Arizona is in the Southwest and sometimes in the Mountains of the Western United States. In terms of its size and population, it ranks 6th among the 50 states. Phoenix is its capital and largest city.
West Virginia Facts
Introduction
Located in the Appalachian Mountains, West Virginia is a state in eastern United States. At the confluence of the Shenandoah and the Potomac rivers, Harpers Ferry was the site of a famous raid during the Civil War. Many of the buildings in the town are open to the public as living-history museums, which are surrounded by a national historical park.
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Historical Background
Scientists realized that humans have lived in what is now West Virginia for at least 10,500 years after finding spear points used to hunt extinct species such as mastodons and mammoths. The Cherokees, Iroquois, Manahoacs, Meherrins, Monacans, Nottaways, Shawnees, Occaneechis, Tutelos, and Saponis all inhabited the land many thousands of years after these ancient people lived.
The area that now comprises West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, as well as parts of North Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New York was referred to as Virginia after the British arrived in the 1600s. The British-controlled government of Virginia offered European families free land in 1730 to encourage them to move to what would become West Virginia.
The result was that Native Americans' homelands were taken, and they supported the French (often known as the French and Indian War) in a land war against the British.
In the Revolutionary War of 1775-1783, West Virginia remained part of Virginia because the British won that battle. The state, however, refused to secede from the Union at the start of the Civil War (1861-1865). Abolitionist John Brown staged a famous raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. In his raid, Brown tried to gain weapons that could be used to fight slavery, but he failed. Separation from Virginia in 1861 resulted in West Virginia becoming its own state two years later.
Why Does It Have That Name?
Geographic Features and Landforms
The Natural World
West Virginia is home to more than 70 species of mammals, including Virginia big-eared bats, West Virginia northern flying squirrels, raccoons, skunks, and black bears, the state animal. Among the 300 species of birds that live in the state are wild turkeys, ruffed grouse, barred owls, bald eagles, cerulean warblers, and ruby-throated hummingbirds.
The state is home to cornsnakes, mountain earth snakes, fence lizards, stinkpots (a type of turtle), and five-lined skinks. The state is also home to amphibians such as tiny cricket frogs, mountain chorus frogs, Allegheny Mountain dusky salamanders, and West Virginia spring salamanders.
The state of West Virginia has many trees, including hemlocks, red spruces, cedars, ash trees, pitch pines, hickories, and cucumbertrees with cucumber-shaped fruits. Virginia also has a large number of native wildflowers, such as the Virginia bluebell, the Virginia buttonweed, the Virginia potato (which has edible roots), and the Virginia strawberry.
Natural Resources
West Virginia is the third most-forested state in the United States, known for its timber and protected woodlands. Native Americans and colonists used salt to cure butter and preserve meat, and wild buffalo and deer gathered to lick natural salt deposits. To this day, rock salt is still mined for use in creating chemicals, like chlorine.
The state's economy is also dependent on coal, oil, and natural gas.
