Location and ClimatePittsburgh is the second largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The city is located in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania, at the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers join to form the Ohio. The city's humid climate is modified slightly by its relative proximity to the Atlantic Seaboard and the Great Lakes.
Due to its position on the windward side of the Allegheny mountains, Pittsburgh receives heavy precipitation, and many days are subject to overcast skies. The Pittsburgh area experiences extremes of all four seasons, with temperatures ranging from zero to 90° F or so. Precipitation is distributed well throughout the year, with a good bit of the precipitation occurring as snow during the winter months. From April through October, the sun shines more than 50 percent of the time.
Downtown Pittsburgh
The city can be broken down into the Downtown area, called the Golden Triangle, and four main areas surrounding it. These four surrounding areas are further subdivided into distinct neighborhoods (in total, Pittsburgh contains 89 neighborhoods.) These areas, relative to downtown, are known as the North Side, South Side/South Hills, East End, and West End
The downtown area is located on the triangular parcel at the confluence of the rivers. We'll start off by looking at downtown through the view at Point State Park, where a 150-foot fountain symbolizes the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers. Located within the park is the Fort Pitt Blockhouse,the only remaining structure of Fort Pitt.
In addition to the downtown Golden Triangle, the city extends northeast to include the Oakland and Shadyside sections, which are home to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University,Carnegie Museum and Library, and many other educational, medical, and cultural institutions.
Pittsburgh occupies the slopes of the river valley on the opposite side of the Monongahela and the ridges beyond. Many of the city's neighborhoods, particularly south of the Monongahela, are steeply sloped. In fact, of all U.S.cities, only San Francisco has a more extreme terrain.
Information and images obtained from city-data.com
