Southern West Virginia is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. Southern West Virginia has

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

heritage and Southern affinity, including being part of the

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States and the Midwestern state of Missouri (which also has significant Southern influence), where evangelical Protestantism exerts a strong social and cultural influence. The region has been de ...

. The region is also closely identified with Southwestern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and Eastern

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, with close proximity to

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, which are all part of

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

and the

Upland South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, economics, demographics, a ...

. Southern West Virginia, in a cultural and historical context, includes Boone County, Fayette County, Greenbrier County, Lincoln County, Logan County, McDowell County, Mercer County, Cabell County, Mingo County, Monroe County, Nicholas County, Raleigh County, Kanawha County, Wayne County, Summers County, and Wyoming County. Newrivergorgebridge

The City of Charleston, in Kanawha County, is the largest city in this region, followed by Huntington, in Cabell County and then Beckley in Raleigh County.

Attractions

Places of interest and potential attractions include New River Gorge, New River Gorge Bridge, Tamarack, Best of West Virginia, Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park, and

The Greenbrier The Greenbrier is a luxury resort located in the Allegheny Mountains near White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the United States. Since 1778, visitors have traveled to this part of the state to "take the waters" of t ...

Winterplace Ski Resort and Summersville Lake are both recreation options also present here. Southern West Virginian sports teams include the Bluefield Ridge Runners and the West Virginia Miners.

Educational institutions

Universities and colleges

Southern West Virginia's universities and colleges include

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

, Appalachian Bible College, Bluefield State University, Bridgemont Community and Technical College, Concord University, University of Charleston–Beckley, New River Community and Technical College, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, and

West Virginia University Institute of Technology West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University. History The college was founded in 189 ...

Historical events and landmarks

The main historical events and landmarks located in Southern West Virginia are the Hatfield–McCoy feud, the folklore tale of John Henry, and The West Virginia coal wars.

References

External links