Somerset County is a county located in the state of Pennsylvania.
As of 2000, the population was 80,023. Somerset County was created on April 17,
1795 from part of Bedford County and named for Somerset, United Kingdom. Its
county seat is Somerset. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan
Statistical Area.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area
of 2,800 km˛ (1,081 sq mi). 2,783 km˛ (1,075 sq mi) of it is land
and 17 km˛ (7 sq mi) of it (0.60%) is water.
Somerset County is one of the snowiest inhabited locations in the
United States, with parts of the county averaging 200+ inches of
snow each winter. The county's elevation above sea level relative
to surrounding areas causes snow from both Atlantic Ocean
Nor'easters and Great Lakes lake effect to fall from October
through early April. Snow has been recorded in Somerset County in
every month except July, although local lore has it that even July
saw snow in 1816, "the year without a summer."
Somerset County gained worldwide attention in 2001 when a hijacked
airliner, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed near the town of
Shanksville in the September 11 Terrorist Attacks.
Less than a year later, in July 2002, Somerset County again made
worldwide news when nine coal miners were rescued from several
hundred feet underground from the Quecreek mine after an intense
multi-day struggle.
-Taken from www.wikipedia.com
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