Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/393

 VIRGINIA 373 and a width of 90 m. It covers an area of 11,350 sq. m. (according to the state survey), including about 2,500 sq. m. of valuable ti- dal waters. It borders for about 110 m. on the Atlantic ocean, and is penetrated by the tidal waters of Chesapeake bay and its tribu- taries, which give nearly 1,500 m. of tidal shore line. It is divided into nine princi- pal and many smaller peninsulas. Beginning on the north, they are : 1, the Northern neck, 75 m. long and from 6 to 20 m. wide, which, ly- ing between the Potomac and Eappahannock rivers, is almost surrounded by navigable wa- ters; 2, the Middlesex, extending S. E. 60 m. with a breadth of from 3 to 10 m., between the Rappahannock and Pianketank rivers; 3, the Gloucester, 70 m. long and from 6 to 18 m. wide, between the Pianketank and the York and Mattapony ; 4, the King William or Pamun- key, extending 60 m. S. E. between the Mat- tapony and the Pamunkey, with a breadth of from 3 to 14 m. ; 5, the peninsula which stretches 100 m. S. E., with a width of from 5 to 15 m., between the Pamunkey and the York on the north and the Chickahominy and the James on the south ; 6, the Richmond or Chickahominy, 50 m. long and from 5 to 15 m. wide, between the Chickahominy and the James ; 7, the Southside, 64 m. long and from 35 to 40 m. wide, embracing all the country's, of the James and between it and the Nanse- mond river and North Carolina; 8, the Nor- folk, embracing the territory between the Nansemond river, Hampton roads, Chesapeake bay, and the Atlantic (partly covered by the Dismal swamp), and having Cape Henry on its N. E. point; 9, the Eastern Shore, a long narrow peninsula comprising the counties of Accomack and Northampton, extending from the Maryland border about lat. 38 to Cape Charles, and forming the eastern barrier be- tween the lower Chesapeake bay and the At- lantic. Along the Atlantic shore of this penin- sula extend a series of sand bars or spits with occasional narrow inlets, at a distance of from 2 to 10 m. from the coast, and in some places connected with it by extensive sand drifts. Between these sand spits and the mainland of the peninsula are the Broadwater and other sounds and roadsteads, and in some cases isl- ands of considerable extent. The shores of that portion of the Chesapeake bay within the limits of Virginia are indented by numerous small bays, inlets, and sounds, forming safe an- chorage ground for small craft, and abounding in shell fish. The middle country is an undu- lating plain, with an elevation of from 150 to 200 ft. on the east, and from 300 to 500 on the northwest, which extends W. to the low bro- ken ranges called collectively the Coast range, forming the eastern outliers of the Appalachian system. These extend across the state in a S. W. direction from the Potomac to North Carolina, and comprise the mountains, hills, &c., known as Kittoctin, Bull Run, Yew, Clark's, Southwest, Carter's, Green, Findlay's, Buffalo, Chandler's, Smith's, &c. The middle division comprises about 12,470 sq. m. in the form of a right-angled triangle whose base, about 120 m. long, rests on the North Carolina border. Along the E. base of the Blue Ridge mountains, and between them and the Coast range, the Piedmont division extends from the Potomac and Maryland to the Dan at the North Carolina border. It is 244 jn. long, with an average width of 25 m. and an area of about 6,000 sq. m. This division has nu- merous valleys and rivers, many extensive plains, and much picturesque scenery. The elevation increases toward the west, becoming at the foot of the Blue Ridge from 600 to 1,200 ft. The Blue Ridge, a mountain range with many branches expanding into plateaus or rising into domes, is one of the most prom- inent features of the topography of Virginia. It stretches across the state in a S. W. direc- tion, and, with its numerous spurs extending in all directions, but especially on the east, its parallel ridges, detached knobs, and foot hills, comprises about 2,500 sq. m. It has a very irregular outline, and rises from 2,000 to 4,000 ft. above the sea, with a general ele- vation of about 2,500 ft. Near the Potomac the elevation is about 1,460 ft. Mt. Marshall near Front Royal is, according to the United States coast survey, 3,369 ft. high; and the Peaks of Otter in Bedford co., according to Guyot, are 3,993 ft. high. The valley is a part of the great Appalachian valley, which extends from Canada to Alabama. It is a broad belt of rolling country, diversified by hills and val- leys with many winding streams, lying be- tween the Blue Ridge on the east and the Kittatinny or North mountains on the west, which comprise numerous parallel ranges with various local names. In Virginia and West Virginia the valley extends for about 330 m. from the Potomac to the Holston, of which about 300 m. are within Virginia; it has an area of 5,000 sq. m. It embraces the valleys of five rivers, viz., the Shenandoah, James, Roanoke, Kanawha or New, and Holston or Tennessee. Its western elevation is from 500 to 1,000 ft. greater than the eastern. The Appalachian division is a mountainous region traversed by the Allegheny ranges. In Vir- ginia it is about 260 m. long and from 10 to 50 wide, and comprises 7,680 sq. m. It consists of a series of comparatively narrow, long, parallel valleys, running N. E. and S. W. and separated by mountain ranges. The highest peak in the state, Balsam mountain (about 5,700 ft.), is in the Iron mountains, between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany range, on the border of North Carolina. Virginia has a large number of rivers and streams, which afford abundant water power and exten- sive commercial facilities. Six sevenths of the state is watered by streams which flow to- ward the Atlantic, and the remainder by those which reach the Ohio through the Great Kanawha, Tennessee, and Big Sandy rivers.