University of Virginia Library

GEOGRAPHICAL AND PHYSICAL VIEW.

The Virginias lie between north latitude 36° 30′ and 39° 30′, and
1° 36′ east, and 6° 24′ west longitude, and their boundaries are as follows:
On the north, by Pennsylvania and Maryland; north-east and
east, by Maryland and the Atlantic Ocean; south, by North Carolina
and Tennessee; west and north-west, by Kentucky and Ohio, or by the
Ohio river, which flows for a distance of 300 miles along its western
boundary. A legal description of the dividing line, separating the two
States, would read about as follows: Beginning at the mouth of Knox
creek, a corner of the States of Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia,
and thence with a line of and including the counties of McDowell and
Mercer, to the top of East River Mountain; thence with said ridge and
with Peters Mountain to the Alleghany Mountains; thence with the
top of the same to the Haystack Knob, a corner of Virginia and West
Virginia; thence with the southern line of and including Pendleton
county to the top of Shenandoah Mountains; thence with the same and
Branch Mountain to a corner of Hardy and Rockingham counties;
thence with lines of and including the counties of Hardy, Hampshire,
Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson, to a point on the Maryland and Virginia
line where the Potomac river intersects the Blue Ridge.

The States may be divided into four distinct physical regions: First,
the tide-water region; second, the Piedmont region; third, the great
valley region; and, fourth, the trans-Alleghany region.

The tide-water region embraces all that portion of the State lying
between the coast and a line drawn through the cities of Petersburg,
Richmond and Fredericksburg, which are situated near the lower falls
of the Appomattox, the James and the Rappahannock rivers, respectively.
This line extended would mark a point at which all the Atlantic
rivers of Virginia leap from the granite base on which stands the whole
Appalachian mountain system. Through this region flow many navigable
rivers, and into it extend numerous coves and inlets, either from
Chesapeake Bay or from the ocean; around them are extensive areas of
swamp land. The surface is nearly level, the undulations being so
gentle that the currents of the rivers are scarcely perceptible. The soil
is moist and sandy, of an alluvial formation, closely resembling that of
the Floridian peninsula. The climate during the winter is mild and
pleasant, but during the summer it is sultry and malarious.

The Piedmont (foot of the mountains) region extends from the western

SCENE ON THE UPPER POTOMAC.

limit of the former region to the summit of the Blue Ridge mountains,
and extends entirely across the State from north to south. The
soil, near the head of tide-water, is sandy, but as we approach the base
of the mountains a clay soil of great fertility is found; and here, for
the first time on the Atlantic coast, appear the primordial rocks, the
disintegration of which has added much to the richness of the soil.
Springs, with never-failing sources, gush out in every direction. Valuable
minerals abound, and deposits of limestone sufficient to supply
Christendom with lime for ages to come, lie at a short distance beneath
the surface. Its climate is temperate throughout the year, and as
healthy as any in the world.

The great valley region includes all the country lying between the
Blue Ridge on the one side and the Alleghany on the other. It is known
under the name of the Shenandoah Valley, and from the fertility of its
soil has been called "The Garden of Virginia." It is the central part
of the great valley which is co-extensive with the Alleghany range, that
part of it south of Virginia being called the Cumberland Valley.
Geologists trace it far north, even to the banks of the Mohawk river,
in New York. They inform us that it belongs to the Silurian formation,
which would place it directly on top of the Azoic and beneath the
Devonian formations. There are several varieties of slate, sandstone
and conglomerates; limestone also abounds. Many beautiful streams
flow through the valley, but owing to the absence of springs the country
is not well watered. The summer is cool and pleasant, but the winter
is cold and damp.

The trans-Alleghany region embraces all the country lying between
the Alleghany mountains and the Ohio river, and includes the entire
State of West Virginia. To describe it would be to describe the State.
In the east it is mountainous, while in the center are beautiful ranges of
hills, the termini of the western spurs of the Alleghanies, and in the
west lies the fertile region of the Ohio Valley, much of which, for its
fertility, is not excelled on the continent. This entire region may be
said to be one vast coal-field, its area being 23,000 square miles, of
which 15,000 is underlaid with the richest veins of coal. Only three
States outrank this region in the extent of its coal deposits, namely:
Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.

Over this entire region stand, in almost primeval grandeur, vast
forests, sufficient to furnish timber for the ship yards of the world for
years to come. Ages of the most active industry will not exhaust the
coal and timber of this region. It is here that the traveler beholds the
grandest scenery in America, and lofty mountains, craggy peaks, frowning
precipices, rock-ribbed cañons, rushing torrents, and roaring cataracts
meet the eye of the beholder.