Geography of Virginia

Introduction to Geography of Virginia

Virginia, one of the southern states of the United States. It fronts on Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, and is bordered by Maryland, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Virginia is roughly triangular in shape and ranks 35th in size in the nation. It is a scenic state with varied terrain, ranging from sandy beaches and tidewater marshes to hazy mountains and verdant valleys.

Virginia was the site of the first permanent settlement and colony in North America. Virginians were prominent among the nation's founding fathers and played major roles in the Revolutionary War. No state contributed more to the Confederate cause during the Civil War; Virginia's capital, Richmond, was also capital of the Confederacy, and a number of the South's greatest generals were Virginians.

Physical Geography

Virginia lies in five distinct regions, all of which run in a northeast-southwest direction: the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Piedmont Plateau, the Blue Ridge, the Ridge and Valley, and the Cumberland Plateau. All except the Coastal Plain are part of the Appalachian system, which extends from Newfoundland to Alabama.

The Coastal Plain, or Tidewater Virginia, is a broad lowland in the east, making up about a fourth of the state. It extends inland as far as the Fall Line and includes the Eastern Shore, which is part of the Delmarva Peninsula east of Chesapeake Bay. Most of the land is flat and sandy and deeply indented by estuaries and bays. Extensive swamps and marshes border the tidal areas. The largest swamp is Dismal Swamp, on the North Carolina border.

The Piedmont Plateau. About half the state is in this rolling-to-hilly area west of the Coastal Plain. From the Fall Line the Piedmont extends westward to the Blue Ridge, increasing in elevation from about 300 to 1,000 feet (90 to 300 m).

The Blue Ridge rises abruptly from the Piedmont, forming a fairly narrow band of mountains across the state. The range is highest and broadest in the south, below Roanoke, where a number of peaks exceed elevations of 3,500 feet (1,067 m). Mount Rogers, a short distance just north of Virginia's border with Tennessee and North Carolina, reaches 5,729 feet (1,746 m)—the highest point in Virginia.

The Ridge and Valley region is beyond the Blue Ridge. It is some 50 to 75 miles (80 to 120 km) wide and consists of northeast-southwest mountain ridges and intervening parallel valleys. Largest of the valleys is the Great Valley, or Valley of Virginia, which lies just west of the Blue Ridge. In northern Virginia it follows the Shenandoah River and is usually called the Shenandoah Valley. A number of caverns and natural bridges occur in the Ridge and Valley region.

The Cumberland Plateau. A small portion of this plateau crosses the extreme southwestern part of the state. It is mostly a heavily eroded upland with deep valleys. The Cumberland Gap, a pass through the rough terrain, lies at the junction of Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Large coal deposits underlie the region.

Virginia's largest rivers flow from the mountains to Chesapeake Bay. Among them are the Potomac, which forms part of the Virginia-Maryland state line; the Rappahannock; the York; and the James. The Roanoke River flows from the Blue Ridge through the Piedmont into North Carolina and empties into Albemarle Sound. Rivers in western Virginia, including the Clinch and the Holston, drain southwestward to the Tennessee River beyond the Virginia state line. The New River, west of Roanoke, is the only major river to flow northwestward; it joins the Kanawha, a tributary of the Ohio, in West Virginia. Many of Virginia's rivers flow in water gaps that cut through mountain ridges.

Reservoirs, built as water-supply sources, as part of hydroelectric installations, and as recreational areas, are Virginia's largest lakes. Among them are Buggs Island Lake and Lake Gaston, on the North Carolina border, Smith Mountain Lake, and Lake Anna. Lake Drummond, in the Dismal Swamp, is the largest natural lake. Virginia also has many mineral springs and hot springs.

Virginia has a humid climate that is transitional between the harsh continental type of the northern United States and the subtropical kind of the South. Its chief distinguishing marks are warm to hot summers, moderately cold winters, and abundant precipitation. Climatic variations within the state are due largely to differences in elevation and topography and distance from the sea.

Summers are hottest on the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont, where July temperatures average 76° to 79° F. (24° to 26° C.) and often reach daytime highs of around 90° F. (32° C.). Mountainous areas have somewhat lower readings. January temperatures vary, depending on location, from about 33° to 44° F. (.5° to 7° C.).

Precipitation is greatest in the higher mountain areas and in the southeastern part of the state—about 50 inches (1,270 mm) a year. In general, amounts decrease toward the northwest, reaching a low of about 32 inches (813 mm) along the West Virginia border. Droughts are infrequent. Snowfall is light, especially in the Tidewater area.

Economy

Virginia's economy is based heavily on its service industries. These include community, business and personal services, finance, real estate, and insurance, government, trade, restaurants, hotels, transportation and communication. The federal government provides a large portion of employment in Virginia, with many Virginians working for the government in either Washington, D.C., or the city's suburbs in Virginia and Maryland. The Hampton Roads area has one of the greatest concentrations of military bases in the nation. In addition, Virginia's historic sites, beaches and other attractions draw millions of tourists annually.

