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Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

is in the foreground, the Potomac River is in the background]] Potomac River to the south and west, and the Potomac River to the east]] Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 128,284. It is located on the west bank of the Potomac River, six miles south of downtown Washington, DC. Like the rest of Northern Virginia, as well as southern Maryland, Alexandria has been shaped by its proximity to the nation's capital. It is largely populated by professionals working in the federal civil service, the U.S. military, or for one of the many private companies which contract to provide services to the federal government. The latter are known locally as beltway bandits, after the Capital Beltway, an interstate highway that circles Washington, D.C. One of Alexandria's largest employers is the U.S. Department of Defense. Others include the Institute for Defense Analyses and the Center for Naval Analyses. Alexandria is home to numerous associations, charities, and non-profit organizations including the national headquarters of groups such as the Salvation Army. The historic center of Alexandria is known as Old Town. It is a major draw for tourists and those seeking nightlife. Like Old Town, many Alexandria neighborhoods are high-income suburbs of Washington D.C. A 2005 assessed-value study of homes and condominiums found that over 40 percent were in the highest bracket, worth $556,000 or more. Alexandria landmarks include the George Washington Masonic National Memorial (also known as the Masonic Temple), Gadsby's Tavern, Christ Church, the Little Theatre, the Torpedo Factory, Market Square, Robert E. Lee's boyhood home, the John Carlyle House and the Virginia Theological Seminary. In 2005, Alexandria became one of the first cities of its size to offer free wireless internet access to some of its residents and visitors. Market Square in Old Town was once the site of the second-largest slave market in the United States. Today it contains a large fountain and extensive landscaping, as well as a weekly farmers' market. Alexandria's public high school, T.C. Williams, and its legendary former football coach, Herman "Mad Dog" Boone, were featured in the 2000 motion picture, "Remember the Titans."

Geography

Remember the Titans Alexandria is bounded on the east by the Potomac River, on the north and northwest by Arlington County, and on the south by Fairfax County. The western portions of the city were annexed from those two entities beginning in the 1930s. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 39.9 km² (15.4 mi²). 39.3 km² (15.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.49% water.

Areas in Alexandria

Old Town

Old Town, in the eastern and southeastern areas of Alexandria and on the Potomac River, is the oldest section of the city, originally laid out in 1749, and is an historic district. Old Town is chiefly known for its historic (and expensive) town houses, its art galleries and antique shops, and its restaurants and nightlife, although it is in reality a diverse area that includes substantial public housing. Old Town is laid out on a grid plan of substantially square blocks.

Del Ray

The area to the northwest of Old Town, formerly in the separate town of Potomac, is popularly known as Del Ray, although that name properly belongs to one of many communities (including Hume, Mount Ida, and Saint Elmo) in that area. The housing stock is a mix of single-family houses, duplexes, townhouses, and apartment buildings. The community has a more hipster and boho flair than Old Town. While diverse, it has experienced substantial gentrification since redevelopment began in Potomac Yard in the mid-1990s. Del Ray is laid out in a grid plan independent of that of Old Town, with long, narrow blocks.

West End

Alexandria's West End includes areas annexed in the 1950s. It is the most typically suburban part of Alexandria, with a street hierarchy of winding roads and culs-de-sac. The section of Duke Street in the West End is known for a high-density residential area known to locals as the "Condo Canyon" and for its concentration of both strip and enclosed shopping malls.

Addresses

The addressing system in Alexandria is not uniform and reflects the consolidation of several originally separate communities into a single city. In Old Town Alexandria, building numbers are assigned north and south from King Street and west (only) from the Potomac River. In the areas formerly in the Town of Potomac, such as Del Ray and St. Elmo, building numbers are assigned east and west from Commonwealth Avenue and north (only) from King Street. In the western parts of the city, building numbers are assigned north and south from Duke Street. The ZIP code prefix 223 uniquely identifies the Alexandria postal area. However, the Alexandria postal area extends well into Fairfax County and includes more addresses outside of the city than inside of it. Delivery areas have ZIP codes 22301 through 22312, 22314, and 22315, with other ZIP codes in use for post office boxes and large mailers. ZIP codes are not assigned in any particular geographic order.

Demographics

The Census Bureau designates Alexandria as part of the Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA). As of the census of 2000, there are 128,283 people, 61,889 households, and 27,726 families residing in the city. The population density is 3,262.9/km² (8,452.0/mi²). There are 64,251 housing units at an average density of 1,634.2/km² (4,233.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 59.79% White, 22.54% African American, 0.28% Native American, 5.65% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 7.38% from other races, and 4.27% from two or more races. 14.72% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 61,889 households out of which 18.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% are married couples living together, 9.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 55.2% are non-families. 43.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.04 and the average family size is 2.87. In the city the population is spread out with 16.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 43.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.7 males. The median income for a household in the city is $56,054, and the median income for a family is $67,023. Males have a median income of $47,514 versus $41,254 for females. The per capita income for the city is $37,645. 8.9% of the population and 6.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.9% of those under the age of 18 and 9.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Transportation

Roads

Alexandria is bisected north and south by Virginia State Highway 7, known in most of the city as the major thoroughfare of King Street, and in its western portions as Leesburg Pike. Interstate Highway 95/495 (the Capital Beltway), including the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac, approximately parallels the city's southern boundary with Fairfax County. Interstate 395 crosses through the western part of the city. Other major routes include U.S. Highway 1, named Jefferson Davis Highway and Patrick and Henry Streets (after Patrick Henry), the George Washington Memorial Parkway, and Duke Street (Virginia State Highway 236).

Airports

Alexandria is located just south of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington County. As with other Washington suburbs, Alexandria is also served by Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia, and by Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport near Baltimore, Maryland.

Rail

Alexandria Union Station, the city's historic train station, is served by both Amtrak intercity and Virginia Railway Express regional rail service. The station is directly adjacent to the King Street Metrorail station, at the convergence of the Blue and Yellow Lines. Three other Metrorail stations lie within the city limits: Braddock Road, Van Dorn Street, and Eisenhower Avenue. The traditional boundary between Old Town and the latterly annexed sections of the city followed the railway now owned by CSX Transportation.

Buses

The city government operates its own mass transit system, the DASH bus, connecting points of interest with local transit hubs. Metrobus also serves Alexandria.

