Virginia

Virginia, so named in honor of the "virgin queen" of England, Queen Elizabeth I, was nicknamed the Old Dominion by King Charles II because Virginia remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil War and throughout Cromwell's years. Virginia is a Commonwealth (not a state) and was one of the first colonies in North America in the 1600s and joined the United States of America in 1788.

Originally half of the federal city at Washington D.C. was on the Virginia side of the Potomac, but after the American Civil War this territory reverted back to Virginia. However, because of Virginia's proximity to Washington D.C., Virginia is the home to many important government buildings and agencies such as the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetary and the U.S. Patent and Trade Office.

Mother of Presidents

Virginia is often called the Mother of Presidents or Birthplace of Presidents because eight U.S. Presidents have been born in Virgina. Four of the first five presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, were Virginians. The remaining Presidents from Virginia are William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. Many of their Virginia homes such as Monticello and Mount Vernon are popular tourist destinations.

Five Geological Regions of Virginia

Virginia is commonly divided into five geological regions, Tidewater, Piedmont, Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge and the Applachia Plateau. There are no formal lines demarking these regions and any political boundaries, such as county or city boundaries are coincidental. However, these regions have identifiable geology which differentiates them.

Fall Line

The Fall Line is so named because it demarks a line where many waterfalls occur in Virginia Rivers. Below the Fall Line most rivers, such as the James and Potomac and Rappahannok, are broad, deep and gentle, but above the Fall Line the rivers are rockier and swifter. Below the Fall Line rivers are navigable by ocean-going vessels. Above the Fall Line canoes and flat boats are the only means to navigate most rivers.

Because of this the C&O Canal (Chesapeake and Ohio Canal) was constructed above the Fall Line. The goal was to unite the Chesapeake Bay with the Ohio River system the way the Erie Canal had opened up the Great Lakes below Niagara. Many important Virginia cities such as Alexandria, Richmond and Petersburg are just below the Fall Line.

Tidewater

The Tidewater or "Coastal Plain" of Virginia is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by the Fall Line.

The Tidewater Region was the first region of Virginia to be settled by Europeans, and is home to many of the oldest English settlements in North America, such as Jamestown. The dominant geographical feature of the region is the Chesapeake Bay. Rivers in the region rise and fall with the tides because they flow into the Chesapeake or other salt-water bays. Major ports such as Norfolk or Newport News are found in the region as are historical port cities such as the tobacco ports of Alexandria and Yorktown are found on the Coastal Plain. The British surrender at Yorktown was considered a tipping point in the Revolutionary War.

Piedmont

Above the Fall Line are the foothills of the Applachian and the region whose name means "foot mountain". The Piedmont is rockier and higher than the coastal plain of the Tidewater. The Piedmont was settled by English pioneers in the earliest days of colonial America and later by African slaves who worked the plantations of the region. Tobacco and corn are still an important part of the Piedmont economy. Scenic and historic cities such as Charlottesville and Lynchburg are two important Piedmont cities. The famed Appomattox courthouse is in the Piedmont.

Blue Ridge

The Blue Ridge is a range of mountains rise up above the Piedmont and mark the point where the Applachian Mountains rise up above the Piedmont. The Shenandoah National Park and the Skyline Drive are Blue Ridge tourist destinations. Apples orchards are common in this region, but the industry is not as vibrant as it was historically. [| White House Foods], a major apple juicer and product packager, draws many of its apples from this region. Cities are uncommon, perhaps unknown in this region, but "mountain people" inhabitated much of the highlands before they were converted to parks. Mountain people, sometimes called hill billies, had a unique culture devoted to life in the highland.

Valley and Ridge

Beyond the Blue Ridge is the Valley and Ridge Region. Perhaps the most famous part of the Valley and Ridge Region west of the Blue Ridge is the Shenandoah Valley. Stonewall Jackson's Valley campaign was fought throughout this region. Cities in this region developed in proximity to the early railroad system, and this figured into the strategy of the War Between the States. Manassas, Harrisonburg and Roanoke are important cities in this region.

History

Before Europeans arrived, there were three main groups of American Indians living in the area now covered by Virginia. These were the Algonquian, Iroquoian (including Cherokee, Meherrin and Nottoway) and the Siouan Indians.

Spanish explorers visited parts of what is now Virginia in 1560 and again in 1570 when Jesuit missionaries attempted to set up a mission. Within a year, instead of converting the Indians to Christianity, they had been killed by the Indians.

Sir Walter Raleigh led an English exploration party in 1584. A group of men from England invested in a Joint Stock Company called "The Virginia Company" to find gold and other treasures. The company was granted lands in 1606 from what is now North Carolina to New York, all under the name of "Virginia" after Queen Elizabeth I (known as the "Virgin Queen" as she never married). It established the first permanent settlement for England known as Jamestown.

Virginia declared independence from Britain in 1776 and became one of the original thirteen states of the United States.