Virginia – key data

Land area: 110,785 sq km (35th place of all US states)

Share of water surface: 7.4%

Population: 7.77 million (2008 estimate, ranked 12th of all states in the United States)

Population density: 70 residents per square kilometer (14th place of all states in the USA)

Member of the USA since: June 25, 1788 (10th state in the USA)

Capital city: Richmond (200,123 residents, 2007, metropolitan area 1.21 million residents)

Largest city: Virginia Beach (440,415 residents, 2008, metropolitan area 1.80 million residents)

Highest point: 1,747 m, Mount Rogers

Lowest point: 0 m, Atlantic Ocean

Governor: Timothy M. Kaine (Demokrat)

Lieut. Governor: Bill Bolling (Republikaner)

Local time: CET -6 h. From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November: CET -5 h.
The time difference to Central Europe is -6 h in both winter and summer.

Postal abbreviation: VA

According to ehotelat, the state of Virginia – actually: Commonwealth of Virginia – is located on the Atlantic coast of the United States of America. The capital is Richmond. Virginia is nicknamed the Old Dominion – old rulership – and is also known as the President’s State, as many presidents of the United States emerged from it.
During the civil war, the parts of the state located in northwest Virginia split off and became an independent US state: West Virginia.

Virginia covers a total area of ​​around 110,785 square kilometers and is 35th in size compared to the other federal states. The state area is on average 290 meters above sea level. The highest point in Virginia is Mount Rogers at 1,747 meters, which is located in the west of the state. The lowest point in the state is on the Atlantic coast at sea level. Virginia is bounded to the north and northeast by Maryland and Washington, DC ; to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. Virginia borders North Carolina and Tennessee to the south. Kentucky is its western neighbor and to the northwest is West Virginia.

Virginia comprises part of the South Atlantic coastal plain, of Piedmont and the s üdlichen Appalachian and thus has a wide geographical diversity.
The coastal region of Virginia is shaped by the Cheasapeake Bay. The bay is one of the most important natural areas in the USA.
On the one hand, the Cheasapeake Bay forms the largest estuary in the United States and on the other hand is part of the Atlantic Ocean which is surrounded by land, that is, by parts of Virginia and Maryland. The bay’s water surface covers about 12,000 square kilometers and extends over a length of more than 300 kilometers. At its narrowest point near Annapolis, Maryland, the bay is about four miles wide and is spanned by the Bay Bridge. The Cheasapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel near the mouth provides the necessary transport links.
The bay covers a catchment area of ​​approximately 166,000 square kilometers. This includes a total of seven states. In addition to Virginia and Maryland, these are Washington, DC, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia.
More than 150 rivers and streams flow into the bay, including of course the rivers of Virginia. The Potomac River is one of the most important rivers in Virginia. The approximately 616 km long river has its origin in West Virginia. Also worth mentioning are the approximately 660 kilometers long James River, whose source is in the Appalachians, as well as the Rappahannock River (length: approximately 296 kilometers, origin in the Blue Ridge Mountains) and the York River. Like the Potomac and much of Virginia’s other rivers, these also tire into Chesapeake Bay.

The Piedmont plateau extends between the coastal plain and the central section of the Appalachian Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains. The total area of ​​the Piedmont covers approx. 207,000 square kilometers. From north to south, the plateau extends from New Jersey to Alabama. While it is very narrow above the Delaware River, in North Carolina it reaches a width of more than 470 kilometers.
The Piedmont is physiographically closely connected to the Appalachian Mountains and can be divided into a highland region, the Piedmont Highlands, and a lowland region, the Piedmont Lowlands, subdivide. The soils of the plateau are loamy and only partially fertile. While cotton was predominantly grown in the south, tobacco cultivation dominated in the central part, in North Carolina and Virginia. In the north of the plateau, the soil experiences a wide range of agricultural uses, from fruit growing to dairy farming and growing of grain.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountains and border the Piedmont in western Virginia. The Blue Ridge Parkway leads through large parts of the mountain range, along the mountain ridges. The Blue Ridge Mountains are also home to Mount Mitchell in the state of North Carolina. At 2,037 meters above sea level, the mountain is the highest North American peak east of the Mississippi.
In western Virginia is the Shenandoah Valley. It is named after the Shenandoah River, which flows through the valley. It is also part of the Appalachians and extends in the valley-and-ridge zone of the mountains and belongs to the Great Valley of the Appalachians.