Overview of Pittsburgh: Land

Full Pittsburgh Travel Guide »    Pittsburgh Interactive Map »    Print This Article »

The surrounding landscape has had a huge impact on Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh's characteristic rivers and hills have shaped the city physically, economically, and socially.

Like most older cities, it was the rivers that made the city. The rivers allowed for the transport of raw materials and provided water used for making steel, and allowed for easy shipping of finished products. Today, the rivers attract mostly recreational boaters, but still support extensive barge traffic. Pittsburgh claims to have more bridges than any city in the world (only counting bridges over 20 feet, 440 or so within Pittsburgh, and over 1700 in the county) pghbridges.com.

The hilly landscape has created unique neighborhoods; flat lands near the rivers were used for mills, while workers' houses cling precariously the the hillsides above. In many places "pockets" of neighborhoods, divided by rivers and valleys, have developed distinctly different characteristics from each other, despite being very close together. The landscape has kept many areas, unbuildable to due slopes, lush and green, and provides for great views.

• pghbridges.com