History

The City of Alexandria, first known as Belhaven, was named in honor of John Alexander, who in the last quarter of the 17th century had bought the land on which the city now stands from Robert Howison; the first settlement here was made in 1695. Alexandria was laid out in 1749 and was incorporated in 1779. A portion of the City of Alexandria shares with all of today's Arlington County the distinction of having been originally in Virginia, ceded to the U.S. Government to form the District of Columbia, and later reattached to Virginia by the federal government in 1846, when the District was reduced in size to exclude the portion south of the Potomac River. From 1790 until 1846, Alexandria County was a part of the District of Columbia; the City of Alexandria was re-chartered in 1852. The City of Alexandria became independent of Alexandria County in 1870. The remaining portion of Alexandria County changed its name to Arlington County in 1920, ending years of confusion. See article on Arlington, Virginia for more information. In 1930, Alexandria annexed the Town of Potomac. That town, adjacent to Potomac Yard, had been laid out beginning in the late 19th century and incorporated in 1908.

Revolutionary War

In 1755 General Edward Braddock organized his fatal expedition against Fort Duquesne at Alexandria, and here, in April of the same year, the governors of Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland met to determine upon concerted action against the French in America. In March 1785, commissioners from Virginia and Maryland met here to discuss the commercial relations of the two states, finishing their business at Mount Vernon on the 28th with an agreement for freedom of trade and freedom of navigation of the Potomac. The Maryland legislature in ratifying this agreement on November 22 proposed a conference among representatives from all the states to consider the adoption of definite commercial regulations. This led to the calling of the Annapolis Convention of 1786, which in turn led to the calling of the Federal Convention of 1787. In 1790, Alexandria was included in the area chosen by George Washington to become the District of Columbia. During the War of 1812, Alexandria surrendered to a British fleet in 1814 without a fight. As agreed in the terms of surrender the British looted stores and warehouses of mainly flour, tobacco, cotton, wine and sugar [http://oha.ci.alexandria.va.us/archaeology/decades/ar-decades-1810.html].

Return to Virginia

Over time, a movement grew to separate from Alexandria from the District of Columbia. As competition grew with the port of Georgetown and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal favored the north side of the Potomac, the city's economy stagnated. In addition, many in Alexandra hoped to benefit from land sales and increased business from the federal government, but it had no need for the land south of the river. In addition, its residents had lost representation and the right to vote at any level of government. Alexandria was also an important port and market in the slave trade there was increasing talk of abolition of slavery in the national capital, and the economy would suffer greatly if slavery was outlawed. At the same time, there was an active abolition movement in Virginia, and the state's General Assembly was closely divided on the question of slavery (resulting in the formation of West Virginia eighteen years later by the most anti-slavery counties) and Alexandria and Alexandria County would provide two new pro-slavery representatives. After a referendum, voters petitioned Congress and Virginia to return the area to Virginia. The area was retroceded to Virginia by on July 9, 1846.[http://www.citymuseumdc.org/gettoknow/faq.asp]

American Civil War

At the opening of the American Civil War, the city was occupied by Federal troops until the end of the war, making it the longest held city during the war. Great excitement throughout the North was caused by the killing (May 24, 1861) of Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth (1837-1861) by Captain James W. Jackson, a hotel proprietor, from whose building Ellsworth had removed a Confederate flag. After the establishment of the state of West Virginia in 1863, and until the close of the war, Alexandria was the seat of what was known as the "Alexandria Government."

Twinning

Alexandria maintains cultural, economic and educational ties with Dundee, Scotland.

References


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Recreation

The city has a distributed park system with approximately 950 acres spread across 70 major parks and 30 recreation center of which Chinquapin is one the largest, offering facilities for swimming, tennis, racquetball and other sports. The city also organizes several sports leagues throughout the year including volleyball, softball and basketball. Alexandria is also unusual in that Cameron Run Regional Park includes a water park with a wave pool and water slides, as well as a miniature golf course and batting cage -- facilities usually operated by private companies. A portion of the Mount Vernon Trail, a popular bike path, runs through Old Town near the Potomac River.

Education

The city is served by the Alexandria City Public Schools system and by the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

External links


- [http://ci.alexandria.va.us/ City of Alexandria]
- [http://www.funside.com/ Alexandria, Virginia, Guide]
- [http://oha.ci.alexandria.va.us/ Historic Alexandria]
- [http://photos.historical-markers.org/va-alexandria Alexandria's Historical Markers]
- [http://oha.ci.alexandria.va.us/oha-main/haq/ Historic Alexandria Quarterly] Category:Cities in Virginia Category:Washington, D.C. suburbs Category:U.S. National Historic Landmarks Category:History of the District of Columbia ja:アレクサンドリア (バージニア州)

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States (USA). The river is approximately 413 statute miles (665 km) long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles (38,000 km²). In terms of area, this makes the Potomac River the fourth largest river along the Atlantic coast of the USA and the 21st largest in the USA. Over 5 million people live within the Potomac watershed, where precipitation provides the equivalent of over 8 m³ (more than 2100 US gallons) of water per person per year.

Geography

The river forms part of the borders between Maryland and Washington, D.C. (the District of Columbia) on the left bank and West Virginia and Virginia on the river's right bank. The entire lower Potomac River is considered part of Maryland, with the exception of a small tidal portion within the District of Columbia. The North Branch Potomac River is considered part of Maryland to the low water mark on the opposite bank. The South Branch Potomac River lies completely within the state of West Virginia except for its headwaters which lie in Virginia. headwaters The Potomac River runs 383 miles (616 km) from the Fairfax Stone in West Virginia to Point Lookout, Maryland and drains 14,679 sq. miles (38,018 sq. km.). The average flow is 4.86 million US gallons per minute (306.6 thousand liters per second). The largest flow ever recorded on the Potomac at Washington, D.C. was in March 1936 when it reached 275 billion US gallons per day (12 million L/s). The lowest flow ever recorded at the same location was 388 million gallons per day (17 thousand L/s) in September 1966. The river has two sources. The source of the North Branch is at the Fairfax Stone located at the junction of Garrett County, Maryland and Tucker and Preston Counties in West Virginia. The source of the South Branch is located near Hightown in northern Highland County, Virginia. The river's two branches converge just east of Green Spring in Hampshire County, West Virginia to form the Potomac. Once the Potomac drops from the Piedmont to the Coastal Plain, tides further influence the river as it passes through Washington, D.C. and beyond. Salinity in the Potomac River Estuary increases thereafter with distance downstream. The estuary also widens, reaching 11 statute miles (17 km) wide at its mouth, between Point Lookout, Maryland and Smith Point, Virginia before flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

