The Commonwealth of Virginia--one of four states that adopted the title of "commonwealth" upon joining the union--has approximately 7,882,590 residents according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2009 estimates, which makes it the 12th largest state in terms of population. As the site of the first British settlement in the New World, Virginia features prominently in American history, particularly in the colonial and precolonial periods.
Virginia lies approximately halfway between New York and Florida on the eastern coast of the United States. It shares borders with Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee and the national capital, Washington D.C.
According to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia possesses the greatest variety of natural landscapes of any eastern state. The department divides the state's geography into three main regions: Coastal Plain, Piedmont and Mountain. The Coastal Plain borders the Atlantic ocean. The Piedmont is characterized by rolling hills, while the mountainous western end of the state encompasses parts of four ranges: the Allegheny, Blue Ridge, Cumberland and Shenandoah mountains.
Virginia was the first of the original thirteen colonies that eventually became the United States. The colony began with the establishment of Jamestown--the first English settlement in North America--on May 13, 1607. After the American Revolution, Virginia became the 10th state when it ratified the Constitution on June 25, 1788. During the Civil War, Virginia fought on the side of the Confederacy and played host to more battles than any other state.
Virginia's namesake beach, Virginia Beach, is the longest commercial beach in the United States. The tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi River, the Crabtree Falls, are part of the Blue Ridge mountain range in Nelson County.
The Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, the state capital, houses more military artifacts than any other American museum.
Virginia is often referred to as "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight American Presidents, including four of the first five: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson.
Other famous Virginians include explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, singers Patsy Cline and Ella Fitzgerald, tennis star Arthur Ashe, fiction writer Edgar Allan Poe and journalist Katie Couric.
The circular seal of Virginia depicts Virtus, the goddess of virtue, in a warrior's outfit and includes the state's motto, "Sic Semper Tyrannis" which means "Thus Always to Tyrants" in Latin. George Wythe, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, designed the seal. The state nickname is "Old Dominion."
Virginia's state bird is the cardinal. It claims the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly as its state insect. Dogwood is the state flower and milk the state beverage. The state's official tourism slogan is, "Virginia is for Lovers."
