Southern West Virginia is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Southern West Virginia has coal mining heritage and Southern affinity. The region is also closely identified with Southwestern Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, with close proximity to Western North Carolina and East Tennessee.
Southern West Virginia, in a cultural and historical context, includes Boone County, Fayette County, Greenbrier County, Lincoln County, Logan County, McDowell County, Mercer County, Cabell County, Mingo County, Monroe County, Nicholas County, Raleigh County, Kanawha County, Wayne County, Summers County, and Wyoming County.
The City of Charleston, in Kanawha County, is the largest city in this region, followed by Huntington, in Cabell County and then Beckley in Raleigh County.