History

Smith Point]] The name Potomac is a European spelling of an Algonquin name which supposedly means "river of swans." Other accounts say the name means "place where people trade" or "the place to which tribute is brought" and that the name translated as "river of swans" was another word, Cohongorooton. The spelling of the name has been simplified over the years from Patawomeke to Patowmack in the 18th century and now Potomac. The river's name was officially decided upon as Potomac by the Board on Geographic Names in 1931. Being situated in an area rich in American history and American heritage has led to the Potomac being nicknamed "the Nation's River." George Washington, the first President of the United States, was born in, surveyed, and spent most of his life within the Potomac basin. All of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital city, also lies within the watershed. The 1859 siege of Harper's Ferry at the river's confluence with the Shenandoah was a precursor to numerous epic battles of the American Civil War in and around the Potomac and its tributaries. General Robert E. Lee crossed the river, thereby invading the North and threatening Washington, D.C. twice in campaigns climaxing in the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg. The Patowmack Canal was intended by George Washington to connect the Tidewater near Georgetown with Cumberland, Maryland. Started in 1785, it was not completed until 1802. Financial troubles closed the canal in 1830. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal operated along the banks of the Potomac in Maryland from 1850 to 1924 and also connected Cumberland to Washington, D.C. This allowed freight to be transported around the rapids known as the Great Falls of the Potomac River, as well as many other, smaller rapids. With increasing mining and agriculture upstream and urban sewage and runoff downstream, the water quality of the Potomac River deteriorated. This created conditions of severe eutrophication. It is said that President Abraham Lincoln used to escape to the highlands on summer nights to escape the river's stench. In the 1960s, with dense green algal blooms covering the river's surface, President Lyndon Johnson declared the river "a national disgrace" and set in motion a long-term effort to reduce sewage pollution and restore the beauty and ecology of this historic river. By the end of the 20th century, there was notable success, as massive algal blooms vanished and recreational fishing and boating rebounded. Still, the aquatic habitat of the Potomac River and its tributaries remain vulnerable to eutrophication, heavy metals, pesticides and other toxic chemicals, over-fishing, alien species, and pathogens associated with Fecal coliform bacteria and shellfish diseases.

North Branch Potomac River

The source of the North Branch Potomac River is at the Fairfax Stone located at the junction of Garrett County in Maryland and Tucker and Preston Counties in West Virginia.

North Branch tributaries

Tributaries are listed in order from the source of the North Branch Potomac River to its mouth.
- Stony River (West Virginia)
- Savage River (Maryland)
- Georges Creek (Maryland)
- New Creek (West Virginia)
- Wills Creek (Maryland)
- Pattersons Creek (West Virginia)

North Branch dams

North Branch bridges

North Branch islands

Longs Island is nearly one mile long and contains the Long family farm, and is known for the corn it produces from the rich river silt laden soil. The island lies in Allegany County, Maryland but can only be accessed from Keyser in Mineral County, West Virginia.

South Branch Potomac River

Mineral County The South Branch Potomac River has its headwaters in northwestern Highland County, Virginia near Hightown along the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. The mouth of the South Branch lies east of Green Spring in Hampshire County, West Virginia where it meets the North Branch Potomac River to form the Potomac. A topographic map of the confluence of the North and South Branches can be viewed [http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm?lat=39.52833&lon=-78.58778&scale=25000&type=1&zoom=100&bpid=MAP0060030900%2C1%2C1%2C0&latlontype=DMS&searchscope=dom&CFID=10736808&CFTOKEN=19084588 here].

South Branch nomenclature

Early pioneer sources claim that the indigenous Native Americans of the region referred to the South Branch Potomac River as the Wappatomaka. Other variants of this name throughout the river's history were South Branch of Potowmac River, South Branch of the Potowmac River, South Fork Potomac River, Wapacomo River, Wapocomo River, Wappacoma River, Wappatomaka River, and Wappatomica River. Places settled in the South Branch valley bearing variants of "Wappatomaka" include Wappacoma plantation built in 1773 and the unincorporated hamlet of Wappocomo (sometimes spelled Wapocomo) at Hanging Rocks, both north of Romney on WV 28.

South Branch headwaters and course

The exact location of the South Branch's source is northwest of Hightown along Parkersburg Pike (US 250) on the eastern side of Lantz Mountain (3,934 feet) in Highland County. From Hightown, the South Branch is a small meandering stream that flows northeast along Crab Bottom Road through the communities of New Hampden and Crab Bottom. At Forks of Waters, the South Branch joins with Strait Creek and flows north across the Virginia/West Virginia border into Pendleton County. The river then travels on a northeastern course along the western side of Jack Mountain (4,045 feet), followed by Sandy Ridge (2,297 feet) along US 220. North of the confluence of the South Branch with Smith Creek, the river flows along Town Mountain (2,848 feet) around Franklin at the junction of US 220 and US 33. After Franklin, the South Branch continues north through the Monongahela National Forest to Upper Tract where it joins with three sizeable streams: Reeds Creek, Mill Run, and Deer Run. Between Big Mountain (2,582 feet) and Cave Mountain (2,821 feet), the South Branch bends around the Eagle Rock (1,483 feet) outcrop and continues its flow northward into Grant County. Into Grant, the South Branch follows the western side of Cave Mountain until its confluence with the North Fork at Corners, where it flows east to Petersburg. At Petersburg, the South Branch is joined with the South Branch Valley Railroad, which it parallels until its mouth at Green Spring. In its eastern course from Petersburg into Hardy County, the South Branch becomes more navigable allowing for canoes and smaller river vessels. The river splits and forms a series of large islands while it heads northeast to Moorefield. At Moorefield, the South Branch is joined by the South Fork South Branch Potomac River and runs north to Old Fields where it is fed by Anderson Run and Stony Run. At McNeill, the South Branch flows into the Trough where it is bound to its west by Mill Creek Mountain (2,119 feet) and to its east by Sawmill Ridge (1,644 feet). This area is the habitat to endangered bald eagles. The Trough passes into Hampshire County and ends at its confluence with Sawmill Run south of Glebe and Sector. The South Branch continues north parallel to South Branch River Road (County Route 8) toward Romney with a number of historic plantation farms adjoining it. En route to Romney, the river is fed by Buffalo Run, Mill Run, McDowell Run, and Mill Creek at Vanderlip. The South Branch is traversed by the Northwestern Turnpike (US 50) and joined by Sulphur Spring Run where it forms another island to the west of town. Flowing north of Romney, the river still follows the eastern side of Mill Creek Mountain until it creates a horseshoe bend at Wappocomo's Hanging Rocks around the George W. Washington plantation, Ridgedale. To the west of Three Churches on the western side of South Branch Mountain (3,028 feet), the South Branch creates a series of bends and flows to the northeast by Springfield through Blue's Ford. After another horseshoe bend, the South Branch flows under the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad mainline between Green Spring and South Branch Depot, and joins the North Branch to form the Potomac.

