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Virginia
The Old Dominion, from the Chesapeake to the Blue Ridge
Virginia descends in clear steps from the mountains to the sea. In the west rise the Appalachians — the Blue Ridge, with Mount Rogers topping the state at 5,729 feet (1,746 m), and beyond it the ridge-and-valley country of the Shenandoah Valley, a long fertile trough between parallel ranges. East of the mountains spreads the rolling Piedmont, and then the flat Tidewater coastal plain, cut by the broad tidal rivers that empty into Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic.
The Tidewater is where colonial America began, its deep, navigable rivers — the James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac — carrying ships far inland and shaping the plantation economy of the early colony. The Eastern Shore, a slice of the Delmarva Peninsula, lies across the bay, linked by a bridge-tunnel that dives beneath the shipping channels. The Shenandoah Valley, framed by the Blue Ridge and the Alleghenies, remains rich farmland. From the salt marshes of the coast to the high crests of the Appalachians, Virginia spans the mid-Atlantic in full.
Economy
Virginia's economy is closely tied to the federal government, with the Pentagon, intelligence agencies, and a vast web of defense and government contractors concentrated in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Northern Virginia also holds the densest concentration of internet data centers in the world. The Port of Virginia at Hampton Roads, agriculture, and tourism centered on the state's colonial history fill out the economy.
Politics
Virginia carries 13 electoral votes. Long a reliably Republican state, it has leaned Democratic in presidential elections since 2008, driven by the explosive growth of the diverse, well-educated Northern Virginia suburbs, while the rural south and west remain strongly Republican. Known as the Mother of Presidents, Virginia was the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents.