Back Wes-Virginië Afrikaans West Virginia ALS ዌስት ቨርጂኒያ Amharic Virchinia Occidental AN Westfirginiæ ANG فيرجينيا الغربية Arabic ڤيرجينيا لغربية ARY ويست ڤيرچينيا ARZ Virxinia Occidental AST West Virginia suyu Aymara
West Virginia | |
|---|---|
| State of West Virginia | |
| Nickname: Mountain State | |
| Motto(s): | |
| Anthem: 4 songs | |
 Map of the United States with West Virginia highlighted | |
| Country | United States |
| Before statehood | Part of Virginia |
| Admitted to the Union | June 20, 1863 (35th) |
| Capital (and largest city) | Charleston |
| Largest metro and urban areas | Huntington-Ashland Tri-State Area |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Jim Justice (R) |
| • Lieutenant Governor | Mitch Carmichael (R) |
| Legislature | West Virginia Legislature |
| • Upper house | Senate |
| • Lower house | House of Delegates |
| U.S. senators | Joe Manchin (I) Shelley Moore Capito (R) |
| U.S. House delegation | 1: David McKinley (R) 2: Alex Mooney (R) 3: Carol Miller (R) (list) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 24,230 sq mi (62,755 km2) |
| • Land | 24,078 sq mi (62,361 km2) |
| • Water | 152 sq mi (394 km2) 0.6% |
| • Rank | 41st |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 240 mi (385 km) |
| • Width | 130 mi (210 km) |
| Elevation | 1,513 ft (461 m) |
| Highest elevation | 4,863 ft (1,482 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 240 ft (73 m) |
| Population (2019) | |
| • Total | 1,792,147 |
| • Rank | 38th |
| • Density | 77.1/sq mi (29.8/km2) |
| • Rank | 29th |
| • Median household income | $43,469[4] |
| • Income rank | 50th |
| Demonyms | West Virginian |
| Language | |
| • Official language | De jure: English[5] |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| USPS abbreviation | WV |
| ISO 3166 code | US-WV |
| Traditional abbreviation | W.Va. |
| Latitude | 37°12′ N to 40°39′ N |
| Longitude | 77°43′ W to 82°39′ W |
| Website | wv |
| West Virginia state symbols | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Living insignia | |
| Bird | Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) |
| Butterfly | Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) |
| Fish | Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) |
| Flower | Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) |
| Insect | Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) |
| Mammal | Black bear (Ursus americanus) |
| Reptile | Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) |
| Tree | Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) |
| Inanimate insignia | |
| Colors | Old gold and blue |
| Food | Golden Delicious apple (Malus domestica) |
| Fossil | Jefferson's ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii) |
| Gemstone | Silicified Mississippian fossil coral (Lithostrotionella) |
| Rock | Coal |
| Slogan | "Wild and Wonderful" "Open for Business" (former) "Almost Heaven" (former) |
| Soil | Monongahela Silt Loam |
| Tartan | West Virginia Shawl |
| State route marker | |
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| State quarter | |
 Released in 2005 | |
| Lists of United States state symbols | |
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian region of the United States. Its capital and largest city is Charleston. It is often abbreviated W. Va. or simply WV. About 1,800,000 people live in the state.
West Virginia is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, by Ohio to the north and west, by Kentucky to the west, by Maryland to the north and east, and by Virginia to the east and south. The Ohio and Potomac Rivers form parts of the boundaries.
Before the American Civil War, West Virginia practiced slavery as part of the state of Virginia. Slaves, at first Native American but increasingly brought from Africa in the slave trade, were forced to grow tobacco, mine coal, and be personal servants. Many slaves were rented from owners in other parts of the state to work in the mines. In the 19th century, white people kept slaves in order to earn money by selling them south to states like Texas, Louisiana, and Georgia.[6]
- ↑ "Spruce Knob Cairn 1956". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Elevations and Distances in the United States". United States Geological Survey. 2001. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
- ↑ "Median Annual Household Income". The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
- ↑ "West Virginia is the 32nd State to pass Official English". Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- ↑ Carroll, Greg (2015-01-06). Slavery and Free People of Color in Virginia (Speech). West Virginia Archives & History. Charleston, West Virginia. Retrieved 2020-11-03.