South Branch tributaries


- Lunice Creek (West Virginia)
- Mill Creek (West Virginia)
- Mill Run (West Virginia)
- North Fork South Branch Potomac River (West Virginia/Virginia)
- South Fork South Branch Potomac River (West Virginia/Virginia)

South Branch bridges

South Branch floattrips

All locations listed below are designated public access sites by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources at their [http://www.wvdnr.gov/Fishing/public_access.asp website]. Access sites are listed from south to north.

North Fork South Branch Potomac River

The North Fork South Branch Potomac River forms just north of the Virginia/West Virginia border in Pendleton County at the confluence of the Laurel Fork and Straight Fork along Big Mountain (3,881 feet). From Circleville, the North Fork flows northeast through Pendleton County between the Fore Knobs (2,949 feet) to its west and the River Knobs (2,490 feet) to its east. At Mouth of Seneca, the North Fork is met by Seneca Creek. From Mouth of Seneca, the North Fork continues to flow northeast along the western edge of North Fork Mountain (3,389 feet) into Grant County. Flowing east through North Fork Gap, the North Fork joins the South Branch Potomac at the town of Corners, west of Petersburg.

North Fork bridges

South Fork South Branch Potomac River

The South Fork South Branch Potomac River forms just south of US 250 in Highland County, Virginia near Liberty and empties into the South Branch Potomac River at Moorefield in Hardy County, West Virginia.

Upper Potomac River

This stretch encompasses the stretch of the Potomac River from the confluence of the North and South Branches to the Great Falls of the Potomac River at Great Falls, Virginia.

Upper Potomac tributaries

Great Falls
- Above the fall-line
  - North Branch Potomac River (Maryland/West Virginia)
  - South Branch Potomac River (West Virginia/Virginia)
  - Little Cacapon River (West Virginia)
    - North Fork Little Cacapon River (West Virginia)
    - South Fork Little Cacapon River (West Virginia)
  - Cacapon River (West Virginia)
    - Capon Springs Run (West Virginia)
    - Dillons Run (West Virginia)
    - Edwards Run (West Virginia)
    - Lost River (West Virginia)
    - North River (West Virginia)
      - Tearcoat Creek (West Virginia)
  - Sleepy Creek (West Virginia/Virginia)
  - Cherry Run (West Virginia)
  - Back Creek (West Virginia/Virginia)
  - Opequon Creek (West Virginia/Virginia)
    - Mill Creek (West Virginia/Virginia)
  - Antietam Creek (Pennsylvania/Maryland)
  - Shenandoah River (West Virginia/Virginia)
    - North Fork Shenandoah River (Virginia)
    - South Fork Shenandoah River (Virginia)
  - Catoctin Creek (Virginia)
  - Catoctin Creek (Maryland)
  - Monocacy River (Maryland)
  - Seneca Creek (Maryland)

Upper Potomac bridges

Tidal Potomac River

The Tidal or Lower Potomac River lies below the Fall Line. This stretch encompasses the Potomac from the Great Falls of the Potomac River to the Chesapeake Bay

Tidal Potomac tributaries


- Rock Creek (DC/Maryland)
- Anacostia River (DC/Maryland)
  - Northwest Branch Anacostia River (Maryland)
    - Sligo Creek (Maryland)
  - Northeast Branch Anacostia River (Maryland)
- Four Mile Run (Virginia)
- Piscataway Creek (Maryland)
- Occoquan River (Virginia)
  - Bull Run (Virginia)
  - Broad Run (Virginia)
  - Cedar Run (Virginia)
- Neabsco Creek (Virginia)
- Mattawoman Creek (Maryland)
- Quantico Creek (Virginia)
- Aquia Creek (Virginia)
- Nanjemoy Creek (Maryland)
- Port Tobacco River (Maryland)
- Wicomico River (Maryland)
- St. Marys River (Maryland)
- Yeocomico River (Virginia)
- Hull Creek (Virginia)

Tidal Potomac bridges

Hull Creek, completed in 1961]]

Cities along the Potomac

For a full listing, see List of cities and towns along the Potomac River.

See also


- List of Maryland rivers
- List of Virginia rivers
- List of West Virginia rivers
- Arakawa River, the Potomac's sister river

External links


- [http://www.potomacriver.org Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB)]
- [http://www.potomac.org Potomac Conservancy]
- [http://www.nps.gov/pohe/ Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail]
- [http://www.potomacriverkeeper.org/ Potomac Riverkeeper]
- [http://www.potomacwatershed.net/ Potomac Watershed Partnership]
- [http://www.potomacroundtable.org/ Potomac Watershed Roundtable]
- [http://www.pwconserve.org Prince William Conservation Alliance]
- [http://www.potomacstewards.org/ Stewards of the Potomac Highlands]
- [http://www.wvdnr.gov/Fishing/Fishing.shtm West Virginia Division of Natural Resources] Category:Chesapeake Bay Watershed Category:Potomac River Watershed Category:Geography of West Virginia Category:Geography of the District of Columbia Category:Geography of Maryland Category:Geography of Virginia Category:Rivers of the District of Columbia Category:Rivers of Maryland Category:Rivers of Virginia Category:Rivers of West Virginia ja:ポトマック川

Independent city

An independent city is a city that does not form part of another local government entity. As a formal term it is mainly used in the U.S. state of Virginia, however there are equivalent entities in a number of other jurisdictions throughout the world. Independent cities should not be confused with city-states (such as Singapore), which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other nation-state.

United States

In the United States, an independent city is a city that does not belong to any particular county. Because counties have historically been a strong institution in local government in most of the United States, independent cities are relatively rare outside of Virginia (see below), whose state constitution makes them a special case. The U.S. Census Bureau uses counties as its base unit for presentation of statistical information, and treats independent cities as county equivalents for those purposes.

