1. The Four Regions of West Virginia

2. Human and Environmental Interaction
HEI – The way we use, affect, and are affected by our environment.
Animals eliminated from WV because of human interaction
wolf, bison, elk
Railroad helped the
industries in WV boom

3. Human and Environmental Interaction
3 major industries that are examples of human/environmental interaction
Mining
Lumber
Chemical
Surface mining=strip mining
Chemical industry great site in WV because of the available elements
Kanawha Valley “the Chemical Valley of the World”

4. Surface Mining

5. Surface Mining

6. Human and Environmental Interaction
Lumbering
Early settlers saw that the entire state was covered with forest. They cut down the trees and used them for two purposes:
To provide building materials for houses
Fuel
(later used to build boats)
Lumbering brought other jobs, such as:
Sawmills
Pulp mills-converts wood chips or other plant fiber source into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing
Tanneries-workplace where skins and hides are tanned

7. Movement
Movement-the way we are linked through exploration, trade routes, settlement, migration, and invasion
WV was first settled in the Potomac region
Early settlers searched for food, water, and safety.
Settlers traveled the least restrictive way, by valleys and following rivers.

8. Regions (an area that is bound by common characteristics)
Geographic regions are defined by:
Common Climate
Common Landform
Economic
Recreational activities
West Virginia has 4 Regions:
Potomac Section
Allegheny Highlands
Allegheny Plateau
Ohio River Valley

11. The Potomac Section Geography:
In the Eastern Panhandle
Gently rolling farmland (Rural)
Potomac River is its northern border (the river gives the region its name)
Contains lowest point in WV (Harpers Ferry 247 feet above sea level)
A place where urban (city or town) workers flock to the region from Washington D.C.

12. The Potomac Section History: Industries
It was the first region settled by Europeans
In 1912 US Supreme Court ruled that the Fairfax Stone would be the starting point of the boundary between WV and MD
Industries
Livestock (sheep and cattle) because of excellent grass
Peach & Apple orchards because of great soil
Apple Butter Festival
Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival

13. The Potomac Section Natural Features Harper’s Ferry
(Warm springs) Berkeley Springs
Spa (health resort)
Whitewater rafting on the Shenandoah River
Potomac Eagle (The Trough)
State Parks- Cacapon and Berkeley Springs
Harper’s Ferry
(picture on front of text)

14. The Allegheny Highlands
Geography:
Mountainous Region - Forms the dividing line between eastern and western WV
Contains Highest Point in WV - Spruce Knob 4862 feet above sea level
The Allegheny Highlands is the region that gave WV its nickname the “Mountain State”

15. The Allegheny Highlands
History
Immigrants (ones who moves into a new country to settle)
Swiss and Germans settled much of the region in the 1740s and early 1800s
Helvetia (Latin for “Switzerland”) settled in 1869
Southern and Eastern Europeans came into the region in the late 1800’s and earl 1900’s (due to coal and timber industries)
Industries
Tourism!
Sparsely populated (largest city: Beckley)

16. The Allegheny Highlands (Helvetia)

17. The Allegheny Highlands
Natural Features
Premier Skiing Facilities – Snowshoe, Winterplace, Silver Creek Ski Area and others
Hiking, rock climbing, spelunking, mountain bicycling
Peter’s Mountain
Seneca Rocks
Smoke Hole
Seneca, and Lost World Caverns
Dolly Sods

18. The Allegheny Plateau Geography
Plateau (an elevated tract of more or less level land)
Rivers cut gorges and canyons across the plateau
New River Gorge
New River – second oldest river in the world
The largest city is located in this region: Charleston (State Capital)

19. The Allegheny Plateau History
The influence of Native Americans is evident in the region
Kanawha (river of evil spirits)
Logan County was named after a Mingo chief whose family was killed by a band of white men
Mingo County named after tribe of Indians
The Region is rich in ethnic diversity
Italians, Belgians, Czechs, Greeks, Irish, and Spaniards.
Mining Industry attracted many immigrants to the region

20. The Allegheny Plateau Natural Features
Contains a variety of natural resources
Limestone, sandstone, shale, coal, oil, natural gas and salt
Whitewater rafting
(Gauley River and New River)
Windsurfing, boating, scuba diving, water skiing, fishing
(Summersville Lake)
New River Gorge Bridge
(Construction completed in October of 1977)
Bridge Day (3rd Saturday of Oct)

21. The Ohio River Valley Geography
Lies next to Ohio River, the river dominates this region
Many cities located in this area- Huntington, Parkersburg, Point Pleasant, Wheeling
Islands are found in the Ohio river with unique flora and fauna
(Ohio River Island National Wildlife Refuge)
Blennerhassett Island

22. The Ohio River Valley History
Area was inhabited for thousands of years by Indians
First settled by French in mid 1700s. French called the Ohio La Belle Riviere “The Beautiful River”
1763 French surrendered Ohio Valley to Britain after French and Indian War
The historic Blennerhassett Island
West Virginia’s “floating capitol”

23. The Ohio River Valley (Blennerhasset Island)
Aaron Burr Conspiracy (1805 – 1807)
Aaron Burr - Former Vice President under Thomas Jefferson; orchestrated a plot to create a new government opposed to America in the Southwest
Harman Blennerhasset – Wealthy Irish born lawyer that owned an island on the Ohio River where Burr and his conspirators plotted; also financed Burr’s conspiracy
Edward Tiffin, governor of Ohio, brought militia to Blennerhasset Island, raided it and stopped the conspiracy
Burr and Blennerhasset were accused of treason (the crime of trying to overthrow the government of one’s state or country)

24. The Ohio River Valley (West Virginia's “Floating Capitol”)
When West Virginia became a state in 1863, the Capitol building was at the Linsly Institute in Wheeling.
In 1870, the State Legislature designated Charleston as the Capital city.
In 1875, the Legislature voted to return the Capital to Wheeling. This was appealed by the citizens of Charleston and finally settled by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals on September 13 in favor of Wheeling.
The Legislature struck once more in 1877 and ordered an election to be held on August 7 for the citizens of West Virginia to select a permanent location for the Capital. The vote was between Charleston, Martinsburg and Clarksburg. Thirty days after the election, Henry M. Mathews proclaimed that after eight years, Charleston would be the government's permanent seat VS

25. The Ohio River Valley
The new Capitol opened on May 1, 1885, and served for 36 years until its destruction by fire on January 3, 1921
Luckily, the Legislature had authorized the construction of the present Capitol on the north bank of the Kanawha River in This building was completed in 1932 at a cost of $10 million

26. The Ohio River Valley
Major manufacturing:
Steel
Glass
Textiles

27. Review 7 River Basins in WV The climate of WV is Humid Continental
The New river has 4 tributaries
The Kanawha river has the greatest number of tributaries
The county that is often referred to as the birthplace of rivers is Pocahontas
WV has one natural lake
WV location can be described as relative and absolute
WV boundaries- natural and man-made
Fairfax Stone- WV and Maryland
Mason-Dixon Line- WV and Pennsylvania

28. Refernces