Virginia Essays - Southern United States, , Term Papers

Virginia Virginia is located in the eastern coast of the United States. It is surrounded by the states of West Virginia, which lies to the north west of it, Kentucky, west of it, and North Carolina, which is to the south. It has also the Atlantic Ocean to the east of it. Virginia has a coastal plain with tidal swamps and marshes flowing into rivers that lead into the Chesapeake Bay. The James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac rivers split the mainland into three peninsulas. The size of Virginia is a total of 42,326 square miles. It also has the population of 6,733,996, which is the estimated in 1997. It is made up of 77.4 percent of whites and 18.8 percent blacks. Virginia's metropolitan areas have a great deal of ethnic diversity. For the people there the religion is predominantly Protestant. The largest denominations are Methodists and Baptists. Its capital is Richmond, which was named for the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth 1st of England. Some of the largest cities there in Virginia are Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Chesapeake. Most of the economic activity that takes place in Virginia involves services and government agencies. Some of the government agencies are The Pentagon and the Department of Defense. The manufacturing of transportation equipment contributes more to personal income than any other industry there. Virginia also has about 43,000 farms that cover more than one thirds of the states land area. They mostly produce livestock. The state bird of Virginia is the Cardinal and its state flower is the Dogwood. The first people to ever arrive in Virginia is said to be nomadic groups of hunter about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago and made communities along the Chesapeake Bay. Later in abou 1607 the english settlers landed on a swampy Virgina peninsula and built Jamestown. The town encountered many problems. They had to deal with starvation, iliness, poor leadership, and the hostilities of the Powhatan indians. All that kept the town at the brink of disaster. Finaly in about 1609 the town of Jamestown had a new leader sent to them, Daron De La Warr as governor. He reorganized the town and in two years the town was completely revitalized. The new governor let the tobacco farmers to farm for their own profit. And they also found a way to remove the bitter taste from their tobacco. Virginia is also home to Shenandoah National Park, which covers a large part of Blue Ridge. It also has the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park which is the site where Confederate forces surrendered in 1865. Some of the major colleges over in Virginia are Averett College, Bluefield College, Bridgewater College, and Christopher Newport University. A good vacation spot in Virginia is Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate and Monticello, the home that Thomas Jefferson designed for himself. So in conclusion I think I would like to live in Virginia because it has much to offer. It has clean, open spaces in which to go relax in if I ever get frustrated with the daily hassles of life. Also because it has the cites near by when I want to go back and live with all the noise of the cities.