Virginia

Of the 43 or so independent cities in the United States, 39 are in Virginia. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as "cities" have also been "independent cities" since 1871. Other municipalities, even though they may be more populous than some existing independent cities, are incorporated as "towns", and as such form part of a county. An independent city in Virginia may serve as the county seat of an adjacent county, even though the city by definition is not part of that county. Several Virginia counties, whose origins go back to the original eight shires of the colony formed in 1634, have the word city in their names; however, politically they are counties. Examples are Charles City County and James City County.
List of Virginia's independent cities
The independent cities in Virginia are (as of December, 2004):
- Alexandria
- Bedford (also the seat of Bedford County)
- Bristol
- Buena Vista
- Charlottesville (also the seat of Albemarle County)
- Chesapeake (formed through the merger of the City of South Norfolk and Norfolk County)
- Colonial Heights
- Covington (also the seat of Alleghany County)
- Danville
- Emporia (also the seat of Greensville County)
- Fairfax (also the seat of Fairfax County)
- Falls Church
- Franklin
- Fredericksburg
- Galax
- Hampton (formed through the merger of the Town of Phoebus and Elizabeth City County)
- Harrisonburg (also the seat of Rockingham County)
- Hopewell
- Lexington (also the seat of Rockbridge County)
- Lynchburg
- Manassas
- Manassas Park
- Martinsville
- Newport News (consolidated with the City of Warwick, itself formerly Warwick County)
- Norfolk
- Norton
- Petersburg
- Poquoson
- Portsmouth
- Radford
- Richmond
- Roanoke
- Salem (also the seat of Roanoke County)
- Staunton (also the seat of Augusta County)
- Suffolk (formed by the merger of the Towns of Suffolk, Holland, and Whaleyville, with the City of Nansemond)
- Virginia Beach (formed by the merger of the Town of Virginia Beach and Princess Anne County)
- Waynesboro
- Williamsburg (also the seat of James City County)
- Winchester (also the seat of Frederick County) Note that while most counties and cities in Virginia with similar names are contiguous, the independent city of Richmond is located nowhere near Richmond County. The latter is located in the state's Northern Neck region, about 50 miles distant from the city.
Arlington County
Arlington County, commonly referred to as just "Arlington", is not an independent city. However, it is often thought of as a city because it is fully urbanized, is close in size to other independent cities in the state, and includes no municipalities within its borders.
Former cities
See also: Lost Counties, Cities and Towns of Virginia. Former independent cities that were long extant in Virginia include:
- Clifton Forge, which gave up its city charter in 2001, and is now an incorporated town in Alleghany County.
- Manchester, which was consolidated by mutual agreement with the City of Richmond in 1910.
- South Boston, which gave up its city charter in 1994, and is now an incorporated town in Halifax County.
- South Norfolk, which merged with Norfolk County in 1963 to form the City of Chesapeake. Two other independent cities existed for a short time:
- Nansemond, created from the former Nansemond County in 1972, was merged in 1974 with the then-City of Suffolk and three unincorporated towns within the county's former boundaries to form today's City of Suffolk.
- Warwick, which was formed from the former Warwick County in 1952, was in 1958 consolidated by mutual agreement with the newly-expanded City of Newport News.

Other states

Some states have created independent cities in order to cater for the special requirements of governing their largest cities and/or capitals:
- The City of Baltimore, Maryland, has been separate from Baltimore County since 1851.
- The City of St. Louis, Missouri, was separated from St. Louis County in 1876.
- The Consolidated Municipality of Carson City, Nevada, absorbed all of the former Ormsby County in 1969.

Other entities similar to independent cities

An independent city should not be confused with
- A consolidated city-county (such as San Francisco or Philadelphia), in which both city and county government has been merged.
- A completely urbanized county such as Arlington, Virginia
- The City of New York, which is a sui generis jurisdiction: the city is made up of five boroughs, each of which is territorially contiguous with a county.
- Cities and towns in New England, which traditionally have very strong governments, with counties having correspondingly lesser importance. Today, most New England counties have almost no governmental institutions or roles associated with them (aside from serving as a basis for court districts). However, somewhat like the ceremonial counties of England, counties in New England still have a nominal existence, and so no city or town in New England is truly separate from a county. The U.S. Census Bureau still uses counties, and not cities or towns, as its base unit of statistical measurement in New England.
- Washington, D.C., which, like the capitals of many other countries (see below), has a special status. It is not part of any state; instead, it comprises the entirety of the District of Columbia, which, in accordance with Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress. When founded, the District was in fact divided into two counties and two independent cities. Alexandria County (now Arlington County and the independent city of Alexandria) was given back to Virginia in 1846, while the three remaining entities (the City of Washington, Georgetown City and Washington County) were merged into a consolidated government by an act of Congress in 1871 and Georgetown was formally abolished as a city entity by another act in 1895. Congress has established a home rule government for the city, although city laws can be overridden by Congress. This is fairly rare, however, and so in practice the city operates much like other independent cities in the United States.

Canada

In the Canadian province of Ontario, the same type of city is referred to as a single-tier municipality.

Europe

Austria

In Austria, a similar concept is the Statutarstadt.

Germany

:See also: List of German urban districts. In Germany, different states have either the Stadtkreis ("Urban District") or Kreisfreie Stadt (literally, "District-Free City"). Examples of German independent cities are:
- Flensburg
- Neuburg an der Donau
- Salzgitter

Hungary

:See also: List of towns in Hungary In Hungary 23 of the cities are "cities with county rights", these cities have equal rights with the 19 counties of Hungary.

United Kingdom

Some cities in the United Kingdom are a unitary authority, and could be considered to be independent cities. In the UK, however, "city" has no inherent status; city status depends on a grant from the monarch and merely confers on the place so-designated the right to call itself a city.

Republic of China

Under the administrative division system of the Republic of China (effectively controlling Taiwan and islands since 1949), some cities are directly administered by the Executive Yuan, some are administered by provinces, and some are subordinate to counties. The centrally-adminsitered and province-administered ones are like independent cities under this definition.

National capitals

A number of countries have made their national capitals into separate entities. For example Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is outside of the country's system of counties, as is the capital of Romania, Bucharest. The capital of the United States is not within any of the 50 states.

Federal capitals

In countries with a federal structure, the federal capital is usually separate from other jurisdictions in the country, and frequently has a unique system of government. Examples include:
- The Australian capital, Canberra, is situated in the Australian Capital Territory
- Brasília, Caracas, and Mexico City, the capitals of Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico respectively, are each located in a Federal District.

