VIRGINIA 



VIRGINIA 



burg, Marion and Staunton, the first being the 

 oldest in the United Slates; an asylum for in- 

 sane negroes and a state hospital at Petersburg ; 

 an epileptic colony and institution for the 

 feeble-minded at Madison Heights; a state 

 farm at Lassiter; a school for the deaf, dumb 

 and blind at Staunton; an institution for the 

 colored deaf, dumb and blind at Newport 

 ttawba Sanatorium at Catawba, and a 

 penitentiary at Richmond. 



The Land. The state is divided into three 

 principal sections, varying in industries and re- 

 sources. 



The low shores of "Tidewater Virginia" are 

 cut into many peninsulas by the tidal estuaries 

 of Chesapeake Bay. The shells and animal 

 remains imbedded in the soil show that the sea 

 once covered all of this section. Chesapeake 

 Bay and its broad estuaries are thus drowned 

 river valleys, the Bay being the finest example 

 of this formation in the world. The long, nar- 

 row neck lying between the Bay and the At- 

 lantic, known as the "Eastern Shore," is no- 

 where more than twenty or thirty feet above 

 sea level. On the Atlantic coast, sandy beaches 

 enclose salt marshes and lagoons, and many 

 shallow bays penetrate the west shore. Skirting 

 the west shore of the Chesapeake, particularly 

 in the Southern counties, there are dense forests 

 of pine, cedar, juniper and cypress, and in the 

 extreme south is the great Dismal Swamp. 

 From the low shores the land gradually rises 

 to the "middle country," a region of rolling 

 white hills carved by the deep channels of riv- 

 ers and devoted chiefly to tobacco raising. On 

 the west the gently undulating fields merge into 

 the low, broken ranges of "Piedmont Virginia," 

 which rises at the foot of the Blue Ridge 

 Mountains. 



Between the domelike peaks of this beauti- 

 ful mountain range, the rivers have cut deep 

 gape, or notches, which are bordered by forest- 

 : slopes. The notch through which the 

 Potomac flows at Harper's Ferry is one of the 

 many beautiful spots in this region, famous for 

 its scenic splendor. Toward the south, the 

 range expands into a broad plateau and tin 

 peaks become higher, White Top, near the Ten- 

 nessee border, rising 5,530 fret above the sea. 



Betw< < ii tin- 1 e and the Allcghany 



Mountains lips the garden spot of the state, the 

 famous Valli-y of Virciuia. through which flow 

 tii* Potomac, Shenandoah, James, Roanoke and 

 thr K mawha, or New, rivers, more th.v 



-i ml feet above the sea. In the detach" ! 

 mountain spurs there are many very beautiful 



scenes, including Luray Caverns and the Natu- 

 ral Bridge, the latter considered one of the 

 wonders of the world. 



A range of the Alleghany Mountains, rugged 

 and carved with deep ravines, separat 

 great valley from Kentucky. The Alleghanios 

 are covered with fine timber, and their fertile 

 valleys and mineral wealth are building up im- 

 portant industries in this section. The natural 

 beauty and mineral springs attract many visi- 

 tors. 



Rivers and Lakes. The eastern and larger 

 part of the state is drained into the Atlantic 

 and its great arm, Chesapeake Bay, by rivn-s 

 which rise in the western mountains and cross 

 the state in a general southeasterly direction. 

 The most important river within the state is 

 the James, which, rising in the Alleghanies, 

 breaks through a gap in the Blue Ridge and 

 descends in a fine cascade known as Balcony 

 Falls. It empties into the foot of Chesapeake 

 Bay in a tidal estuary. Other large rivers emp- 

 tying into the Chesapeake are the Potomac, 

 forming the boundary with Maryland and fed 

 by the North Branch, the South Branch and 

 the Shenandoah; the Rappahannock ; the Mat- 

 tapony and the Roanoke. 



The larger rivers are navigable into the heart 

 of the state; at the head of their tidal waters 

 are Virginia's largest cities, and at their broad 

 mouths are splendid harbors. The landlocked 

 harbor of Hampton Roads, at the outlet of the 

 James River, is large enough to hold the navies 

 of all the great nations and is one of the finest 

 harbors in the world. In the Blue Ridge and 

 Piedmont regions, the streams tumbl* 

 rocky ledges in short falls and develop power 

 of great value, which is iu* yet not fully uti- 

 lized. 



The southwestern part of the state is drained 

 by the New River, which flows across the 

 mountains to the Ohio, and by the Holston, 

 Clinch and Powdl riven, \\luch flow south- 

 west to the Tennessee. 



Virginia's only lam* inland body of water is 

 Lake Dniimnond, which lu-s in thr heart of 

 Dismal Swamp. The water of the lake is 

 amber-colored, and since it is known to keep 

 pur, for long periods of tun. . n is used by 

 many vessels leaving Portsmouth for pxti n<i.<l 

 voyages. The dreary swamp enclosing thr lak< 

 is so densely overgrown with trpps that thn-r 

 is little uii'li iluu-h. and tin- falling leaves and 

 branches which have been accumulating for 

 centuries have formed a bed of black peat 

 twenty or thirty feet deep. 



