West Virginia

C

Plants and Animals

About three quarters of West Virginia is forested. The dominant tree species are beech, tulip tree, basswood, sugar maple, buckeye, oak, hemlock, hickory, and pine. Among the state’s many flowering plants are aster, azalea, dogwood, goldenrod, hepatica, laurel, redbud, and rhododendron.

Large mammals of West Virginia are Virginia deer and black bear. Common smaller mammals include raccoon, skunk, opossum, cottontail rabbit, and groundhog. Bass, trout, perch, and pike abound in the state’s rivers and lakes. Among the many birds are the cardinal, scarlet tanager, ruffed grouse, and wild turkey.

D

Resources, Products, and Industries

The best-known industry is the mining of bituminous coal. Apart from coal, other important minerals are oil, natural gas, limestone, salt, stone, sand and gravel, clay, and silt.

Because of its rugged topography, West Virginia is not well suited to agricultural production. Leading farm commodities include beef cattle, hay, dairy products, apples, corn, and poultry.

Second-growth oak, yellow poplar, beech, and other hardwoods are harvested in considerable quantity. Major products from the forestry industry are hardwood, veneer logs, rustic fencing, and pulpwood.

Leading manufacturing industries include the production of primary metals (notably iron, steel, and aluminium), glass, pottery, industrial machinery, printed materials, wood products, processed food, electronic equipment, and clothing and textiles.

III

Population

West Virginia has a population of 1,812,035 (2007 estimate), an increase of 0.8 per cent between 1990 and 2000. The average population density in 2006 was 29 people per sq km (74 per sq mi). The state’s major cities include Charleston, the capital (population, 2006, 50,846); Huntington (population, 2006, 49,007); Parkersburg (population, 2006, 31,755); Wheeling (population, 2006, 29,330); and Morgantown (population, 2006, 28,654).

In 1990 whites made up 96.2 per cent of the population and blacks 3.1 per cent. Additional population groups included 2,385 Native Americans, 1,981 people of Asian Indian origin, and 1,606 people of Filipino descent; approximately 8,500 people were of Latino background.

A

Education

Education in West Virginia before statehood in 1863 was largely provided under private, especially religious, auspices. The state established a school system soon after joining the Union. In the late 1990s West Virginia spent about US$7,150 on each student's education, compared to a national average of about US$6,835.

At the beginning of the 21st century, West Virginia had 36 institutions of higher education. Notable universities and colleges included West Virginia University (1867), in Morgantown; Marshall University (1837), in Huntington; West Virginia State College (1891), in Institute.

B

Places of Interest

Popular attractions are Blackwater Falls, Hawk’s Nest, and Pipestem Resort parks. To the south of Harpers Ferry, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (parts of which are in Maryland and Virginia) includes the site of the raid in 1859 by the abolitionist John Brown. Several other landmarks commemorate the American Civil War era, notably Droop Mountain Battlefield, site of a battle in 1863. Grave Creek Mound, in Moundsville, is one of the nation’s tallest Native American burial mounds. Also of historical interest are Jackson’s Mill Museum, near Weston, on the farm where General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson spent his youth, and the restored childhood home, in the Hillsboro area, of the writer Pearl Buck.

Cultural institutions in West Virginia are centred on Charleston, Wheeling, and Huntington, and in college and university communities. Exhibitions on the history of the state can be found in the State Museum, in Charleston, and in the Oglebay Institute-Mansion Museum, in Wheeling. The Sunrise Foundation, in Charleston, is a cultural complex that includes an art gallery, a museum, and a planetarium. The Huntington Galleries, in Huntington, contain displays of American and European paintings, Georgian silver, pre-Columbian art, and local handicrafts.