See also


- County borough
- Unitary authority Category:Cities Category:Lists of cities Category:Independent cities ko:독립시 ja:独立市

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is one of the original thirteen states of the United States that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, and is part of the South. It is one of four states that use the name commonwealth. Virginia was the first part of the Americas to be colonized permanently by England. Virginia's U.S. postal abbreviation is VA, and its Associated Press abbreviation is Va. Kentucky and West Virginia were part of Virginia at the time of the founding of the United States; but the former was admitted to the Union as a separate state in 1792, while the latter broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War. Virginia is known as the "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents, more than any other state. Five of them were re-elected to a second term: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and Woodrow Wilson. William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Zachary Taylor round out the list of American Presidents from the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Harrison and Taylor died while in office.)

History

Native Americans

At the time of the English colonization of Virginia, among Native American people living in what now is Virginia were the Cherokee, Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Meherrin, Monacan, Nansemond, Nottaway, Pamunkey, Pohick, Powhatan, Rappahannock, Saponi, and Tuscarora. The natives are often divided into three groups. The largest group are known as the Algonquian who numbered over 10,000. The other groups are the Iroquoian (numbering 2,500) and the Siouan. [http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/vahistory/tribes.html]

Virginia Colony: 1607–1776

At the end of the 16th century, when Great Britain began to colonize North America, Virginia was the name that Queen Elizabeth I of England (who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married) gave to the whole area explored by the 1584 expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh along the coast of North America, eventually applying to the whole coast from South Carolina to Maine. The London Virginia Company became incorporated as a joint stock company by a proprietary charter drawn up on April 10, 1606. It swiftly financed the first permanent English settlement in the New World, which was at Jamestown, named in honor of King James I, in the Virginia Colony, in 1607, which settlement was founded by Captian Christopher Newport and Captain John Smith. Its Second Charter was officially ratified on May 23, 1609. Jamestown was the original capital of the Virginia Colony, and remained so until the State House burned (not the first time) in 1698. After the fire, the colonial capital was moved to nearby Middle Plantation, which was renamed Williamsburg in honor of William of Orange, King William III. Virginia was given its nickname, "The Old Dominion", by King Charles II of England at the time of the Restoration, because it had remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil War.

A new state

In 1780, during the American Revolutionary War, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of then-Governor Thomas Jefferson, who was afraid that Williamsburg's location made it vulnerable to a British attack. In the autumn of 1781, American troops trapped the British on the Yorktown peninsula in the famous Battle of Yorktown. This prompted a British surrender on October 19, 1781, formally ending the war and securing the former colonies' independence, even though sporadic fighting continued for two years. Patrick Henry served as the first Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779, and again from 1784 to 1786. On June 12, 1776, the Virginia Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a document that influenced the Bill of Rights added later to the United States Constitution. On June 29, 1776, the convention adopted a constitution that established Virginia as a commonwealth independent of the British Empire. In 1790 both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to form the new District of Columbia, but in an Act of the U.S. Congress dated July 9, 1846, the area south of the Potomac that had been ceded by Virginia was retroceded to Virginia effective 1847, and is now Arlington County and part of the City of Alexandria.

American Civil War

Virginia is one of the states that seceded from the Union to become the Confederacy during the Civil War. When it did, some counties were separated as Kanawha (later renamed West Virginia), an act which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1870. More battles were fought on Virginia soil than anywhere else in America during the Civil War. Virginia formally rejoined the Union on January 26, 1870, after a period of post-war military rule.

20th century

When Douglas Wilder was elected Governor of Virginia on January 13, 1990, he became the first African-American to serve as Governor of a U.S. state since Reconstruction.

Law and government

The capital is Richmond: the current Governor is Mark Warner, a Democrat. Tim Kaine, also a Democrat, is the governor-elect. Previous capitals included Jamestown (1609–1699) and Williamsburg (1699–1780). The Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thomas Jefferson and the cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785. In colonial Virginia, the lower house of the legislature was called the House of Burgesses. Together with the Governor's Council, the House of Burgesses made up the General Assembly. The Governor's Council was composed of 12 men appointed by the British Monarch to advise the Governor. The Council also served as the General Court of the colony, a colonial equivalent of a Supreme Court. Members of the House of Burgesses were chosen by all those who could vote in the colony. Each county chose two people or burgesses to represent it, while the College of William and Mary and the cities of Norfolk, Williamsburg, and Jamestown each chose one burgess. The Burgesses met to make laws for the colony and set the direction for its future growth; the Council would then review the laws and either approve or disapprove them. The approval of the Burgesses, the Council, and the Governor was needed to pass a law. The idea of electing burgesses was important and new. It gave Virginians a chance to control their own government for the first time. At first the burgesses were elected by all free men in the colony. Women, indentured servants, and Native Americans could not vote. Later the rules for voting changed, making it necessary for men to own at least fifty acres (200,000 m²) of land in order to vote. Founded in 1619, the Virginia General Assembly is still in existence as the oldest legislature in the Western Hemisphere. Today, the General Assembly is made up of the Senate and the House of Delegates. Like many other states, by the 1850s Virginia featured a state legislature, several executive officers, and an independent judiciary. By the time of the Constitution of 1901, which lasted longer than any other state constitution, the General Assembly continued as the legislature, the Supreme Court of Appeals acted as the judiciary, and the eight elected executive officers were the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration. The Constitution of 1901 was amended many times, notably in the 1930s and 1950s, before it was abandoned in favour of more modern government, with fewer elected officials, reformed local governments and a more streamlined judiciary. Virginia currently functions under the 1970 Constitution of Virginia. It is the state's ninth constitution. Under the Constitution, the State Government is composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch or state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly, a bicameral body whose 140 members make all state laws. Members of the Virginia House of Delegates serve two-year terms, while members of the Virginia Senate serve four-year terms. The General Assembly also selects the state's Auditor of Public Accounts. The statutory law enacted by the General Assembly is codified in the Code of Virginia. The executive branch comprises the Governor of Virginia, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and the Attorney General of Virginia. All three officers are separately elected to four-year terms in years following Presidential elections (1997, 2001, 2005, etc) and take office in January of the following year. The Governor serves as chief executive officer of the Commonwealth and as Commander-in-Chief of the State Militia. State law forbids any Governor from serving consecutive terms. The Lieutenant Governor serves as President of the Senate of Virginia and is first in the line of succession to the Governor. The Attorney General is chief legal advisor to the Governor and the General Assembly, chief lawyer of the state and the head of the Department of Law. The Attorney General is second in the line of succession to the Governor. Whenever there is a vacancy in all three executive offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, then the Speaker of the House of the Virginia House of Delegates becomes Governor. The Office of the Governor's Secretaries helps manage the Governor's Cabinet, comprised of the following individuals, all appointed by the Governor:
- Governor's Chief of Staff
- Secretary of Administration
- Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
- Secretary of Commerce and Trade
- Secretary of the Commonwealth
- Secretary of Education
- Secretary of Finance
- Secretary of Health and Human Resources
- Secretary of Natural Resources
- Secretary of Public Safety
- Secretary of Technology
- Secretary of Transportation
- Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Virginia Court of Appeals, the General District Courts and the Circuit Courts. The Virginia Supreme Court, composed of the chief justice and six other judges is the highest court in the Commonwealth (although, as with all the states, the U.S. Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over decisions by the Virginia Supreme Court involving substantial questions of U.S. Constitution law or constitutional rights). The Chief Justice and the Virginia Supreme Court also serve as the administrative body for the entire Virginia court system. The 95 counties and the 39 independent cities all have their own governments, usually a county board of supervisors or city council which choose a city manager or county administrator to serve as a professional, non-political chief administrator under the council-manager form of government. There are exceptions, notably Richmond, Virginia, which has a popularly-elected Mayor who serves as chief executive separate from the city council.

