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.