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The Pocono Mountains region is a mountainous region of about 2,400 square miles (6,200 km&2) located in northeastern Pennsylvania . The Poconos are a popular recreational destination for local and regional visitors. The region has a population of about 300,000, which is growing fast, largely attributable to vacationers from the New York City Region turning vacation homes into primary residences, and establishing new ones altogether. The region lacks any major population center, although small municipalities are scattered through the area. The Poconos now serves as a commuter community for the Northern New Jersey metropolitan areas, even though the commute often takes as much as 2 hours each way due to distance and traffic. Because the region lacks a population center, it is difficult to establish transit infrastructure to feed (future) commuter rail and bus lines. CULTURE As commuter families build homes and send their children to public schools, they interact with preexisting youth. Children of commuters serve as sample groups from their respective hometowns. These hometowns differ greatly; from the quiet post WWII suburbs of northern New Jersey, to the gritty, economically depressed South Bronx . The latter group began to appear in numbers as dilapidated, shoddy, housing units from the Pocono's first wave of housing development in the 1980s, which came onto the market again in the mid-1990s. This is especially true along SR 611 and US 209 in Monroe County . Since the mid-1980s the weekly Real Estate section of New York City 's "blue collar" newspaper, the ''Daily News'' has been awash with ads encouraging "outer boros" residents to move to the region to get much bigger housing bang for the buck. Because of this housing trend that continues, cultural elements of rural Pennsylvania, suburban New Jersey, and inner-city New York coexist and commingle. Hip Hop concerts organized by teenagers from local high schools are being held at the same volunteer fire halls as square dances and bingo games. In some views, this cultural comingling has added to the richness and productivity of the local music scene, with constantly evolving multi-genre offerings, and venues usually associated with much larger cities, while others see it as the "New Yorkification" of the region. One must also note that with the "New Yorkification" of the area the amount of gangs and crime to the area has increased ten fold in the last 10 years. GEOGRAPHY The Poconos are a vaguely defined area encompassing , although not as high: their highest summit, Elk Hill’s North Knob, reaches 2,693 feet (821 m), while its lowest elevation is 350 feet (107 m) in Pike County. Technically speaking, although they seem to be an extension of the Appalachian Mountains into Upstate New York, they are not geologically related. The Poconos are not a Mountain Chain , they are rather a mature dissected Plateau , an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation of the Allegheny Plateau , one which continues into the Catskills in New York State . The Delaware River flows through the Poconos and gives the region its name, from a Native American term roughly translating to "stream between two mountains." The Lehigh and Lackawaxen Rivers also flow through the region, totalling about 170 miles (270 km) of waterways. The Poconos are also home to some 150 lakes and many Waterfalls , such as those in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area of Monroe County and Ricketts Glen State Park in northwestern Luzerne County . RECREATION ]] The Poconos are a well known outdoor recreation destination for visitors around the northeast, especially from . There are extensive opportunities for watersports, with many of the lakes and rivers stocked for fishing. Hunters pursue White-tailed Deer , Wild Turkey s, Ruffed Grouse , and other animals. More American Black Bear are killed here than anywhere else in the state, and likely the contiguous 48 states. This is largely due to acidic pine barren creek valleys teeming with Trout and berries. Toward the southern margin of the Poconos, the Blue Mountain ridge is site of the Appalachian Trail and a major Flyway for the autumn Raptor Migration , including the nationally renowned Hawk Mountain sanctuary. The Poconos are also home to Summer Camps, such as Camp Pocono Ridge and Goose Pond Scout Reservation near Lake Ariel. The Poconos are and have been Pennsylvania's most popular tourist destination, the region contains over 80% of the state's resorts. Those resorts earn 1.5 billion in gross revenues and employ 18,000 workers.[http://www.insiders.com/poconos/main-overview.htm] The region is also a popular winter destination. State parks offer snowmobile trails, snowshoeing, and eagle watching [http://www.800poconos.com/release_winter_fun.html]. Popular summer attractions include Claws N Paws Wild Animal Park Kittatinny Rafting & Paintball [http://www.kittatinny.com/ , Houdini Museum [http://www.houdini.org/] and others. Other outdoor activities, particularly Golf , are also popular options. Another attraction is Pocono Raceway , a major automobile racetrack, which is home to two NASCAR races in June and August as well as a racing school and motorcycle track. A highly controversial proposal to license a gambling casino with slot machines in Monroe County was recently approved. The new casino will be constructed at the site of the former Mount Airy Lodge in Paradise Township. The total cost is estimated to be $360 million and will include approximately 5,000 slot machines when complete. The first phase of construction is slated to be finished in fall of 2007. Skiing in the Poconos Numerous ski resorts {Link without Title} in the Poconos offer some of the closest and most accessible skiing to the major population centers of the East Coast of the United States.
Ski areas in the Poconos are not particularly large and do not have large vertical drops (Camelback, with an 800' vertical drop is the largest), so runs tend to be on the shorter side. However, the Poconos do offer conveniently located skiing, and many areas also offer night skiing. Many Pocono ski resorts cater to both winter and summer visitors. RAIL SERVICE mainline runs over the Pocono Mountains .]] Rail service is provided by the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority . One of its primary objectives is to establish rail passenger service with New Jersey Transit between Scranton, Pennsylvania and Hoboken, New Jersey with connecting service into Manhattan, New York . Designated operator of the line is the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad . On January 23, 2007, NJ Transit was given an intitial environmental 'OK' to re-establish a Hoboken-to-Scranton connection, estimated to be a 3-hour trip. Construction of the extension is still several years away. NEWSPAPERS The Poconos have a few newspapers covering local events and happenings. These include the daily paper, ''The Pocono Record '', the weekly paper, a shopper and ''Blue Mountain Moments'', which is published monthly. To the north, additional regional publications covering Pike and Wayne Counties include the ''News Eagle'', ''Pike County Dispatch'', ''Milford Magazine'', ''Pike County Courier'', and ''Wayne Independent''. EXTERNAL LINKS
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