Political control

After William Mahone and the Readjuster Party lost control of Virginia politics around 1883, the Democratic Party held a strong majority position of state and federal offices for over 85 years. In 1970, Republican A. Linwood Holton Jr. became the first Republican governor in the 20th century. In the years thereafter, Republicans made substantial gains, and for a time, controlled both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, as well as the Governorship from 1994 until 2002.
- Republicans hold both seats in the U.S. Senate, 8 of 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, hold a majority in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate, and a Republican is Virginia's Lieutenant Governor-Elect. A republican is also temporarily serving as attorney general having been appointed to fill the seat left by Jerry Kilgore. However, the recent election for attorney general to fill the open seat has not been decided and a recount will occur to determine the election.
- Democrats control the remaining 3 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Governor and Governor-Elect are both Democrats. The Democrats have steadily been gaining seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and may soon take control, however the State Senate will likely remain under Republican Leadership. Incumbent Virginia governors cannot run for re-election under the state constitution and In the November 2005 election, the race to succeed Democratic Governor Mark Warner, Democrat Timothy M. Kaine beat Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (Scott County), and State Senator Russ Potts (Winchester) (longtime Republican) running as an independent. Kaine will become governor of the state at his inauguration on January 14, 2006.

Geography

2006 2006 Virginia is bordered by West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia (across the Potomac River) to the north, by Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, and by Kentucky and West Virginia to the west. The Chesapeake Bay divides the state, with the eastern portion (called 'the Eastern Shore of Virginia'), a part of the Delmarva Peninsula, completely separate (an exclave) from the rest of the state. Geographically, Virginia is divided into the following 5 regions:
- Tidewater - Stretching from the Atlantic coast to the fall line
- Piedmont - East of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Tidewater Region
- Blue Ridge Mountains - East of the Appalachian Mountains to the Blue Ridge Mountain Region
- Valley and Ridge - Appalachian Mountains and Shenandoah Valley Region
- Appalachian Plateau - West of the Appalachian Mountains Virginia's long east-west axis means that metropolitan northern Virginia lies much closer to New York and New England than to the rural western panhandle of its own state. Conversely, Lee County, at the tip of the panhandle, is closer to 8 state capitals than it is to Richmond.

Demographics

As of 2004, Virginia's population was estimated to be 7,459,827. The state had a foreign-born population of 679,500 (9.1% of the state population), of which an estimated 100,000 were illegal aliens (15% of the foreign-born). The state's population increased by 1.3 million between 1990 and 2004, a growth of 21% Race and Ancestry
The racial makeup of the state:
- 70.2% White non-Hispanic
- 19.6% Black
- 4.7% Hispanic
- 3.7% Asian
- 0.3% Native American
- 2% Mixed race The five largest reported ancestry groups in Virginia are: African American (19.6%), German (11.7%), American (11.2%), English (11.1%), Irish (9.8%). Historically, as the largest and wealthiest colony and state and the birthplace of Southern and American culture, a large proportion (about half) of Virginia's population was made up of black slaves who worked the state's tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. The twentieth century Great Migration of blacks from the rural South to the urban North reduced Virginia's black population to about 20 percent. Today Blacks are concentrated in the eastern and southern tidewater and piedmont regions where plantation agriculture was most dominant. The western mountains are populated primarily by people of British and American ancestry. People of German descent are present in sizable numbers in the northwestern mountains and Shenandoah Valley. And due to recent immigration, there is a rapidly growing population of Hispanics (particularly Central Americans) and Asians in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. 6.5% of Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 24.6% under 18, and 11.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Virginia are:
- Christian – 84%
  - Protestant – 69%
    - Baptist – 32%
    - Methodist – 8%
    - Episcopal – 3%
    - Presbyterian – 3%
    - Other Protestant or general Protestant – 23%
  - Roman Catholic – 14%
  - Other Christian – 1%
- Other Religions – 2%
- Non-Religious – 12%

Economy

Virginia's economy has long been regarded as one of the better-balanced in the United States with diverse sources of income, including military installations concentrated in the Hampton Roads area, tobacco and peanut farming all through Southside Virginia, manufacturing and transportation, and the location of Northern Virginia as a bedroom community for the federal government and its vendors. Virginia, arguably the wealthiest southern state before the Civil War, recovered from the civil war and the Great Depression much faster than the rest of the south. Today it is still significantly wealthier than the rest of the south, although much of that is from the northern influence around Washington D.C.

Transportation

Northern Virginia Virginia is served by a network of Interstate Highways, arterial highways, several limited access tollways, bridges, tunnels, and three bridge-tunnel complexes. The [http://www.springfieldinterchange.com/ Springfield Interchange Project] (also known as "The Mixing Bowl") and the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, two of the country's largest highway improvement projects, are taking place in the state ten miles apart. Major airports are located in these areas: Northern Virginia (Reagan-National and Dulles), Richmond-Petersburg (Richmond), Virginia Peninsula (Newport News), South Hampton Roads (Norfolk), and the Roanoke Valley (Roanoke). Virginia has extensive waterways. In addition to the lower portion of the Chesapeake Bay, navigable rivers include the Elizabeth River at Hampton Roads, the James River, the York River, the Rappahannock River, and the Potomac River. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway passes through eastern Virginia. Virginia has Amtrak passenger rail service along several corridors and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) maintains two commuter lines into Washington, D.C. The Washington Metro serves Northern Virginia as far west as Fairfax County.

