Geography and Climate of West Virginia
West Virginia, or the “Mountain State,” borders Pennsylvania to the north, Virginia to the east and south, Kentucky to the west and Ohio to the north and west. Forests of oak, maple, beech, poplar, cherry, hickory, dogwood, chestnut and white pine trees blanket the state, with willows and sycamores dotted along the rivers and streams.
West Virginia’s unspoiled beauty, pristine woods and majestic mountains have afforded it the nickname “Almost Heaven.” The Potomac and Ohio rivers help form the boundaries of the state, while the Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River.
West Virginia lies entirely in the Appalachian Mountain range, home to some of the oldest mountains in the world. Around three-quarters of the state are in the Cumberland Plateau and Allegheny Plateau regions. The Cumberland Plateau has heavily mined coal areas, while the Allegheny Plateau is bounded by the Ohio River’s glacial till plains and the Bluegrass region.
In the east next to the Virginia border, the Monongahela National Forest region has a cooler climate and the same kind of ecology found in New England. Spruce Knob, covered in a boreal forest of spruce trees, is the highest point in the state at 4,863 feet. Underneath the land, sediments come from mountains to the east, including sandstone, shale, coal and limestone.
West Virginia has a cross between a humid subtropical climate and a humid continental climate. The southwest region of the state and the Eastern Panhandle have hot, humid summers with milder winters. The rest of the state has warm summers and cold winters, which get colder depending on the elevation.
Rainfall averages between 32 to 56 inches annually, with the Allegheny Front receiving more precipitation. Snowfall lasts a few days in the lower regions, yet lasts for months in the mountains. Dense fog is common in the valleys.
History of West Virginia
Native American tribes inhabited the West Virginia area before English colonists started working their way westward into the region. Gen. Abram Wood, under the direction of Royal Governor William Berkeley of Virginia, set up an expedition in 1671 to travel through the area, thereby discovering Kanawha Falls.
Other expeditions followed into what is now Pendleton County and Shepherdstown. By 1746, an old grant of land from King Charles II became the possession of Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron. Western boundaries were drawn at the source of the northern branch of the Potomac River.
At the time, German settlers from Pennsylvania started squatting on the land at the south branch of the Potomac River. The Ohio Company explored the area further. Although Native American resistance groups often stopped them, they still wanted to form a fourteenth colony known as “Vandalia.”
Throughout the American Revolutionary War, Native American attacks persisted. German, Ulster-Scots and northern colonists continued to settle in the area.
After the war, the idea to create a separate state from Virginia revived, with settlers petitioning for “Westsylvania.” The political, social and economic differences of Appalachian Virginia and became increasingly evident. The rugged landscape made plantation work unprofitable and the mountains created a natural barrier between the residents and the rest of the state.
In 1829 during a convention for a new Virginian constitution, slave-holding counties saw greater representation. Internal improvements and suffrage qualifications only fueled the west’s desire to become its own state.
West Virginia is the only state to form because it seceded from a Confederate state. Right after the Virginia vote for secession, a meeting in Clarksburg suggested each county in northwestern Virginia send delegates to a convention in Wheeling. The state gained official admittance to the Union in 1863, on the condition that abolition of slavery must be written into the Constitution. Many saw this move as unconstitutional, but politics during the war trumped legal concerns.
After Reconstruction, the state’s mineral resources, such as salt mining and coal, helped cultivate its economy. Railroad construction in key cities like Bluefield led to coal transportation, fueled the Industrial Revolution.
Coal mining became one of the state’s biggest employers, resulting in labor strikes over working conditions and safety issues. Today, those same issues are a concern for West Virginians, along with ecological matters and environmental preservation.
Demographics of West Virginia
West Virginia’s estimated population as of 2005 is 1,816,856. The state has the lowest number of people who speak another language than English in the home and the lowest percentage of foreign-born residents.
Nearly a quarter of West Virginians claim American ancestry. Other ancestry groups include German, Irish, Scots-Irish, English and Italian.
Much of the state is Protestant, with 36 percent of the population involved in an Evangelical faith and 32 percent as part of a mainline Protestant tradition. An unexpected 19 percent of the state’s population has no religious affiliation.
Economy of West Virginia
In 2006, the gross state product of West Virginia was $55.6 billion. The state’s economy is tenuous, as it has one of the lowest per capita incomes in the U.S., at $23,995.
West Virginia’s economy thrives largely on coal mining. The state is second only to Wyoming in coal production, and nearly all of the state’s electricity generates from coal power plants. There are a few oil and natural gas fields in the Allegheny Plateau and Cumberland Plateau.
Agricultural outputs include North American ginseng. Unlike other states that engage in agricultural farming, West Virginia’s farming is small-scale and almost all single-owner operated. Due to the poor conditions in the mountainous regions of the state, income from livestock helps keep local farmers afloat. Some areas in the eastern region near the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia are farmed because of their rich soil.
Heavy industry is in towns along the Kanawha River Valley and Ohio River Valley, including chemicals and metals, particularly steel.
West Virginia Law and Government
Democrat Joe Manchin is the current governor of West Virginia. Robert C. Byrd and John D. Rockefeller IV, both Democrats, are U.S. Senators for the state. West Virginia’s state legislature is a citizen’s legislature, which means the positions are only part-time. The capital of the state is Charleston.
The state is largely supportive of the Democratic Party, partly due to its long tradition of union membership. However, the Democratic Party in West Virginia is generally more moderate than other branches of the party in different states. Additionally, West Virginia voted Republican in the last two presidential elections, signaling a shift in political preference.
Socially, West Virginia is conservative on issues like abortion. Democrat supporters are consistently in the coalfields in the southern part of the state. Voters east of the Allegheny Mountains tend to vote Republican.
West Virginia Transportation
I-64 goes east to west to Kentucky, passing through Huntington, Charleston and Lewisburg. I-77 enters Charleston from Virginia through the East River Mountain Tunnel. I-68 travels from Morgantown to Maryland, while I-70 transverses the northern panhandle. I-79 connects the state to Pennsylvania.
West Virginia has several tunnels and bridges. The most notable is New River Gorge Bridge, which used to be the longest steel single-arch bridge in the world.
There are a number of regional and municipal airports in West Virginia located in Charleston, Huntington, Bluefield, Clarksburg and more.
Morgantown has an experimental Personal Rapid Transit people mover system, connecting the three campuses of West Virginia University. Other towns have public transit systems with buses, while Charleston has a few trolley cars that run in the downtown area.
Major Cities and Towns of West Virginia
Charleston, the most populous city in the state, hosts a dance festival and film festival annually, along with other yearly gatherings, like the Kanawha Kordsmen Barbershop Chorus performance. The Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences features visual arts, performing arts and science exhibitions.
Huntington, Parkersburg, Morgantown and Wheeling are other populous cities in the state.
West Virginia Educational System
West Virginia University, located in Morgantown, is the flagship university of the West Virginia University system, which includes three other campuses. West Virginia State University is a historically black college. There are several other small liberal arts and private colleges in the state.
Learn more at the West Virginia Department of Education.
West Virginia Sports Teams and Recreational Activities
West Virginia has no major professional sports teams. However, several minor league teams that play football, baseball, basketball, indoor football and ice hockey.
The state’s many national parks, rivers, streams, lakes and mountains make for a breathtakingly beautiful background. Tourists visit the state every year for its lush forests and spectacular views. Fishing, camping, hunting and hiking, along with ATV off-roading and whitewater rafting, are among some of the more popular recreational activities.
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