The Regions of Virginia
Print this activity sheet to do as you investigate the regions of Virginia. Use this page and your textbook to help you.
Look at the land around your house or school. Is the land flat or hilly? Is there a river or lake nearby? When we study the land, we are learning geography.
A large area where the land does not change much and the weather is often the same is called a physical region. Virginia has five physical regions.
Virginia's five physical regions are called Virginia's Coastal Plain (Tidewater), the Piedmont, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Valley and Ridge and the Appalachian Plateau regions.
Virginia's Coastal Plain (Tidewater) Region is part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. A coastal plain is a large area of flat or gently rolling land that is bordered by a large area of water. Virginia's Coastal Plain extends inland as far as the Fall Line, a narrow zone of small waterfalls and rapids that occurs at the point where the major rivers pass over ancient rocks of the Piedmont to the eroded sands, clays, and shales of the Coastal Plain. Wide areas of Virginia's Coastal Plain are flat and low-lying. Tidal swamps and marshes border the rivers as far as the Fall Line.
The Piedmont Region is mostly rolling hills country, which rises from about 300 ft. above sea level along the Fall Line to about 1000 ft. and in places to 2000 feet at the eastern foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. A small wedged-shaped area between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers has an average elevation of about 400 feet and has more fertile soils.
The Blue Ridge Mountains Region is located between the Piedmont and Valley and Ridge regions. This region is part of the Appalachian Mountain system. The Blue Ridge Mountains Region consists of a long narrow string of thickly forested mountains, which form a ridge that runs from Harpers Ferry in West Virginia southwestward across Virginia to the Carolinas. The Blue Ridge Mountains Region of Virginia reaches an average elevation of about 3000 feet above sea level in the northern sections to more than 4000 feet in the southern sections.
The Valley and Ridge is the most rugged area of the state. This region has many rocky peaks. It consists of parallel ridges and knobs that run in a northeast-to-southwest direction. These ridges are separated by lowlands and river valleys.
The Appalachian Plateau Region is located in Virginia's southwest corner and is known for its coal deposits. Most of the Appalachian Plateau Region if about 3000 feet above sea level.