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Home > West Virginia
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West Virginia
The state of West Virginia is located in the Mid-Atlantic, Upland South, and Appalachian regions of the United States, enclosed by Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast, Ohio on the northwest, Kentucky on the southwest, and Virginia on the southeast. The largest city and capital is Charleston.
On June 20, 1863, after the Wheeling Conventions, West Virginia separated from Virginia during the American Civil War and was added to the Union as a separate state and was a important Civil War "border stateā. It is 1 of only 2 states formed throughout the American Civil War and is the only state to form by splitting from a Confederate state and 1 of 3 states to separate from another state (the others being Maine and Kentucky).
The Census Bureau regards as West Virginia part of the South for the reason that the majority of the state is just south of the Mason-Dixon Line. However, the northern panhandle expands next to Ohio and Pennsylvania with the West Virginia city of Weirton on a similar with Pittsburgh, while Bluefield is below 70 miles from North Carolina and Harper's Ferry is acknowledged to be a part of the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. The distinctive position of West Virginia signifies that it is frequently included in a wide array of geographical regions, counting the Northeastern United States and even the Southeastern United States. Markedly, it is the only state which totally lies inside the area provided by the Appalachian Regional Commission.
The state is distinguished for its great innate beauty, its traditionally significant coal mining and logging industries, and its labor history. It is in addition known for a wide assortment of outdoor recreational opportunities together with hunting, mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, caving, fishing, whitewater rafting, , and skiing.
West Virginia is 1 of only 2 states in America formed throughout the American Civil War (1861-1865), together with Nevada, and is the only state to form by separating from a Confederate state. It was formerly the western part of Virginia state (between 1776 and 1863) and part of the British Virginia Colony (between 1607 and 1776), whose populace became harshly separated over the matter of secession from the Union and in the disconnection from Virginia, formalized by right of entry to the Union as a new state in 1863.
West Virginia's history was deeply affected by its rich natural resources, spectacular river valleys, and mountainous topography. These were all aspects driving the lifestyles of residents and its economy, plus drawing visitors to the "Mountain State" in the start of the 21st century.
In 1861, as the United States itself became extremely divided over regional issues, leading to the disagreement best recognized now as the American Civil War, the western areas of Virginia split with the eastern section politically, and the two were never acquiescent as a sole state ever again. The western region was included to the Union as a new solo state, originally considered to be named the State of Kanawha, but eventually called West Virginia in 1863.
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