. The population was 7,739 as of the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Luzerne County. At its peak in 1920, the population of Pittston was 18,497. The city consists of three sections: The Downtown, the Oregon Section, and the Junction. Pittston City is at the heart of the Greater Pittston region. Greater Pittston has a total population of 48,020.
Pittston Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,368 as of the 2010 census. The township is located within the Greater Pittston region. As of 2010, the total population of Greater Pittston was 48,020. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is located in Pittston Township.
Plains Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,961 at the 2010 census. The municipality is the birthplace of Chicago White Sox hall of famer Ed Walsh and John J. Yeosock, a United States Army general who commanded the 3rd U.S. Army during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Mohegan Sun Pocono is a casino in Plains Township.
West Pittston is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the Susquehanna River. In 2010, the population was 4,868.
The Knox Mine disaster was a mining accident on January 22, 1959, at the River Slope Mine in Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania.
The Coal Region is a historically important coal-mining area in Northeastern Pennsylvania in the central Ridge-and-valley Appalachian Mountains, comprising Lackawanna, Luzerne, Columbia, Carbon, Schuylkill, Northumberland, and the extreme northeast corner of Dauphin counties. Academics have made the distinction between the North Anthracite Coal Field and the South Anthracite Coal Field, the lower region bearing the further classification Anthracite Uplands in physical geology. The Southern Coal Region can be further broken into the Southeastern and Southwestern Coal Regions, with the divide between the Little Schuylkill and easternmost tributary of the Schuylkill River with the additional divide line from the Lehigh watershed extended through Barnesville the determining basins.
The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania, once famous for fueling the industrial revolution in the United States with its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan area, it is known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, after its principal cities, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, and is the 101st-largest metropolitan area in the United States and the 4th largest in Pennsylvania. It makes up its own unique physiographic province, the Anthracite Valley, in the geology of Pennsylvania. Greater Pittston makes up the center of the valley. Scranton is the most populated city in the metropolitan area with a population of 77,114. The city of Scranton has grown in population after the 2015 mid term census while Wilkes-Barre has declined in population. Wilkes-Barre is still the second most populated city in the metropolitan area and Hazleton is third. The airports for this area are Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (Avoca) and the Wilkes-Barre Wyoming Valley Airport.
Greater Pittston is a 65.35 sq mi (169.25 km²) region in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in reference to the area in and around Pittston. As of 2010, the total population of Greater Pittston is 48,020. This region includes Avoca, Dupont, Duryea, Exeter Boro, Exeter Township, Hughestown, Jenkins Township, Laflin, Pittston Township, West Pittston, West Wyoming, Wyoming, and Yatesville.
The Twin Shaft disaster occurred in the Newton Coal Company's Twin Shaft Colliery in Pittston, Pennsylvania, on June 28, 1896, when a massive cave-in killed fifty-eight miners.
Water Street Bridge is a truss bridge that spans the Susquehanna River between West Pittston, Pennsylvania and Pittston, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1914 by the Penn Bridge Company.
Mill Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is 8.7 miles (14.0 km) long. Its watershed is approximately 36 square miles in area. The creek flows through Plains Township, Bear Creek Township, and Wilkes-Barre.
Inkerman is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jenkins Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,819 at the 2010 census.
Myron Thomas was an American coal miner in northeastern Pennsylvania, and a hero of the Knox Mine Disaster when he led a group of 24 survivors to safety.
