F-441754 
Figure 3.—Crops and pastures are confined to the better soils 
of the Coastal Plain and occupy less than one-third of its 
area. 
topography is gently rolling adjacent to the Coastal 
} Plain but becomes progressively more rugged as the 
mountains are approached (fig. 4). Elevations range 
‘from 300 feet on the east to between 500 and 1,000 
feet at the base of the Blue Ridge. The soils, orig- 
inally fertile, have lost much of their productive ca- 
pacity through severe erosion and heavy cropping, 
and large areas are now clearly submarginal for farm- 
ing. In 1940, 37 percent of the land was in use for 
crops and pasture, 59 percent was forested, and the 
remainder was in other uses. 
Three well-defined formations comprise the Moun- 
tain province: the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Ap- 
palachian Valley and Ridges, and the Appalachian 
Plateau. The Blue Ridge, forming the eastern bound- 
tary, is a narrow ridge at the north but widens into 
} 
i 
a high rugged plateau toward the south, where Mount 
F—441836 
FicuRE 4.—The rolling Piedmont is characterized by inter- 
spersed blocks of forest, pasture, and cropland. Tobacco 
is an important crop. 
| Virginia Forest Resources and Industries 
~$25098°—49-__ 
2 
Rogers, 5,719 feet above sea level, constitutes the 
highest point in the State. The upper slopes and 
ridges of the Blue Ridge are forested; the lower slopes 
and valleys are devoted to pastures, orchards, and 
crops. West of the Blue Ridge lie alternating broad 
valleys and narrow ridges of the Valley and Ridges 
formation—chief of which is the Great Valley of Vir- 
ginia, extending sothwesterly from Winchester to 
Bristol. Here the ridge tops and steeper slopes are 
forested (fig. 5), but most of the land is used for pas- 
ture and orchards. The soils are chiefly of limestone 
origin, and very fertile. Along the western bound- 
aries of the State is the Appalachian Plateau, consist- 
ing of the eastern escarpment of the Cumberland and 
Alleghany Mountains, a region of. rugged, broken 
topography, narrow valleys, and sharp ridges. It is 
70 to 80 percent forested. The Mountain province as 
a whole contains 9,106,000 acres, of which 54 percent 
is forested, 24 percent is pasture, 18 percent is crop- 
land, and the rest is in miscellaneous uses. 
F—441860 
Ficure 5.—In the mountains the upper slopes and ridges are 
forested; the lower slopes and valleys are devoted to pastures 
and crops. 
Natural Resources 
The principal natural resources, other than forests, 
are the soils, minerals, and water. Game and fish, 
especially commercial fisheries, are also important. 
The soils (6, pp. 125-129)* vary widely over the 
State, from highly fertile clay loams to nearly sterile 
sands. In the Coastal Plain, the Norfolk, Ruston, and 
closely associated soils predominate. ‘These soils have 
loam or sandy loam surface soils and subsoils varying 
from sandy clay loams to heavy clays. While possess- 
ing little natural fertility, these soils respond readily 
to application of commercial fertilizers. Agricultural 
*Ttalic numbers in parentheses refer to Literature Cited, 
Das 
oH 
