1.
Virginia
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Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
2.
Winchester, Virginia
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Winchester is an Independent City located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 26,203, as of 2015, its population is an estimated 27,284. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions, the Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester with surrounding Frederick County for statistical purposes. Winchester is home to Shenandoah University and the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, indigenous peoples lived along the waterways of present-day Virginia for thousands of years before European contact. Archeological, linguistic and anthropological studies have provided insights into their cultures, the Algonquian-speaking Shawnee began to challenge the Iroquoians for the hunting grounds later in that century. The explorers Batts and Fallam in 1671 reported the Shawnee were contesting with the Iroquoians for control of the valley and were losing, during the later Beaver Wars, the powerful Iroquois Confederacy from New York subjugated all tribes in the frontier region west of the Fall Line. By the time European settlers arrived in the Shenandoah Valley around 1729, the Iroquois Six Nations finally ceded their nominal claim to the Shenandoah Valley at the Treaty of Lancaster. The treaty also established the right of colonists to use the Indian Road, the father of the historical Shawnee chief Cornstalk had his court at Shawnee Springs until 1754. The Shawnee settled for years in the Ohio Country before being forced by the US government under Indian Removal in the 1830s to remove to Indian Territory. Winchester had a role as a frontier city in those early times. French Jesuit expeditions may have first entered the valley as early as 1606, the first confirmed exploration of the northern valley was by the explorer John Lederer, who viewed the it from the current Fauquier and Warren County line on August 26,1670. In 1705 the Swiss explorer Louise Michel and in 1716 Governor Alexander Spotswood did more extensive mapping and surveying, in the late 1720s, Governor William Gooch promoted settlement by issuing large land grants. Robert King Carter, manager of the Lord Fairfax proprietorship, acquired 200,000 acres, the Scots-Irish comprised the most numerous group of immigrants from the British Isles before the American Revolutionary War. The settlement of Winchester began as early as 1729, when Quakers such as Abraham Hollingsworth migrated up the Great Valley along the long-traveled Indian Path from Pennsylvania and he and others began to homestead on old Shawnee campgrounds. Tradition holds that the Quakers purchased several tracts on Apple-pie Ridge from the natives, the first German settler appears to have been Jost Hite in 1732, who brought ten other families, including some Scots-Irish. Though Virginia was an Anglican colony, Governor William Gooch had a tolerant policy on religion, the availability of land grants brought in many religious families, who were often given 50-acre plots through the sponsorship of fellow-religious grant purchasers and speculators. As a result, the Winchester area became home to some of the oldest Presbyterian, Quaker, the first Lutheran worship was established by Rev. John Casper Stoever, Jr. and Alexander Ross established Hopewell Meeting for the Quakers. By 1736, Scots-Irish built the Opequon Presbyterian Church in Kernstown, a legal fight erupted in 1735 when Thomas Fairfax, Sixth Lord Fairfax came to Virginia to claim his land grant
3.
Harrisonburg, Virginia
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Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 48,914, Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Harrisonburg with Rockingham County for statistical purposes, Harrisonburg is home to James Madison University and Eastern Mennonite University. Harrisonburg is the city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. Harrisonburg, previously known as Rocktown, was named for Thomas Harrison, in 1779, Harrison deeded 2.5 acres of his land to the public good for the construction of a courthouse. In 1780, Harrison deeded an additional 50 acres and this is the area now known as Historic Downtown Harrisonburg. In 1849, trustees chartered a mayor–council form of government, although Harrisonburg was not officially incorporated as an independent city until 1916, today, a council–manager government administers Harrisonburg. When the slaves of the Shenandoah Valley were freed in 1865 and this settlement was eventually annexed by the independent city of Harrisonburg some years later, probably around 1892. Today, the old city of Newtown is still the home of the majority of Harrisonburgs predominantly black churches, such as First Baptist, the modern Boys and Girls Club of Harrisonburg is located in the old Lucy Simms schoolhouse used for the black students in the days of segregation. This effort, called Project R4, focused on the city blocks east of Main, north of Gay, west of Broad, and south of Johnson. According to Bob Sullivan, an intern working in the city office in 1958. Newtown, a low socioeconomic status housing area, was declared a slum, federal law mandated that the city needed to have a referendum on the issue before R4 could begin. The vote was close with 1,024 votes in favor and 978 against R4, after the vote, the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority was formed. All of the members were white men, the project began and, due to eminent domain, the government could force the people of Newtown to sell their homes. They were offered rock bottom prices for their homes, many people couldnt afford a new home and had to move into public housing projects and become dependent on the government. Likewise, many of the businesses of Newtown that were bought out could not afford to reestablish themselves, klines, a white-owned business, was actually one of the few businesses in the area that was able to reopen. The city later sold the land to commercial developers, in early 2002, the Harrisonburg community discussed the possibility of creating a pedestrian mall downtown. Public meetings were held to discuss the merits and drawbacks of pursuing such a plan, ultimately, the community decided to keep its Main Street open to traffic
4.
