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The Commonwealth of Virginia (i /vrdnj/) is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which are home to much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond; Virginia Beach is the most populous city and Fairfax County the most populous political subdivision. The state population is nearly eight million.
The area's history begins with indigenous settlements, and the founding of the Virginia Colony in 1607 by the Virginia Company of London as the first permanent New World English colony. Land from displaced Native American tribes, including the Powhatan, and slave labor each played significant roles in Virginia's early politics and plantation economy. Virginia was one of the Thirteen Colonies in the American Revolution and joined the Confederacy in the American Civil War, during which Richmond was the Confederate capital and the state of West Virginia separated. Although traditionally conservative and historically part of the South, both major national parties are competitive in modern Virginia.
The state government, home to the oldest legislature in the Americas, has been repeatedly ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States. It is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its Governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginia's economy has many sectors: agriculture in places like the Shenandoah Valley; federal agencies in Northern Virginia, including the Department of Defense and CIA; and military facilities in Hampton Roads, home to the region's main seaport. The growth of the media and technology sectors have made computer chips the state's leading export, with the industry based on the strength of Virginia's public schools and universities. Virginia does not have a major professional sports franchise, but is home to several prominent collegiate sports programs.
Virginia has a total area of 42,774.2square miles (110,784.67km2), including 3,180.13square miles (8,236.5km2) of water, making it the 35th-largest state by area. Virginia is bordered by Maryland and Washington, D.C. to the north and east; by the Atlantic Ocean to the east; by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south; by Kentucky to the west; and by West Virginia to the north and west. Due to a peculiarity of Virginia's original charter, its boundary with Maryland and Washington, D.C. does not extend past the low-water mark of the south shore of the Potomac River (unlike many boundaries that split a river down the middle). The southern border is defined as the 3630 parallel north, though surveyor error led to deviations of as much as three arcminutes.
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 rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, James, and York, which create three peninsulas in the bay. Geographically and geologically, Virginia is divided into five regions from east to west: Tidewater, Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Ridge and Valley, and Cumberland Plateau, also called the Appalachian Plateau.
The Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries which enter the Chesapeake Bay. The Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic. The region, known for its heavy clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the chain of Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state, the tallest being Mount Rogers at 5,729feet (1,746m). The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains, and includes the Great Appalachian Valley. The region is carbonate rock based, and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the south-west corner of Virginia, below the Allegheny Plateau. In this region rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin.
Because of the areas of carbonate rock, more than 4,000 caves exist in Virginia, with ten open for tourism. The Virginia seismic zone has not had a history of regular activity. Earthquakes are rarely above 4.5on the Richter magnitude scale because Virginia is located centrally on the North American Plate. The largest earthquake, at an estimated 5.9magnitude, was in 1897 and was centered about 20 miles WNW of Blacksburg. Coal mining takes place in the three mountainous regions at 40 distinct coal beds near Mesozoic basins. Besides coal, resources such as slate, kyanite, sand, and gravel are mined, with an annual value over $2billion as of 2006[update].
The climate of Virginia varies according to location, and becomes increasingly warmer and humid farther south and east. Virginia experiences seasonal extremes, from average lows of 26F (3.3C) in January to average highs of 86F (30C) in July. The moderating influence of the ocean from the east, powered by the Gulf Stream has a strong effect on the southeastern coastal areas of the state. It also creates the potential for hurricanes near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Although Hurricane Camille devastated Nelson County in 1969, and Fran and Isabel caused flash flooding in the mountains in 1996 and 2003, hurricanes rarely threaten communities far inland.
Thunderstorms are a regular occurrence, particularly in the western part of the state. Virginia has an annual average of 3545 days of thunderstorm activity, and an average annual precipitation of 42.7inches (108.5cm). Cold air masses arriving over the mountains, especially in winter, can lead to significant snowfalls, such as the Blizzard of 1996. The interaction of these elements with the state's topography creates distinct microclimates in the Shenandoah Valley, the mountainous southwest, and the coastal plains. Virginia averages seven tornadoes annually, though most are F2 or lower on the Fujita scale.
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