The Middle Country
Extends westward from the "head of tide" to the foot of the low, broken
ranges that, under the names of Catocton, Bull Run, Yew, Clark's, Southwest,
Carter's, Green, Findlay's, Buffalo, Chandler's, Smith's, etc.,
mountains and hills, extend across the State southwest, from the Potomac;
near the northern corner of Fairfax County, to the North Carolina line,
forming the eastern outliers of the Appalachian system, and that may with
propriety be called the Atlantic Coast Range.
The general form of this section is that of a large right-angled triangle,
its base resting on the North Carolina line for 120 miles; its perpendicular,
a line 174 miles long, extending from the Carolina line to the Potomac;
just east of and parallel to the meridian of 77° 30′ west, is the right line
along the waving border of Tidewater, which lies east; the hypothenuse
is the 216 miles along the Coast Range before mentioned, the border of
Piedmont, on the northwest—the area of the whole, including the irregular
outline, being some 12,470 square miles.
The latitude of this section is from 36° 33′ to 39°; the longitude, 70°
to 79° 40′ west. So its general situation and relations are nearly similar
to those of Tidewater.
The Middle Country is a great, moderately undulating plain, from 25
to 100 miles wide, rising to the northwest from an elevation of 150 to 200
feet above tide, at the rocky rim of its eastern margin, to from 300 to 500
along its northwestern. In general appearance this is more like a plain
than any other portion of the State. The principal streams, as a rule,
cross it at right angles; so it is a succession of ridges and valleys running
southeast and northwest, the valleys often narrow and deep, but the ridges
generally not very prominent. The appearance of much of this country
is somewhat monotonous, having many dark evergreen trees in its forests.
To many portions of the Middle Country the mountain ranges to the west,
of the deepest blue, form an agreeable and distant boundary to the otherwise
sober landscape. There are a few prominences like Willis', Slate
River, and White Oak Mountains farther east, only prominent because in
a champaign country.