Staunton, Virginia
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Staunton is an independent city in the U. S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,746, in Virginia, independent cities are separate jurisdictions from the counties that surround them, so the government offices of Augusta County are in Verona, which is contiguous to Staunton. Staunton is a city of the Staunton-Waynesboro Metropolitan Statistical Area. Staunton is known for being the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U. S. president, the city is also home to Stuart Hall, a private co-ed preparatory school, as well as the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind. The area was first settled in 1732 by John Lewis and family, in 1736, William Beverley, a wealthy planter and merchant from Essex County, was granted by the Crown over 118,000 acres in what would become Augusta County. Surveyor Thomas Lewis in 1746 laid out the first town plat for Beverley of what was originally called Beverleys Mill Place, founded in 1747, it was renamed in honor of Lady Rebecca Staunton, wife to Royal Lieutenant-Governor Sir William Gooch. Staunton thus played a role in the mid 18th century expansion of the economies of the American Colonies which, in turn. It served as capital of Virginia in June 1781, when state legislators fled Richmond, for instance, in 1815, a slave named Henry ran away from John G. Wrights Staunton plantation. Wright later placed an ad in the Daily National Intelligencer in Washington and this ad is notable in its genre for the fact that it notes that Henry was an excellent cook and was widely travelled, having been to the West Indies. In August 1855, President Franklin Pierce visited Staunton and he gave a speech at the Virginia Hotel, in which he stated that his feelings revolted from the idea of a dissolution of the union. He said that t would be the Iliad of innumerable woes, located along the Valley Pike, Staunton developed as a trade, transportation and industrial center, particularly after the Virginia Central Railroad arrived in 1854. Factories made carriages, wagons, boots and shoes, clothing, in 1860, the Staunton Military Academy was founded. By 1860, Staunton had at least one pro-union, pro-slavery and at least one pro-secession, pro-slavery newspaper. The Spectator ran editorials before the war urging its citizens to vote for union, while the Vindicator ran, on May 23,1861, Virginians voted on whether or not to ratify articles of secession from the Union. The articles were approved throughout the Commonwealth. In Staunton the vote was 3300 in favor of secession and 6 opposed, during the Civil War, the town became an important Shenandoah Valley manufacturing, staging area and supply depot for the Confederacy. On May 2,1862, Union General John C, frémont occupied Staunton while on his way to a rendezvous with General Nathaniel P. Banks to pursue Stonewall Jackson into what would become known as the Battle of Cross Keys, fought near Harrisonburg, by October 1862 Staunton was back in rebel hands, occupied by the 2nd South Carolina infantry
5.
Martinsburg, West Virginia
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Martinsburg is a city in and the county seat of Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, in the tip of the states Eastern Panhandle region. Its population was 17,227 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle, Martinsburg is part of the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Martinsburg was established by an act of the Virginia General Assembly that was adopted in December 1778 during the American Revolutionary War, Aspen Hall is a Georgian mansion, the oldest house in the city. Part was built in 1745 by Edward Beeson, Sr. Aspen Hall and its residents had key roles in the agricultural, religious, transportation. Significant events related to the French and Indian War, the Revolution, three original buildings are still standing, including the rare blockhouse of Mendenhalls Fort. The first United States post office in what is now West Virginia was established at Martinsburg in 1792, at that time, Martinsburg and the larger territory were still part of Virginia. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached Martinsburg in 1842, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops were constructed in 1849 and rebuilt after the American Civil War. According to William Still, The Father of the Underground Railroad and its historian, Robert Brown, alias Thomas Jones and he rode a horse and had it swim across the freezing Potomac River. After riding forty miles, he walked in cold wet clothes for two days, to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and he received assistance there from the Underground Railroad and traveled by train to Philadelphia, and the office of William Still with the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Browns wife and four children had been sold, he sought help to find them and he had a likeness of his wife, and locks of hair from each of them. In 1854, ten-year-old Isabelle Boyd, known as Belle and later a noted spy for the Confederacy, moved to Martinsburg with her family, after the Civil War began, Benjamin joined Second Virginia Infantry, which was part of the Stonewall Brigade. His wife Mary was thus in charge of the Boyd home when Union forces under General Robert Patterson took Martinsburg, when a group of Pattersons men tried to raise a Union flag over the Boyd home, Mary refused. One of the soldiers, Frederick Martin, threatened Mary, and she soon became involved in espionage, sending information to Confederate generals Thomas Stonewall Jackson and J. E. B. Often she was helped by Eliza Corsey, a Boyd family slave whom Belle had taught to read, in 1863, Belle was arrested in Martinsburg by the Union Army and imprisoned. Boyds Greek Revival home, which he had built in 1853, in 1992 it was purchased by the Berkeley County Historical Society. The historical society renovated the building and now operates it as the Berkeley County Museum and it is also known as the Belle Boyd House. Most residents of West Virginia were yeomen farmers who supported the Union and, during the Civil War, the new state was admitted to the Union during the war. The city of Martinsburg was incorporated by an act of the new West Virginia Legislature on March 30,1868, Martinsburg became a center of the railroad industry and its workers
6.
Blue Ridge Mountains
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The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southernmost portion in Georgia, then ending northward in Pennsylvania. To the west of the Blue Ridge, between it and the bulk of the Appalachians, lies the Great Appalachian Valley, bordered on the west by the Ridge, the Blue Ridge Mountains are noted for having a bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the blue in Blue Ridge, from the isoprene released into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the haze on the mountains. Within the Blue Ridge province are two national parks, the Shenandoah National Park, in the northern section, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Blue Ridge also contains the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile long scenic highway that connects the two parks and is located along the ridge crestlines with the Appalachian Trail, the Blue Ridge extends as far north into Pennsylvania as South Mountain. The Blue Ridge contains the highest mountains in eastern North America south of Baffin Island, about 125 peaks exceed 5,000 feet in elevation. The highest peak in the Blue Ridge is Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet. There are 39 peaks in North Carolina and Tennessee higher than 6,000 feet, by comparison, Southern Sixers is a term used by peak baggers for this group of mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs 469 miles along crests of the Southern Appalachians, in many places along the parkway, there are metamorphic rocks with folded bands of light-and dark-colored minerals, which sometimes look like the folds and swirls in a marble cake. Most of the rocks that form the Blue Ridge Mountains are ancient granitic charnockites, metamorphosed volcanic formations, modern studies have found that the basement geology of the Blue Ridge is made of compositionally unique gneisses and granitoids, including orthopyroxene-bearing charnockites. Analysis of zircon minerals in the completed by John Aleinikoff at the U. S. Geological Survey has provided more detailed emplacement ages. Many of the found in the Blue Ridge and documented by Tollo. The lack of an affinity and zircon ages less than 1,200 Ma suggest that the Blue Ridge is distinct from the Adirondacks, Green Mountains. The petrologic and geochronologic data suggest that the Blue Ridge basement is a composite orogenic crust that was emplaced during several episodes from a magma source. Field relationships further illustrate that rocks emplaced prior to 1, 078-1,064 Ma preserve deformational features and those emplaced post-1,064 Ma generally have a massive texture and missed the main episode of Mesoproterozoic compression. The Blue Ridge Mountains began forming during the Silurian Period over 400 million years ago, approximately 320 Mya, North America and Europe collided, pushing up the Blue Ridge
7.
Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians
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They form a broad arc between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Plateau physiographic province. They are characterized by long, even ridges, with long, the ridge and valley system presents an important obstacle to east-west land travel even with todays technology. The eastern head of the Ridge and Valley region is marked by the Great Appalachian Valley, the western side of the Ridge and Valley region is marked by steep escarpments such as the Allegheny Front, the Cumberland Mountains, and Walden Ridge. These curious formations are the remnants of an ancient fold-and-thrust belt, here, strata have been folded westward, and forced over massive thrust faults, there is little metamorphism, and no igneous intrusion. The ridges represent the edges of the erosion-resistant strata, and the valleys portray the absence of the more erodible strata, smaller streams have developed their valleys following the lines of the more easily eroded strata. Then the region was uplifted slowly enough that the rivers were able to maintain their course, valleys may be synclinal valleys or anticlinal valleys. These mountains are at their highest development in central Pennsylvania, a phenomenon termed the Pennsylvania climax, geology of the Appalachians Allegheny Front Eastern Continental Divide Tennessee Valley Divide Stanley, Steven M. Earth System History. New York, W. H. Freeman and Company,1999
8.
Potomac River
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The Potomac River /pəˈtoʊmək/ is located along the mid-Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States and flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river is approximately 405 miles long, with an area of about 14,700 square miles. In terms of area, this makes the Potomac River the fourth largest river along the Atlantic coast of the United States, over 5 million people live within the Potomac watershed. The river forms part of the borders between Maryland and Washington, D. C. on the left descending bank and West Virginia and Virginia on the right descending bank. The majority of the lower Potomac River is part of the State of Maryland, exceptions include a small tidal portion within the District of Columbia, and the border with Virginia being delineated from point to point. Except for a portion of its headwaters in West Virginia. The South Branch Potomac River lies completely within the state of West Virginia except for its headwaters, the Potomac River runs 405 miles from the Fairfax Stone in West Virginia on the Allegheny Plateau to Point Lookout, Maryland, and drains 14,679 square miles. The length of the river from the junction of its North and South Branches to Point Lookout is 302 miles, the average flow is 10,800 ft³/s. The largest flow recorded on the Potomac at Washington, D. C. was in March 1936 when it reached 425,000 ft³/s. The lowest flow recorded at the same location was 600 ft³/s in September,1966. The source of the North Branch is at the Fairfax Stone located at the junction of Grant, Tucker, the source of the South Branch is located near Hightown in northern Highland County, Virginia. The rivers 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 at Little Falls, tides further influence the river as it passes through Washington, D. C. salinity in the Potomac River Estuary increases thereafter with distance downstream. The estuary also widens, reaching 11 statute miles wide at its mouth, Potomac is a European spelling of Patowmeck, the Algonquian name of a Native American village, perhaps meaning something brought. Native Americans had different names for different parts of the river, calling the river above Great Falls Cohongarooton, meaning honking geese and Patawomke below the fall, meaning river of swans. The spelling of the name has many forms over the years from Patawomeke to Patawomeck, Patowmack. The rivers name was decided upon as Potomac by the Board on Geographic Names in 1931. The river itself is at least two years old, likely extending back ten to twenty million years before present when the Atlantic Ocean lowered and exposed coastal sediments along the fall line
9.
James River
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The James River is a river in the U. S. state of Virginia. It is 348 miles long, extending to 444 miles if one includes the Jackson River, the James River drains a catchment comprising 10,432 square miles. The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million people and it is the 12th longest river in the United States that remains entirely within a single state. Tidal waters extend west to Richmond, the capital of Virginia, larger tributaries draining to the tidal portion include the Appomattox River, Chickahominy River, Warwick River, Pagan River, and the Nansemond River. At its mouth near Newport News Point, the Elizabeth River, many boats pass through this river to import and export Virginia products. The navigable portion of the river was the highway of the Colony of Virginia during its first 15 years, facilitating supply ships delivering supplies. However, for the first five years, despite many hopes of gold and riches, in 1612, businessman John Rolfe successfully cultivated a non-native strain of tobacco which proved popular in England. Soon, the became the primary means of exporting the large hogsheads of this cash crop from an ever-growing number of plantations with wharfs along its banks. This development made the efforts of the Virginia Company of London successful financially, spurring even more development, investments. The upper reaches of the river above the head of navigation at the line were explored by fur trading parties sent by Abraham Wood during the late 17th century. Although ocean-going ships were unable to navigate beyond present-day Richmond, portage of products, produce from the Piedmont and Great Valley regions traveled down the river to seaports at Richmond and Manchester through such port towns as Lynchburg, Scottsville, Columbia and Buchanan. The James River was considered as a route for transport of produce from the Ohio Valley, the James River and Kanawha Canal was built for this purpose, to provide a navigable portion of the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River. For the most mountainous section between the two points, the James River and Kanawha Turnpike was built to provide a link via wagons. However, before the canal could be completed, in the mid-19th century, railroads emerged as a more practical technology. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was completed between Richmond and the Ohio River at the new city of Huntington, West Virginia by 1873, dooming the canals economic prospects. In the 1880s, the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad was laid along the portion of the canals towpath. In modern times, this line is used primarily in transporting West Virginia coal to export coal piers at Newport News. The James River contains numerous parks and other recreational attractions, canoeing, fishing, kayaking, hiking, and swimming are some of the activities that people enjoy along the river during the summer
10.
