page_title: Adams County, Pennsylvania
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Adams County, Pennsylvania / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Eternal Light Peace Memorial in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA
context_page_description: Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,407. Its county seat is Gettysburg. The county was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County, and was named for the second President of the United States, John Adams. On July 1–3, 1863, the area around Gettysburg was the site of the pivotal battle of the American Civil War, and as a result is a center for Civil War tourism.
  Adams County comprises the Gettysburg, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA Combined Statistical Area.
context_section_description: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 522 square miles (1,350 km²), of which 519 square miles (1,340 km²) is land and 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²) (0.6%) is water. The Borough of Gettysburg is located at the center of Adams County. This county seat community is surrounded on three sides by the Gettysburg National Military Park (GNMP). The Eisenhower National Historic Site adjoins GNMP on its southwest edge. Most of Adams County's rural landscapes and its mid-19th century roadway pattern remain intact today. Thirteen historic roadways converge at or near Gettysburg Borough. Two circular rings of towns surround Gettysburg; the first is typically found at a distance of about 7 miles (11 km) from Gettysburg. The second ring is found at a distance of 12 to 15 miles (24 km) from the County Seat. This "spokes and wheel" pattern is one of the few examples of Central Place Theory in the Eastern United States.
  The county is in the watershed of the Chesapeake Bay and is drained by the Susquehanna and Potomac Rivers.
caption: Eternal Light Peace Memorial at Gettysburg Battlefield
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