West Virginia

a state of the eastern US: part of Virginia until the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861); consists chiefly of the Allegheny Plateau; bounded on the west by the Ohio River; coal-mining. Capital: Charleston. Pop.: 1 810 354 (2003 est.). Area: 62 341 sq. km (24 070 sq. miles)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

West Virginia State Information

Phone: (304) 558-3456
www.wv.gov

Area (sq mi):: 24229.76 (land 24077.73; water 152.03) Population per square mile: 75.50
Population 2005: 1,816,856 State rank: 0 Population change: 2000-20005 0.50%; 1990-2000 0.80% Population 2000: 1,808,344 (White 94.60%; Black or African American 3.20%; Hispanic or Latino 0.70%; Asian 0.50%; Other 1.30%). Foreign born: 1.10%. Median age: 38.90
Income 2000: per capita $16,477; median household $29,696; Population below poverty level: 17.90% Personal per capita income (2000-2003): $21,900-$24,542
Unemployment (2004): 5.30% Unemployment change (from 2000): -0.20% Median travel time to work: 26.20 minutes Working outside county of residence: 31.40%

List of West Virginia counties:

West Virginia Parks

US National Parks
Bluestone National Scenic River
Gauley River National Recreation Area
Harpers Ferry National Historic Park
New River Gorge National River

State Parks

Audra State Park
Babcock State Park
Beartown State Park
Beech Fork State Park
Berkeley Springs State Park
Berwind Lake Wildlife Management Area
Blackwater Falls State Park
Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park
Bluestone State Park
Bluestone Wildlife Management Area
Cabwaylingo State Forest
Cacapon Resort State Park
Calvin Price State Forest
Camp Creek State Forest
Camp Creek State Park
Canaan Valley Resort State Park
Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
Cathedral State Park
Cedar Creek State Park
Chief Logan State Park
Coopers Rock State Forest
Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park
Greenbrier River Trail
Greenbrier State Forest
Hawks Nest State Park
Holly River State Park
Kanawha State Forest
Kumbrabow State Forest
Laurel Lake Wildlife Management Area
Little Beaver State Park
Lost River State Park
Moncove Lake State Park
North Bend Rail Trail

North Bend State Park
Panther State Forest
Pinnacle Rock State Park
Pipestem Resort State Park
Plum Orchard Lake Wildlife Management Area
Pricketts Fort State Park
Seneca State Forest
Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park
Tomlinson Run State Park
Tu-Endie-Wei State Park
Twin Falls Resort State Park
Tygart Lake State Park
Valley Falls State Park
Watoga State Park
Watters Smith Memorial State Park

West Virginia

Thirty-fifth state; admitted on June 20, 1863

The centennial celebration took place throughout the state during the year of 1963 with parades, pageants, sporting events, historical exhibits and reenactments, various arts contests, musical events, fireworks, and, on June 20 at the capitol in Charleston, a speech by President John F. Kennedy.

Legal Holidays:

Christmas Eve	Dec 24
Day after Thanksgiving	Nov 25, 2011; Nov 23, 2012; Nov 29, 2013; Nov 28, 2014; Nov 27, 2015; Nov 25, 2016; Nov 24, 2017; Nov 23, 2018; Nov 29, 2019; Nov 27, 2020; Nov 26, 2021; Nov 25, 2022; Nov 24, 2023
New Year's Eve	Dec 31
Presidents' Day	Feb 21, 2011; Feb 20, 2012; Feb 18, 2013; Feb 17, 2014; Feb 16, 2015; Feb 15, 2016; Feb 20, 2017; Feb 19, 2018; Feb 18, 2019; Feb 17, 2020; Feb 15, 2021; Feb 21, 2022; Feb 20, 2023
West Virginia Day	Jun 20

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

West Virginia

a state in the eastern USA. Area, 62,600 sq km; population, 1,744,000 (1970), 39 percent urban. Its administrative center is Charleston.

West Virginia is situated within the Allegheny Plateau. The terrain is rugged and slopes westward (with elevations reaching as high as 1,481 m) to the Ohio River Valley (with elevations of 250-300 m). The climate is moderate, warm, and moist. The average January temperature ranges from —1° to 5°C, the average July temperature from 23° to 25°C. Annual precipitation is 900-1,250 mm.

Coal mining is one of the bases of the state’s economy (146 million tons in 1968; first in the USA). The prolonged stagnation of the coal industry has made West Virginia a “poverty region” with chronic mass unemployment and a loss of population (in 1950 the population was 2 million). Petroleum, natural gas, salt, and building materials are also extracted here. In 1969, 47,000 persons were employed in mining and 130,000 in processing. The major industries are ferrous metallurgy and by-product coke (Weirton), aluminum industry (Ravenswood), synthetic fibers, plastics, and synthetic rubber (Charleston), and silicate-ceramic goods (glass, porcelain, and building materials in Wheeling). The capacity of the state’s electric power plants is 5.8 million kilowatts (1968); some of the power produced here is transmitted to other states.

Agriculture is dominated by subsistence farms. Small-scale farmers are being ruined; the number of farms fell from 99,000 in 1940 to 34,000 in 1964 (and of these only 13,000 produced for market). More than three-fourths of commercial production is provided by livestock raising, including poultry. In 1970 there were 475,000 cattle and 71,000 pigs. In the valleys of the Appalachians gardens and orchards, mainly apple orchards, have been developed. There are 5,000 km of railroads and 60,000 km of roads. Of great importance is the haulage, primarily of coal, along the Ohio River and its tributary the Monongahela.

V. M. GOKHMAN