! #$ {bml vap.shg}

! #$ {bml va3infop.shg}

{bmc 3nick_vp.shg} Nickname
{bmc 3pop_vap.shg} Population
{bmc 3bird_vp.shg} State Bird
{bmc 3flow_vp.shg} State Flower
{bmc 3tree_vp.shg} State Tree

! #$ + {bml va4topp.shg}

Population
Pop. (1986 est.) 5,787,000, an 8.2% increase over 1970 pop.

! #$ + {bml va4topp.shg}

State Capital
Richmond.

! #$ + {bml va4topp.shg}

Highest Point
Mt. Rogers, 5,729 ft (1,747 m).

! #$ + {bml va4topp.shg}

Lowest Point
Sea level.

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Nickname
{ewc MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !VA_NICKP.BMP}
Old Dominion

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State Bird
{ewl MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !VA_BIRDP.BMP}Cardinal

! # $ + {bml va4topp.shg}

State Flower
{ewl MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !VA_FLOWP.BMP}Dogwood

! # $+ {bml va4topp.shg}

State Tree
{ewl MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !VA_TREEP.BMP}Flowering Dogwood

! #+$K K {bml va3histp.shg}

{ewr MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !VA_HISTP.BMP}In 1607 Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, was founded in Virginia. A prosperous economy developed, based on shipping and tobacco cultivation utilizing slaves. Virginia was a leader in the movement culminating in the American Revolution and was the first of the Thirteen Colonies to declare its independence from Great Britain. Among Virginia's native sons were George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, and Thomas Jefferson, drafter of the Declaration of Independence, both of whom subsequently served as presidents of the new nation. Virginia seceded (1861) from the Union, and Richmond became the capital of the Confederacy. A Virginian, Robert E. Lee, served as commander of the Confederate army, and the state was the chief battleground of the Civil War. Virginia was readmitted to the Union in 1870, and during the postwar period the economy was diversified. After the 1954 Supreme Court school desegregation decision, attempts to integrate Virginia's schools proceeded slowly, but integration had been generally accepted by 1970. The nation's energy shortage brought a sudden boom to the coal-mining industry, in the southwestern part of the state, during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

! #$K K + {bml va3landp.shg}

Virginia, state of the south-central U.S.; bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), North Carolina and Tennessee (S), Kentucky and West Virginia (W), and Maryland and the District of Columbia (N and NE).

Area, 40,817 sq mi (105,716 sq km). 

{ewr MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !VA_LANDP.BMP}The coastal plain, or tidewater region, is generally flat and partly swampy. At the Fall Line it gives way to the generally rolling, fertile Piedmont Plateau. Farther west, the Blue Ridge Mountains are separated by the Valley of Virginia from the Allegheny Mountains. The overall climate is mild; rainfall is well distributed. Almost 65% of the population lives in metropolitan areas. Virginia Beach is the largest city. Norfolk, the center of the huge port industry of the Hampton Roads, is the second-largest city, followed by Richmond, Chesapeake, and Newport News. In 1984 the state was 79% white, 21% black and others.

! #$K K + {bml va3econp.shg}

{ewr MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !VA_ECONP.BMP}Manufacturing is the chief source of income, with chemicals, processed foods, and tobacco the leading products. The principal agricultural commodities are dairy products, cattle, tobacco, broiler chickens, corn, hay, and soybeans. Coastal fisheries yield a large annual catch, especially of oysters and crabs. Tourists are attracted to the state's mountain areas, including Shenandoah National Park and the Skyline Drive, and historic sites, including Colonial Williamsburg.

! #$K K + {bml va3govtp.shg}

{ewr MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !VA_GOVTP.BMP}The constitution (adopted 1970) provides for a governor elected to a four-year term. The general assembly consists of a senate with 40 members serving four-year terms and a house with 100 members elected for two years. Virginia sends 2 senators and 10 representatives to the U.S. Congress and has 12 electoral votes.
{bmc uspic2p.shg}

! $#{ewl MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !SHIPSP.BMP}

! # {ewl MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !GWASHNTP.BMP}

! $#{ewl MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !VA_SEALP.BMP}