Geography and Climate of Virginia
Virginia borders Maryland and the District of Columbia to the north, North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, West Virginia and Kentucky to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The Potomac River lies in D.C. and Maryland, as opposed to splitting with Virginia due to the state’s original charter and boundaries.
Most of the contiguous part of the state separates from the Eastern Shore by the Chesapeake Bay, where the Potomac, York, Rappahannock and Shenandoah rivers flow. The Tidewater region, or the coastal plain between the Piedmont fall line and the Atlantic coast, includes major cities. The Virginia Peninsula, the Hampton Roads, the Eastern Shore and the Northern Neck are all part of the Tidewater.
The Piedmont region lies in the foothills, east of the Appalachian Mountains. The Blue Ridge Mountains in the western part of the state is part of the Appalachian range, the same area as the Ridge and Valley, which includes the Great Appalachian Valley. The Appalachian Plateau is west of the mountains. Natural resources like coal, slate, kyanite and sand are mined from these regions.
East of the Blue Ridge Mountains and in the Shenandoah Valley, the state has a humid subtropical climate. In the western part, the climate is humid continental, with colder winters. The Atlantic Ocean helps moderate the weather, but the Gulf Stream creates a vulnerability to hurricanes at the mouth of the Bay.
Blizzards are a possibility in the winter months, with heavy snowfalls caused by cold air masses over the mountains. Thunderstorms are more of an issue than tornadoes.
History of Virginia
Cherokee, Mattaponi, Nottoway, Chesepian, Powhatan, Chickahominy, Saponi, Monacan and other Iroquois and Algonquian-speaking Native American tribes lived in the Virginia area before 1584, when Sir Walter Raleigh landed on the Atlantic coast. Named after Queen Elizabeth I of England because she was the “Virgin Queen” for having never married, the London Virginia Company financed land grants and the first permanent English settlement. Jamestown, named after King James I, established May 13, 1607, by John Smith and Christopher Newport.
Settlers, servants and slaves started slowly establishing a stable population and a plantation economy. Native Americans were forced off the land through treaties. In 1699, Williamsburg became the colonial capital. As anti-British sentiment grew, Virginia wrote its own Declaration of Rights in 1776, directly influencing the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights.
Virginia relocated its capital to Richmond during the American Revolutionary War, as Gov. Thomas Jefferson feared it was easily accessible to British attack. By 1781, French and American forces trapped the British on the Yorktown peninsula. At the Battle of Yorktown, George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau defeated Gen. Cornwallis, forcing British surrender.
Virginia played an important role in the formation and final drafts of the U.S. Constitution. The state gave up some territory in 1790 to create the new country’s capital, the District of Columbia.
The plantation, especially growing tobacco, was Virginia’s economic livelihood. Slave labor was also used for shipbuilding and mining. The Nat Turner slave rebellion in 1831 and abolitionist movements like John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 were warning signs of a troubling social issue.
However, Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861 and joined the Confederacy, which moved its capital to Richmond. In 1863, part of Virginia separated to form West Virginia. More battles took place in Virginia during the Civil War, including the Battle of Bull Run and the Seven Days Battle.
After Reconstruction, Virginia legislators rewrote the state constitution to disenfranchise African-Americans from voting. Despite Brown v. Board of Education, the state refused to fund desegregated schools and closed schools instead of integrating, leading to Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County.
In the 1920s, efforts to restore Colonial era buildings in historic districts of Williamsburg took place. Government programs expanded rapidly during World War II and the Cold War, thereby increasing job and population growth. The Pentagon was a target in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, killing 158 people.
Demographics of Virginia
Virginia’s estimated population as of 2006 is 7,624,884.
African-American constitute over 20 percent of Virginia’s population, with roots in Angola and modern-day Nigeria. German, American, English, Scots-Irish and Irish round out the rest of the population’s ancestries. Hispanics, particularly from Central America, have tripled in the Northern Virginia area. The state also has the highest Vietnamese population on the East Coast.
Christians comprise over three-quarters of the state’s religious composition. Baptists are the largest Christian group in Virginia at 30 percent, while Catholics make up 14 percent of the population. Judaism plays a small yet significant role in Virginia, while Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam are rapidly growing religious groups. About 12 percent of the population is non-religious.
Economy of Virginia
Many of Virginia’s residents work for Federal agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Department of Defense, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration & Naturalization Service, the National Science Foundation, NASA’s Langley Research Center and the U.S. Geological Survey. The Pentagon is located in Arlington.
With the largest budget in defense spending in the nation, Virginia has an outstanding number of U.S. military bases. Hampton Roads has the biggest concentration of military bases in the world.
Around a third of Virginia’s work force is in the service sector, especially communication technology, software engineering, biotechnology, nanotechnology and consulting. Agricultural outputs include cattle, tobacco and peanuts, along with tomatoes, soy, hay and oysters from the Chesapeake Bay. Tourism is also an important economic contributor.
Virginia Law and Government
Timothy Kaine, a Democrat, is Virginia’s current governor. Democrat Jim Webb and Republican John Warner currently serve in the U.S. Senate. The Virginia General Assembly is the oldest state legislature and currently has 140 members. Richmond is the state capital.
Historically, Virginia was politically and socially aligned with other conservative Southern states. Metro areas, college towns, areas with coal unions and some suburbs are moderate or support Democrats, while rural Virginia votes for the Republican Party. As a result, Virginia is now a swing state.
Virginia Transportation
Residents use Washington Dulles International, Washington Reagan National, Richmond International, Norfolk International or Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport to fly commercially.
Although the traffic in the Washington, D.C. area is some of the worst in the country, the congestion in Virginia is fairly low. I-64 runs east to west through Richmond, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, while I-66 leads to Washington D.C. I-77 goes through two tunnels and passes through the rural parts of the state.
I-81 runs north to south through the western part of Virginia, whereas I-95 travels to Petersburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg and onward to Baltimore in Maryland. There are many more routes, highways and tunnels throughout the state.
The Washington Metro transit system has bus services in Northern Virginia through Fairfax County, along with several commuter buses. Amtrak has passenger service to Fredericksburg and Manassas. The Jamestown Ferry crosses the James River into Scotland in Surry County.
Major Cities and Towns of Virginia
There are 11 metro areas in Virginia, with Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and Richmond-Petersburg comprising the three most populous areas. Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Richmond are the most populated cities in the state.
Virginia Beach is in the South Hampton Roads overlooking the Chesapeake Bay and the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. The city’s boardwalk has great ocean views. The surrounding area retains the feel of a beachside resort.
Virginia Educational System
Virginia has one of the best educational systems in the country. In addition to public school, there are Governor’s Schools, or selective magnet schools, scattered across the state, such as the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
The University of Virginia is one of the top schools in the nation. The Virginia Military Institute is the oldest military college in the U.S., while the College of William and Mary is the second-oldest college after Harvard.
Virginia Commonwealth University is the largest in the state, along with Virginia Tech and Virginia State University. There are also 23 community colleges within Virginia.
Learn more at the Virginia Department of Education.
Virginia Sports Teams and Recreational Activities
Despite its population, Virginia does not really have the market for a major professional sports team, as there is no centralized location. As a result, Virginians cheer for Washington, D.C. teams, such as the Washington Redskins in football and both the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles in baseball.
There are, however, a large number of minor league teams, especially in baseball, soccer and ice hockey. The Martinsville Speedway and Richmond International Raceway host NASCAR events.
Unlike other states, Virginia does not let the state give out funds for intercollegiate athletics. Nevertheless, the University of Virginia Cavaliers and the Virginia Tech Hokies compete in NCAA Division I sports, along with several other top schools in the state.
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