Virginia (English: Commonwealth of Virginia) is a commonwealth within the United States that has state rights. In fact, the tenth state in the United States, one of the so-called South Atlantic states. Population — 7.2 million people (12th place in the USA; 2000 data). Ethnic composition: African American – 19.6%, German – 11.7%, American – 11.2%, English – 11.1%, Irish – 9.8%. The capital is Richmond, the largest city is Virginia Beach, other major cities are Alexandria, Lynchburg, Norfolk, Newport News,Portsmouth, Hampton, Chesapeake.
Official nicknames: “Old Dominion ” (Old Dominion) and “Mother of Presidents ” (Mother of Presidents). The official motto is “So shall it always be with tyrants” (Latin: Sic semper tyrannis!).
Geography
To the east is a coastal marshy plain. Chesapeake Bay and river estuaries cut deeply into the land. To the west are the low Appalachian mountains with the Blue Ridge (about 1,743 m). In the center is the Piedmont plateau. The climate is temperate, warm and humid. The temperature drops to −9 °C in winter and reaches +38 °C in summer. The annual amount of precipitation is 800-1200 mm. On the slopes of the mountains there are pine and mixed forests.
Judicial system and crime
Virginia’s court system is divided into four main levels: the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Circuit Courts, and the District Courts. The Supreme Court, consisting of the Chief Justice and 6 judges, is the court of last instance in the state. Its main duties include reviewing decisions made by lower courts, including criminal and civil cases.
In 2018, Virginia had 200 violent crimes for every 100,000 people, compared to 380.6 per 100,000 nationally. Total murders in 2018: 391 (17th place).
Famous people
- Sandra Bullock
- Robert Edward Lee
Richmond, Virginia
| Richmond | |
| City in the United States | |
| Location | |
| State | Virginia |
| Coordinates | 37°32’27″N, 77°26’12″WL |
| General | |
| Surface | 162.05 km² |
| – country | 155.17 km² |
| – water | 6.88 km² |
| Residents (April 1, 2020) |
226,610 (1460 inhabitant/km²) |
| Politics | |
| Mayor | Levar Stoney (D) |
| Website | ci.richmond.va.us |
Virginia State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson
According to COUNTRYAAH, Richmond is the capital of the state of Virginia in the United States and is located on the James River. According to the official 2000 census, the city had 197,790 inhabitants.
The Richmond area was first explored by English settlers around 1607. In 1737, the city was founded on the site of the once capital of the Indian Empire Powhatan, which was conquered by the English. In 1782, shortly after the English surrender in the American Revolutionary War, the city became the capital of Virginia. During the American Civil War it was the capital of the Confederate States of America. Just before the surrender of the Confederacy, Confederates themselves destroyed large parts of the city by arson.
Richmond, thanks to being the capital of the Southern states during the Civil War, has many museums and monuments, especially on Monument Avenue, dedicated to this chapter of its history.
Demographics
13.2% of the population is older than 65 and 37.6% consists of single -person households. Unemployment is 2.9 % (census figures 2000).
About 2.6% of Richmond’s population is Hispanic and Hispanic, 57.2% of African origin and 1.2% of Asian origin.
The population decreased from 202,713 in 1990 to 197,790 in 2000.
Climate
In January the average temperature is 2.1 °C, in July it is 25.6 °C. Annual average rainfall is 1096.3 mm (data based on the measurement period 1961-1990).
Culture
Richmond is home to many museums, many within easy reach of one another in the Museum District, including the Virginia Historical Society, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Science Museum of Virginia, the Children’s Museum of Richmond, the Virginia Center for Architecture, the Library of Virginia, the Valentine Richmond History Center, the Virginia Holocaust Museum, and the Old Dominion Railway Museum.
Many monuments have been erected along Monument Avenue, commemorating many key moments in American history.
Religion
Richmond has been the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese since 1820.
Sports
In 2015, the UCI Road World Championships were held in Richmond. The road race in the men’s elite was won by the Slovak Peter Sagan.
Notable residents of Richmond
Born
- Caroline Aaron (1952), actress and film producer
- Edward Anderson (1998), cyclist
- Arthur Ashe (1943-1993), tennis player
- David Baldacci (1960), author
- Warren Beatty (1937), film actor, director and producer
- Nell Blaine (1922-1996), artist
- Wes Borland (1975), guitarist-singer
- James Branch Cabell (1879-1958), science fiction and fantasy writer
- Joe Edwards (1958), astronaut
- Jim Gilmore (1949), politician
- Townley Haas (1996), swimmer
- Mickie James (1979), professional wrestler
- Bailey Jay (1988), transsexual porn actress and podcaster
- Shirley MacLaine (1934), actress
- Aimee Mann (1960), singer-songwriter
- Mark Morton (1972), lead guitarist-songwriter
- Scottie Thompson (1981), actress
- Kellie Wells (1982), track and field athlete
- Frank Wiley (1949), composer, music educator and conductor
- Tom Wolfe (1930-2018), author and journalist
Died
- John Tyler (1790–1862), politician (10th President of the United States)
Independent Cities
Virginia’s 38 independent cities with population in parentheses .
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