Virginia - Political
 
CapitalRichmond
Largest CityVirginia Beach
Major CitiesNorfolk, Chesapeake, Newport News, Hampton, Alexandria, Portsmouth, Roanoke, Arlington, Charlottesville
NicknamesOld Dominion
Area40,817 sq. miles
Population7,078,515
 
Virginia - Physical features
 
Mountain RangesAppalachian Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, Allegheny Mountains
BaysChesapeake Bay
Valleys/PassesShenandoah Valley, Cumberland Gap
Natural RegionsPiedmont, Tidewater
Other Physical FeaturesDelmarva Peninsula , Cape Charles, Great Dismal Swamp
RiversJames, Roanoke, Rappahannock, Potomac, Shenandoah, New, York
Highest PointMount Rogers
IslandsAssateague Island
Bordering StatesMaryland (north), District of Columbia* (north), West Virginia (west), Kentucky (southwest), Tennessee (southwest), North Carolina (south)
* Not a state, but a federal district
National ParksShenandoah NP
Key ProductsDairy products, Tobacco, Government
Natural ResourcesCoal (Virginia is one of the top 10 coal producing states in the nation)
 
Virginia - History
 
1607Jamestown becomes first permanent British settlement in the Americas
178810th state to ratify constitution
Present DayCoal is Virginia’s leading mining product
 
Virginia - Facts
 
  • Virginia is known as the "Mother of Presidents" because eight US presidents were born here
  • The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel links the Delmarva Peninsula at Cape Charles with mainland Virginia at Norfolk
  • Virginia is known for its profound history. The American Revolution officialy ended at Yorktown, within 15 miles of Jamestown. Also, the final surrenders of the Civil War ended at Appomattox, an inland port on the Appomattox River, a tributary of the longer James
  • Mount Vernon, a suburb of Alexandria overlooking the Potomac, was home to George Washington who lived here from 1747 until his deathin 1799
  • Richmond was capital of the Confederacy
  • Williamsburg served as the capital of Virginia from 1699 to 1779
  • Virginia is one of the few states that uses the term commonwealth in its name; the others include Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Kentucky
  • The most famous of all general officers serving the Confederacy was Robert.E.Lee, who is honored today by Arlington National Cemetary in Arlington, which stands on what was previously his home. Robert.E.Lee surrendered to Ulysses.S.Grant, the at Appomattox Courthouse, thus ending the Civil War
  • Hampton Roads, a deepwater harbor formed as the James river empties into Chesapeake Bay, is Virginia’s key manufacturing and shipping center, with the major ports of Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth located on and around its banks
  • The Pentagon is the world’s largest office building and is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense
  • The region east of the Piedmont and seperated from it by the fall Line is the Tidewater, a flat, coastal plain which extends south to Florida and west to Texas, and includes the entire Atlantic and Gulf Coastal plains of the US
  • More than 200 kinds of bird species are found in the Great Dismal Swamp of saoutheastern Virginia, extending into North Carolina