18 interesting facts about Virginia

1. The Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States.
2. Total Area: 35th among states, 109,624 sq km (42,326 sq mi).
3. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents.
4. Because of Virginia's prestige, the Confederate capital was moved on May 21, 1861, from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond.
5. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which are home to much of its flora and fauna.
6. The Atlantic Flyway, a route for birds migrating along the Atlantic coast, crosses Virginia, and the state provides important resting and feeding grounds.
7. The capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond; Virginia Beach is the most populous city and Fairfax County the most populous political subdivision.
8. Virginia was the site of the surrenders ending the American Revolution (Yorktown) and the Civil War (Appomattox).
   
9. The state population is nearly eight million.
10. Virginia was the birthplace of many U.S. presidents, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson.
11. Virginia does not have a major professional sports franchise, but is home to several prominent collegiate sports programs.
12. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is the world's largest bridge-tunnel complex.
13. The growth of the media and technology sectors have made computer chips the state's leading export.
14. Tobacco was once Virginia's sole economic crop.
15. Virginia was one of the Thirteen Colonies in the American Revolution and joined the Confederacy in the American Civil War, during which Richmond was the Confederate capital and the state of West Virginia separated.
16. Government employment, especially the Federal government and military, has replaced tobacco as the state's number one industry.
17. Jamestown was the first English settlement in the U.S. It was also the first capital of Virginia.
18. Virginia is the home base for the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet.