List of enclaves in Pennsylvania

In political geography, an enclave is a piece of land entirely surrounded by the territory of another equivalent-level entity (and only that entity).[1] An exclave is a piece of land that is politically connected to a larger piece but not physically conterminous with it because the territory of other equivalent-level entity or entities entirely surround it.[2] Many entities are both enclaves and exclaves.

In Pennsylvania, every county in the state, other than the counties of Fulton, Philadelphia, Pike and Union, contains at least one municipality surrounded completely by another municipality. While Pennsylvania's urban counties contain few enclaves due to municipal fragmentation, rural areas feature numerous enclaved municipalities. Many resulted from small town centers separating from their rural surrounding areas.

There are at least 338 enclaves (that are not exclaves) in Pennsylvania comprising incorporated places and census-designated places (CDP) within other county subdivisions.[3][4] Of these, 260 are boroughs (out of 957 in the state), 75 are CDPs (out of 749), two are townships (out of 1547) and one is a city (out of 57). Although each CDP is technically a part of the township(s) in which it is located, these two types of subdivision are considered to be distinct entities.

Usually, the enclave (that is not an exclave) takes the form of a borough that is surrounded by the township of which it was originally a part, but other scenarios are possible, e.g.,

Pennsylvania enclaves that are not exclaves

Pennsylvania exclaves that are not enclaves

To be a true exclave, all potential paths of travel from the exclave to the main region must cross over the territory of a different region or regions having the equivalent governmental administrative level.

Pennsylvania pene-enclaves/exclaves

Like enclaves and exclaves, pene-enclaves and pene-exclaves are regions that are not contiguous with the main land region and have land access only through another region or regions having the equivalent governmental administrative level. Unlike enclaves and exclaves, they are not entirely surrounded by outside territory. Hence, they are enclaves or exclaves for practical purposes, without meeting the strict definition.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "6 results for: enclave". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  2. ↑ "4 results for: exclave". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  3. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau (2000). "Pennsylvania County Subdivision Outline Maps" (PDF).
  4. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau (2010). "Pennsylvania County Subdivision Outline Maps" (PDF).
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "USGS National Map Viewer". Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "USGS National Map Viewer". Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  7. ↑ "USGS National Map Viewer". Retrieved 2013-08-19.


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