Virginia's leading manufactured products are beverage and tobacco products. Cigarette factories in Richmond produce most of the state's income from tobacco. Tobacco is grown in the Piedmont region and far western part of the state. Soft drinks and beer are manufactured in other parts of the state. Other important goods manufactured in Virginia are computer and electronic equipment, transportation equipment, including boats and ships, motor vehicle parts and trucks, and chemcals, particularly pharmaceuticals, paints, and synthetic fibers. Chief food products, including baked goods, dairy products, canned and preserved fruits, vegetables, seafoods, meat products, and candy, are processed in many parts of the state. Other manufactured products include paper goods, printed materials, plastics, and rubber products.

Virginia's 47,000 farms cover about a third of the state's land area. Livestock and livestock products, mainly cattle and chickens, provide about 70 per cent of all farm income. Beef and dairy cattle, broilers, and turkey are raised throughout the state but are most numerous in Rockinham County in northern Virginia. Hogs are mostly raised in eastern Virginia. Corn and soybeans are also important crops. Other leading Virginia crops include cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, and apples. Most of the state's apple crop comes from the Shenandoah Valley.

Commercial fishing brings in about $150 million annually in the state. Virginia ranks among the top states in crab and scallop production. Other important fish include Atlantic croaker, menhaden, summer flounder, spot, and striped bass.

Virginia is a major producer of coal, crushed stone, natural gas, cement, clay, kyanite, lime, and sand and gravel.

Forests cover nearly two-thirds of Virginia, and lumbering is a significant industry, especially in parts of the Piedmont and of the Coastal Plain. Hardwoods are the most common trees in the western part of the state. Pines and other conifers prevail on the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain.

Virginia is served by a modern highway network, which includes parts of six Interstate routes and is most extensively developed on the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain. Two of the most scenic highways in the state are Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, the latter in Shenandoah National Park. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (officially, the Lucius J. Kellam, Jr., Bridge-Tunnel), 17.6 miles (28 km) long, connects Virginia Beach with the Eastern Shore.

Nearly a dozen railways operate in Virginia. Major railroading centers include Richmond, Norfolk-Portsmouth, and Alexandria. The Port of Hampton Roads, with facilities in Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake, is one of the leading ports in the United States. Coal is the main export; petroleum products are the leading imports. River ports in Virginia include Alexandria, on the Potomac, and Hopewell and Richmond, on the James.

Virtually all of the state is within easy access of commercial air transportation. The two principal airports are Washington National and Dulles International, located near the national capital. There are also busy airports at Richmond, Norfolk, Newport News, and other major cities.

The People

Virginia ranked 12th among the states in population. The population density was 178.8 persons per square mile (69 per km2), more than twice that of the nation as a whole. Whites made up about 72 per cent of the population, blacks about 20 per cent.

Education

In early colonial Virginia, wealthy planters employed tutors, usually clergymen, for their children and often invited the children from neighboring plantations to attend classes. Many of the homes had large libraries. The first free school was endowed by Benjamin Syms in 1635. The College of William and Mary, one of the nation's earliest institutions of higher learning, was founded at Williamsburg in 1693. Augusta Academy, opened at Lexington in 1749, was the first of many private academies that flourished in Virginia until the late 19th century. (It later became Washington & Lee University.) A free public school system was provided for by the constitution of 1868.

The state board of education supervises public education. The board and the superintendent of public instruction are appointed by the governor with the approval of the General Assembly. Their terms expire at the same time as the governor's. School attendance is required from the age of 5 to 17.

The University of Virginia was chartered as the state university in 1819. Thomas Jefferson helped to found the university, which was opened in 1825, and designed many of its buildings. The main campus is at Charlottesville. Clinch Valley College at Wise is a branch of the university.

Hampton University at Hampton was founded in 1868 to provide higher education for newly freed slaves and became one of the nation's leading teacher-training schools for blacks.

Government

The Commonwealth of Virginia (as the state is officially called) is governed under its sixth constitution, adopted in 1970, effective in 1971. The governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general are elected to four-year terms. Other administrative officials are appointed by the governor, with the approval of the state legislature, called the General Assembly. The General Assembly consists of the Senate (40 members elected for four years) and the House of Delegates (100 members elected for two years). It meets annually.

The judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court of Virginia, which consists of seven justices elected to 12-year terms. Other courts include a Court of Appeals, the Circuit Court, juvenile and domestic relations courts, and general district courts. All judges are elected by the General Assembly.

The state has 95 counties. There are also 41 independent cities, which are not part of any county. Virginia sends 11 representatives and 2 senators to the United States Congress.