Interstate 64 in Virginia
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In the U. S. state of Virginia, Interstate 64 runs east–west through the middle of the state from West Virginia to the Hampton Roads region, a total of 298 miles. It is notable for crossing the mouth of the harbor of Hampton Roads on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, I-64 enters Virginia as a four-lane divided highway, continuing its concurrency with U. S.60 through Covington into Lexington where the two routes split. From Lexington, I-64 then turns northward to Staunton overlapping Interstate 81 in the Shenandoah Valley. S, after Charlottesville, I-64 then turns more east-southeasterly and heads towards Richmond, passing through Fluvanna, Goochland and Louisa Counties. Hurricane gates are installed at eastbound Interstate 64 entrance and exit ramps from Exit 200 to Exit 273, to date, there has never been an activation of the contraflow system in any capacity. Once on the Southside, I-64 turns south through Norfolk, passing the eastern boundary of Naval Station Norfolk and Chambers Field, and the spur route supplying it, Interstate 564. It then becomes a six lane divided highway with a two lane roadway in the middle, which is used for HOV-traffic during morning and afternoon rush hours. After entering Chesapeake, I-64 actually turns west-southwesterly and it is actually at this point when the road stops being signed as either east or west and is only signed with its Beltway designation of Inner or Outer Loop. After interchanging with another of its routes, Interstate 464, I-64 then crosses the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River using the High Rise Bridge. Early studies and proposals of the Interregional Highway System, I-64 was to use the U. S. Route 250 alignment west of Richmond and this southern route was favored by Gov. J. Lindsay Almond Jr. and most members of the State Highway Commission. The decision was on hold for three years while the state continued planning for the piece of the US250 alignment from Richmond to Short Pump, which would be needed anyway to handle traffic. In 1961, U. S. Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges rejected that plan and chose the present route, officially, the chosen route was considered more efficient. However, there is speculation that the decision involved back-room politics of the Kennedy administration, Interstate 64 has four auxiliary routes, all of which are in the Hampton Roads Area, Interstate 664, a bypass route serving Chesapeake, Suffolk, Newport News and Hampton. Interstate 564, a route serving Naval Station Norfolk. Interstate 264, a route serving the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Downtown Norfolk. Interstate 464, a route serving the western side of Chesapeake, Portsmouth. It connects I-64 in Chesapeake to I-264 in Norfolk, two segments on I-64 have been identified as candidates for widening, I-64 on the Virginia Peninsula from New Kent County to Newport News and I-64 in South Hampton Roads from the I-464/SR 168/U. S. 17 interchange in Chesapeake to the Bowers Hill Interchange in Suffolk, on the Peninsula, most of the I-64 corridor is a four lane roadway and is one of the most-traveled segments in the region, connecting the Hampton Roads Metro to the Greater Richmond region. The approved plan selected by VDOT and partners included the plan that added a general purpose lane in each direction by either expanding into the median or on the outside shoulder
11.