Sports

Virginia is by far the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise. The reasons for this include the close proximity of Washington, D.C. which has franchises in all four major sports, and the lack of any dominant city or market within the state. An attempt to bring a National Hockey League expansion franchise to Hampton Roads in the 1990s was rejected by the NHL. A proposal to relocate the Montreal Expos to Northern Virginia was considered by Major League Baseball, but MLB eventually settled on the national capital as the Expos' new home. Virginia is home to many minor league clubs, especially in baseball and soccer.

Baseball


- Bluefield Orioles (Appalachian League)
- Bristol White Sox (Appalachian League)
- Danville Braves (Appalachian League)
- Lynchburg Hillcats (Carolina League)
- Norfolk Tides (International League)
- Potomac Nationals (Carolina League)
- Pulaski Blue Jays (Appalachian League)
- Richmond Braves (International League)
- Salem Avalanche (Carolina League)
- [http://www.winchesterroyals.com Winchester Royals] ([http://www.valleyleaguebaseball.com Valley League])

Basketball


- Roanoke Dazzle (NBDL)

Ice hockey


- Norfolk Admirals (AHL)
- Richmond RiverDogs (UHL)
- Roanoke Valley Vipers (UHL)

Indoor football


- Richmond Bandits (AIFL)

Soccer


- Chesapeke Athletic (Super Y-League)
- Hampton Roads Piranhas (W-League)
- Northern Virginia Majestics (W-League)
- Northern Virginia Royals (USL Second Division)
- Richmond Kickers (USL First Division)
- Richmond Kickers Destiny (W-League)
- Richmond Kickers Future (Premier Development League)
- Virginia Beach Mariners (USL First Division)
- Virginia Beach Submariners (Premier Development League)
- Williamsburg Legacy (Premier Development League)

Important cities and towns

Under the laws in effect in Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as cities are independent of any county. Of the 43 independent cities in the United States, 39 are in Virginia. The complete list of Virginia independent cities follows: Some other municipalities are incorporated towns, which are not independent of a county, but rather, located within one of the 95 counties in Virginia. These incorporated towns include: Finally, Arlington County, which lies across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is a completely urbanized community, much like a city, but remains organized as a county, and has no towns within its borders. There are also hundreds of other unincorporated communities (sometimes informally called villages or towns) in Virginia.

Colleges and universities

Miscellaneous information


- State motto: "Sic semper tyrannis." (Thus always to tyrants.)
- State bird: Cardinal
- State dog: American Foxhound
- State flower: Dogwood
- State tree: Dogwood
- State insect: Tiger swallowtail
- State bat: Virginia Big-Eared Bat
- State song: none; the former state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," was retired in 1997 because some found its lyrics to be racially offensive
- State dance: Square dance
- State boat: Chesapeake Bay deadrise
- State fish: Brook trout
- State shell: Oyster
- State fossil: Chesapecten Jeffersonius
- State beverage: Milk USS Virginia was named in honor of this state.

See also


- List of school divisions in Virginia
- Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia

Other places

There are also places named Virginia in the States of Illinois and Minnesota: see
- Virginia, Illinois.
- Virginia, Minnesota.

External links


- [http://www.virginia.gov State Government website]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/raleigh.htm Charter to Sir Walter Raleigh : 1584]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va01.htm The First Charter of Virginia; April 10, 1606]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va02.htm The Second Charter of Virginia; May 23, 1609]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va03.htm The Third Charter of Virginia; March 12, 1611]
- [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51000.html U.S. Census Bureau]
- [http://www.vahistorical.org Virginia Historical Society]
- [http://www.historical-markers.org Virginia's Historical Markers]
- [http://www.virginiaplaces.org/ Geography of Virginia]
- [http://www.fathersforvirginia.org/ Fathers for Virginia]
- Category:States of the United States ko:버지니아 주 ja:バージニア州

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States (USA). The river is approximately 413 statute miles (665 km) long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles (38,000 km²). In terms of area, this makes the Potomac River the fourth largest river along the Atlantic coast of the USA and the 21st largest in the USA. Over 5 million people live within the Potomac watershed, where precipitation provides the equivalent of over 8 m³ (more than 2100 US gallons) of water per person per year.

Geography

The river forms part of the borders between Maryland and Washington, D.C. (the District of Columbia) on the left bank and West Virginia and Virginia on the river's right bank. The entire lower Potomac River is considered part of Maryland, with the exception of a small tidal portion within the District of Columbia. The North Branch Potomac River is considered part of Maryland to the low water mark on the opposite bank. The South Branch Potomac River lies completely within the state of West Virginia except for its headwaters which lie in Virginia. headwaters The Potomac River runs 383 miles (616 km) from the Fairfax Stone in West Virginia to Point Lookout, Maryland and drains 14,679 sq. miles (38,018 sq. km.). The average flow is 4.86 million US gallons per minute (306.6 thousand liters per second). The largest flow ever recorded on the Potomac at Washington, D.C. was in March 1936 when it reached 275 billion US gallons per day (12 million L/s). The lowest flow ever recorded at the same location was 388 million gallons per day (17 thousand L/s) in September 1966. The river has two sources. The source of the North Branch is at the Fairfax Stone located at the junction of Garrett County, Maryland and Tucker and Preston Counties in West Virginia. The source of the South Branch is located near Hightown in northern Highland County, Virginia. The river's two branches converge just east of Green Spring in Hampshire County, West Virginia to form the Potomac. Once the Potomac drops from the Piedmont to the Coastal Plain, tides further influence the river as it passes through Washington, D.C. and beyond. Salinity in the Potomac River Estuary increases thereafter with distance downstream. The estuary also widens, reaching 11 statute miles (17 km) wide at its mouth, between Point Lookout, Maryland and Smith Point, Virginia before flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

History

Smith Point]] The name Potomac is a European spelling of an Algonquin name which supposedly means "river of swans." Other accounts say the name means "place where people trade" or "the place to which tribute is brought" and that the name translated as "river of swans" was another word, Cohongorooton. The spelling of the name has been simplified over the years from Patawomeke to Patowmack in the 18th century and now Potomac. The river's name was officially decided upon as Potomac by the Board on Geographic Names in 1931. Being situated in an area rich in American history and American heritage has led to th