West Virginia

West Virginia
State
State of West Virginia
Flag Seal
Nickname:  Mountain State
Motto(s):  Montani semper liberi (English: Mountaineers Are Always Free)
Anthem: 4 songs
Map of the United States with West Virginia highlighted
Country	United States
Before statehood	Part of Virginia
Admitted to the Union	June 20, 1863 (35th)
Capital (and largest city)	Charleston
Largest metro and urban areas	Huntington-Ashland Tri-State Area
Government
• Governor	Jim Justice (R)
• Lieutenant Governor	Mitch Carmichael (R)
Legislature	West Virginia Legislature
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Delegates
U.S. senators	Joe Manchin (I) Shelley Moore Capito (R)
U.S. House delegation	1: David McKinley (R) 2: Alex Mooney (R) 3: Carol Miller (R) (list)
Area
• Total	24,230 sq mi (62,755 km2)
• Land	24,078 sq mi (62,361 km2)
• Water	152 sq mi (394 km2)  0.6%
• Rank	41st
Dimensions
• Length	240 mi (385 km)
• Width	130 mi (210 km)
Elevation	1,513 ft (461 m)
Highest elevation (Spruce Knob[1][2][3])	4,863 ft (1,482 m)
Lowest elevation (Potomac River at Virginia border[2][3])	240 ft (73 m)
Population  (2019)
• Total	1,792,147
• Rank	38th
• Density	77.1/sq mi (29.8/km2)
• Rank	29th
• Median household income	$43,469[4]
• Income rank	50th
Demonyms	West Virginian
Language
• Official language	De jure: English[5]
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
USPS abbreviation	WV
ISO 3166 code	US-WV
Traditional abbreviation	W.Va.
Latitude	37°12′ N to 40°39′ N
Longitude	77°43′ W to 82°39′ W
Website	wv.gov

West Virginia state symbols
Flag of West Virginia
Living insignia
Bird	Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Butterfly	Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
Fish	Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)
Flower	Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)
Insect	Western honey bee (Apis mellifera)
Mammal	Black bear (Ursus americanus)
Reptile	Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Tree	Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
Inanimate insignia
Colors	Old gold and blue
Food	Golden Delicious apple (Malus domestica)
Fossil	Jefferson's ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii)
Gemstone	Silicified Mississippian fossil coral (Lithostrotionella)
Rock	Coal
Slogan	"Wild and Wonderful" "Open for Business" (former) "Almost Heaven" (former)
Soil	Monongahela Silt Loam
Tartan	West Virginia Shawl
State route marker
State quarter
Released in 2005
Lists of United States state symbols

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian region of the United States. Its capital and largest city is Charleston. It is often abbreviated W. Va. or simply WV. About 1,800,000 people live in the state.

West Virginia is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, by Ohio to the north and west, by Kentucky to the west, by Maryland to the north and east, and by Virginia to the east and south. The Ohio and Potomac Rivers form parts of the boundaries.

Before the American Civil War, West Virginia practiced slavery as part of the state of Virginia. Slaves, at first Native American but increasingly brought from Africa in the slave trade, were forced to grow tobacco, mine coal, and be personal servants. Many slaves were rented from owners in other parts of the state to work in the mines. In the 19th century, white people kept slaves in order to earn money by selling them south to states like Texas, Louisiana, and Georgia.^[6]

1. ↑ "Spruce Knob Cairn 1956". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Elevations and Distances in the United States". United States Geological Survey. 2001. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
4. ↑ "Median Annual Household Income". The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
5. ↑ "West Virginia is the 32nd State to pass Official English". Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
6. ↑ Carroll, Greg (2015-01-06). Slavery and Free People of Color in Virginia (Speech). West Virginia Archives & History. Charleston, West Virginia. Retrieved 2020-11-03.