Valley
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A valley is a low area between hills, often with a river running through it. In geology, a valley or dale is a depression that is longer than it is wide, the terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys. Most valleys belong to one of two main types or a mixture of them, with respect to the cross section of the slopes or hillsides. A valley in its broadest geographic sense is known as a dale. A valley through which a river runs may also be referred to as a vale, a small, secluded, and often wooded valley is known as a dell or in Scotland as a glen. A wide, flat valley through which a river runs is known in Scotland as a strath, a mountain cove is a small valley, closed at one or both ends, in the central or southern Appalachian Mountains which sometimes results from the erosion of a geologic window. A small valley surrounded by mountains or ridges is sometimes known as a hollow, a deep, narrow valley is known as a cwm. Similar geological structures, such as canyons, ravines, gorges, gullies, chines, a valley formed by erosion is called an erosional valley, a valley formed by geologic events such as drop faults or the rise of highlands is called a structural valley. A valley formed by flowing water, or river valley, is usually V-shaped, the exact shape will depend on the characteristics of the stream flowing through it. Rivers with steep gradients, as in mountain ranges, produce steep walls, shallower slopes may produce broader and gentler valleys. However, in the lowest stretch of a river, where it approaches its base level, it begins to deposit sediment, in prehistory, the rivers were used as a source of fresh water and food, as well as a place to wash and a sewer. The proximity of water moderated temperature extremes and provided a source for irrigation, most of the first civilizations developed from these river valley communities. In geography, a vale is a river valley, usually with a particularly wide flood plain or flat valley bottom. In Southern England, vales commonly occur between the escarpment slopes of pairs of chalk formations, where the dome has been eroded, exposing less resistant underlying rock. Rift valleys, such as the Albertine Rift, are formed by the expansion of the Earths crust due to tectonic activity beneath the Earths surface, there are various forms of valley associated with glaciation that may be referred to as glacial valleys. A valley carved by glaciers is normally U-shaped, the valley becomes visible upon the recession of the glacier that forms it. When the ice recedes or thaws, the remains, often littered with small boulders that were transported within the ice. Floor gradient does not affect the shape, it is the glaciers size that does
12.
Cultural area
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In anthropology and geography, a cultural region, cultural sphere, cultural area or culture area refers to a geographical area with one relatively homogeneous human activity or complex of activities. These are often associated with a group and the territory it inhabits. Specific cultures often do not limit their geographic coverage to the borders of a nation state, Cultural spheres of influence may also overlap or form concentric structures of macrocultures encompassing smaller local cultures. Different boundaries may also be depending on the particular aspect of interest, such as religion and folklore vs. dress. Cultural areas are not considered equivalent to Kulturkreis, a culture area is a concept in cultural anthropology, in which a geographic region and time sequence is characterized by substantially uniform environment and culture. The concept of culture areas was originated by museum curators and ethnologists during the late 1800s as means of arranging exhibits, clark Wissler and Alfred Kroeber further developed the concept on the premise that they represent long-standing cultural divisions. The concept is criticized by some, who argue that the basis for classification is arbitrary, but other researchers disagree and the organization of human communities into cultural areas remains a common practice throughout the social sciences. The definition of culture areas is enjoying a resurgence of practical and theoretical interest as social scientists conduct research on processes of cultural globalization. A formal culture region is an area inhabited by people who have one or more traits in common, such as language, religion. It is a relatively homogeneous with regard to one or more cultural traits. The geographer who identifies a formal culture region must locate cultural borders, because cultures overlap and mix, such boundaries are rarely sharp even if only a single cultural trait is mapped so there are cultural border zones rather than lines. The zones broaden with each additional cultural trait that is considered because no two traits have the spatial distribution. As a result, instead of having clear borders, formal culture regions reveal a center or core where the traits are all present. Away from the core, the characteristics weaken and disappear. Thus, many formal culture regions display a core-periphery, in this sense, functional regions also possess a core-periphery configuration, in common with formal culture regions. Vernacular, popular or perceptual cultural regions are those perceived to exist by their inhabitants, as is evident by the widespread acceptance, some vernacular regions are based on physical environmental features, others find their basis in economic, political or historical characteristics. Vernacular regions, like most culture regions, generally lack sharp borders, and it grows out of peoples sense of belonging and identification with a particular region. They often lack the necessary for functional regions although they may be centered on a single urban node
US 50 / US 33 / US 250 / I-64 / US 11 / I-81
