According to answermba.com, the state of West Virginia reaches a population of just under two million inhabitants, this is because it is a state with a particular geographic conformation, almost entirely covered with mountains and plateaus which are also quite inaccessible to reach. In fact, the state also takes the name of State Mountain.
The borders of West Virginia are as follows: Maryland and Pennsylvania to the north, Ohio and Kentucky to the west, Virginia to the east.
West Virginia separated from Virginia during the American Civil War. Currently its main resources are agriculture but above all the extraction of coal in mines alongside the timber industry. This productive activity is very strongly followed by the unions and West Virginia has often been a territory of bitter clashes for the defense of the rights of miners and related workers.
Background
According to answerresume.com, West Virginia was occupied by mainly British pioneers and anti-slavery who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War. Following a vote that saw almost all the preferences for the constitution of a separate state, the western part of Virginia became independent from the rest of the territory.
Places to visit
The capital is Charleston which, however, does not have a great artistic interest, if not for colonial-era palaces and for the arts and crafts festival which is the largest in the entire Appalachian chain.
Of greater artistic but above all historical interest is Harpers Ferry, a town almost entirely rebuilt after the Civil War but which today boasts a central urban nucleus in which to relive the atmospheres dating back to the America of the 1600s.
Numerous nineteenth-century houses can also be admired in Lewisburg.
But the main attractions of West Virginia are related to its natural landscape and the possibilities it offers in terms of outdoor sporting activities and extreme adventures such as paragliding or bungee jumping from the numerous suspension bridges, climbing and hiking.
Nature
Undoubtedly, the natural landscape is the most noteworthy in the state. There are numerous forests of oaks, conifers, long rivers with rapids and mountains that allow excursions and walks in the name of adventure. The Allegani Mountains, in addition to the Appalachians, also attract many visitors who are not looking for well-equipped tourist sites. Small urban centers offer the bare minimum, to safeguard a natural landscape that enjoys its uncontaminated being. Waterfalls, winding and inaccessible canyons, breathtaking views, marshes to be overcome on wooden bridges 800 meters long, mountain bike trails, limestone walls 18 meters high, all this and more can be experienced in those mountains.
The parks can also be reached through some ancient lines in which old steam trains still operate, to make known the charm of ancient movements in a territory that still breathes a wild air.
| NAMED: “The Mountain State” |
| ORIGIN NAME: The formation of the state dates back to the Civil War, when Virginia sided in favor of the Southern army. |
| CAPITAL: Charleston |
| OTHER CITIES: – |
| MEMBER UNION SINCE: 20 June 1863 (35th state) |
| POPULATION: 1,806,928 |
| CAPITAL POPULATION: 48.006 residents |
| COUNTY NUMBER: 55 |
| POOR PEOPLE: 16.8% |
| MOTTO: “Montani semper liberti (Mountaineers are always free)” |
| TREE: Sugar Maple |
| BIRD: Cardinal |
| FLOWER: Rhododendron |
| SONG: West Virginia, My Sweet Home |
| THE FLAG: The West Virginia flag has a white field with dark blue borders. The flag of West Virginia shows a rock engraved with the date June 20, 1863, the day the state joined the union. A ribbon in the flag bears the motto “the Montanari are always free”. |
| ECONOMY – AGRICULTURE: Livestock, dairy products, poultry, apples. – INDUSTRY: Chemicals, mining, primary metals, stone, clay, glass products, tourism. |
Economy of West Virginia
West Virginia’s economy is dominated by coal mining and the chemical industry, which relies on local resources. Employment in the non-agricultural sectors, industry in first place followed by trade, mining, public administration, services, transport and the financial-insurance sector.
Since the Second World War, agriculture has changed its basic production, from dairy farming to wild meat farming. Other products are apples and peaches, while poultry farming is widespread along the Virginia border.
West Virginia has one of the highest timber production in the United States, especially for hardwoods.
The state ranks second in the United States for coal production, after Kentucky. In 1815 the first natural gas field was discovered, which today has reached a considerable production, together with oil. Other mineral resources are limestone, gravel, clay, sand and salt.
The most important industries in West Virginia are those engaged in the production of glass, metallurgy and chemicals, as well as in the textile and mechanical sectors. Tourism is important, favored by the presence of national parks.
