State of West Virginia | |||||
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State of the United States | |||||
Location of West Virginia within the United States | |||||
Nickname(s): "The Mountain State" | |||||
Motto(s): Montani Semper Liberi (Latin) "Mountaineers Are Always Free" | |||||
State Anthem: "Take Me Home, Country Roads" | |||||
Official Language(s) | English | ||||
Demonym | West Virginian, Mountaineer, 'Eer | ||||
Capital | Charleston | ||||
Largest City | Centreville | ||||
Largest Metro | Washington Metropolitan Area | ||||
Area | Ranked 41st | ||||
– Total | 64,661 mi2 | ||||
Population | Ranked 26th | ||||
– Total | 1.07 million | ||||
Before statehood | Part of Virginia | ||||
Admission to the Union | 20 June 1863 (38th) | ||||
Governor | Jay Rockerfeller (D) | ||||
Legislature | West Virginia State Legislature | ||||
Senators | TBD | ||||
Time zone | Eastern Standard Time (UTC -4) | ||||
Abbreviations | WV |
West Virginia (WV) is a state located in the Appalachian Region of the United States. Admitted to the Union as the 38th state on June 20, 1863, it is largely rural, with a population of just over 1.8 million, and most of that population living in cities like the state capital of Charleston (pop. 131,000), Wheeling, Morgantown, Huntington, Beckley, and Martinsburg.
West Virginia shares borders with Pennsylvania and Maryland to the north, Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the Northwest. It is frequently referred to by locals as "the Mountain State".
[WIP Section]
Counties[]
West Virginia is subdivided into 55 counties, of which, the ten largest in the state are listed below by population.
Map of counties in West Virginia.
Rank | Name | County Seat | Population |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Vandalia County | Charleston | 183,279 |
2 | Ohio County | Wheeling | 151,221 |
3 | Berkeley County | Martinsburg | 115,329 |
4 | Monongalia County | Morgantown | 105,474 |
5 | Cabell County | Julesburg | 94,339 |
6 | Wood County | Parkersburg | 84,960 |
7 | Raleigh County | Beckley | 75,252 |
8 | Harrison County | Clarksburg | 67,908 |
9 | Mercer County | Lewisburg | 59,919 |
10 | Putnam County | Winfield | 56,610 |
In Popular Culture[]
- The John Denver song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" received an enthusiastic response from West Virginians. The song is the theme song of West Virginia State University and it has been performed during every home football pregame show since 1972.