Geography
Geology and terrain
Virginia is divided into five geographic regions.
The
Chesapeake Bay separates the contiguous portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginia's
Eastern Shore. The bay was formed following a meteoroid
impact crater during the
Eocene. Many of
Virginia's riversflow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the
Potomac,
Rappahannock,
York, and
James, which create three peninsulas in the bay.
[13][14] Geographically and geologically, Virginia is divided into five regions from east to west:
Tidewater,
Piedmont,
Blue Ridge Mountains,
Ridge and Valley, and
Cumberland Plateau
Climate
Virginia state-wide averages |
Climate chart (explanation) |
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The climate of Virginia becomes increasingly warmer and more humid farther south and east.
[27] Seasonal extremes vary from average lows of
26 °F (−3 °C) in January to average highs of
86 °F (30 °C) in July. The Atlantic ocean has a strong effect on eastern and southeastern coastal areas of the state. Influenced by the
Gulf Stream, coastal weather is subject to
hurricanes, most pronouncedly near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.
History
Jamestown 2007 marked Virginia's quadricentennial year, celebrating 400 years since the establishment of the Jamestown Colony. The celebrations highlighted contributions from
Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans, each of which had a significant part in shaping Virginia's history.Warfare, including among these groups, has also had an important role. Virginia was a focal point in conflicts from the
French and Indian War, the
American Revolution and the
Civil War, to the
Cold War and the
War on Terrorism.
] Stories about historic figures, such as those surrounding
Pocahontas and
John Smith,
George Washington's childhood, or the plantation elite in the slave society of the
antebellum period, have also created potent myths of state history, and have served as rationales for Virginia's ideology
Flora and fauna
Forests cover 65% of the state, primarily with deciduous, broad leaf treesLower altitudes are more likely to have small but dense stands of moisture-loving hemlocks and mosses in abundance, with hickory and oak in the Blue Ridge.However since the early 1990s,
Gypsy moth infestations have eroded the dominance of oak forests. In the lowland tidewater yellow pines tend to dominate, with bald cypress wetland forests in the Great Dismal and Nottoway swamps. Other common trees and plants include chestnut, maple,
tulip poplar,
mountain laurel,
milkweed, daisies, and many species of ferns. The largest areas of wilderness are along the Atlantic coast and in the western mountains, where the largest populations of
trillium wildflowers in North America are found. The Atlantic coast regions are host to flora commonly associated with the South Atlantic pine forests and lower Southeast Coastal Plain maritime flora, the latter found primarily in southeastern Virginia.
Civil War and aftermath
Virginia voted to secede from the United States on April 17, 1861, after the
Battle of Fort Sumter and
Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers. On April 24, Virginia joined the
Confederate States of America, which chose Richmond as its capital After the 1863
Wheeling Convention, 48 counties in the northwest separated to form a new state of
West Virginia, which chose to remain loyal to the
Union. Virginian general
Robert E. Lee took command of the
Army of Northern Virginia in 1862, and led invasions into Union territory, ultimately becoming commander of all Confederate forces. During the war, more battles were fought in Virginia than anywhere else, including
Bull Run, the
Seven Days Battles,
Chancellorsville, and the concluding
Battle of Appomattox Court House.
[80] After the
capture of Richmond in 1865, the capital was briefly moved to
Danville. Virginia was formally restored to the United States in 1870, due to the work of the
Committee of Nine.
During the post-war
Reconstruction era, Virginia adopted a constitution which provided for free public schools, and guaranteed political, civil, and
voting rights .The populist
Readjuster Party ran an inclusive coalition until the conservative white
Democratic Party gained power after 1883. It passed segregationist
Jim Crow laws and in 1902 rewrote the
Constitution of Virginia to include a
poll tax and other voter registration measures that effectively
disfranchised most African Americans and many poor whites. Though their schools were segregated and underfunded, as were services, due to a lack of political representation, African Americans were able to create their own communities.
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Virginia State Parks