The Schuylkill River

The Schuylkill River rises in Schuylkill County and flows in a generally southeasterly direction through Berks, Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia where it empties into the Delaware River. The river valley/watershed was designated the "Schuylkill River Valley National Heritage Area by Act of Congress in 2000. As of this writing (August 2007) it is one of only 37 such designations in the U.S. Pennsylvania is favorably represented with the Schuylkill being one of five National Heritage Areas found in the state. [1]

See: Historic Schuylkill River Villas.

1. The other Pennsylvania Heritage Areas are: Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (1988), Southwest Pennsylvania Industrial Heritage Route (1988), Oil Region National Heritage Area (2004), and the Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area (2000).
   
   The National Park Service offers the following definition of a National Heritage Area: A "national heritage area" is a place designated by the United States Congress where natural, cultural, historic and recreational resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally-distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography. These areas tell nationally important stories about our nation and are representative of the national experience through both the physical features that remain and the traditions that have evolved within in them.