Virginia
Virginia | |
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Commonwealth of Virginia | |
Nickname(s): Old Dominion, Mother of Presidents | |
Motto(s): | |
Anthem: "Our Great Virginia" | |
![]() Map of the United States with Virginia highlighted | |
Country | United States |
Before statehood | Colony of Virginia |
Admitted to the Union | June 25, 1788 (10th) |
Capital | Richmond |
Largest city | Virginia Beach |
Largest county or equivalent | Fairfax County |
Largest metro and urban areas | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria |
Government | |
• Governor | Glenn Youngkin (R) |
• Lieutenant Governor | Winsome Sears (R) |
Legislature | General Assembly |
• Upper house | Senate |
• Lower house | House of Delegates |
U.S. senators |
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U.S. House delegation |
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Area | |
• Total | 42,774.2 sq mi (110,785.67 km2) |
• Rank | 35th |
Dimensions | |
• Length | 430 mi (690 km) |
• Width | 200 mi (320 km) |
Elevation | 950 ft (290 m) |
Highest elevation | 5,729 ft (1,746 m) |
Lowest elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
Population (2019) | |
• Total | 8,535,519 |
• Rank | 12th |
• Density | 206.7/sq mi (79.8/km2) |
• Rank | 14th |
• Median household income | $71,535[1] |
• Income rank | 10th |
Demonym | Virginian |
Language | |
• Official language | English |
• Spoken language |
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Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
USPS abbreviation | VA |
ISO 3166 code | US-VA |
Traditional abbreviation | Va. |
Latitude | 36° 32′ N to 39° 28′ N |
Longitude | 75° 15′ W to 83° 41′ W |
Website | www |
Virginia state symbols | |
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Living insignia | |
Bird | Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) |
Butterfly | Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) |
Dog breed | American Foxhound (Canis lupis familiaris) |
Fish | Brook trout, striped bass |
Flower | Flowering Dogwood |
Insect | Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) |
Tree | Flowering Dogwood |
Inanimate insignia | |
Beverage | Milk |
Dance | Square dance |
Fossil | Chesapecten jeffersonius |
Rock | Nelsonite |
Shell | Eastern oyster |
Slogan | Virginia is for lovers |
Tartan | Virginia Quadcentennial Tartan |
State route marker | |
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State quarter | |
![]() Released in 2000 | |
Lists of United States state symbols |
Virginia is a state in the United States. Its capital is Richmond and its largest city is Virginia Beach. The official name of Virginia is the Commonwealth of Virginia. About 8.6 million people lived there in 2020.
Geography
[change | change source]Virginia is bordered (touching) by West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia (across the Potomac River) to the north, by the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, and by Kentucky and West Virginia to the west.
History
[change | change source]Native Americans were the first people to settle in Virginia.
Virginia became a state in 1788 after the American Revolution. Before it became a state of the United States, Virginia was one of the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain. Virginia was founded (started) in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia.
The state of West Virginia was part of Virginia until the American Civil War. Virginia then left (seceded from) the United States and joined the Confederate States of America. The western counties of Virginia seceded from Virginia to form a new state which was loyal to the Union. After the end of the Civil War, Virginia became part of the United States again in 1870, but the counties that had left to start West Virginia did not join Virginia again.
Virginia is the state where eight United States presidents were born. This is more than any other state.
The first African-American slaves were sent to Virginia.
Economy
[change | change source]Virginia has many industries like local and national government, military, farming, technology and business.[2][3] Many Virginians work for the government because it is next to Washington, D.C.. The Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, as well as the National Science Foundation are in Northern Virginia. Farming is the largest industry in the state, making 334,000 jobs.[2] Tomatoes, peanuts, tobacco, and hay are grown in Virginia. Technology is a fast growing industry. Virginia is 4th in technology workers after California, Texas, and New York.[4]
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Median Annual Household Income". The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Articles, facts & infographics about Virginia Agriculture". Farm Flavor. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
- ↑ "Key Industries | Virginia Economic Development Partnership". www.vedp.org. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
- ↑ "Virginia loses tech jobs but maintains highest concentration in U.S. - Washington Post". 2013-01-17. Archived from the original on 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
Other websites
[change | change source]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)