西维吉尼亚(West Virginia)

美国中东部一州。平均海拔457公尺，是美国密西西比河以东最高的州。西维吉尼亚的最高处位於东部的斯普鲁斯峰（1,482公尺），最低处位於谢南多厄河和波多马克河汇合处陡峭岬角上的哈珀斯费里（75公尺）。土地崎岖不平，从丘陵到高山，没有广阔的平原。整个西维吉尼亚是阿帕拉契山系的一部分。西维吉尼亚州传统上在美国诸州中一直居於穷州的地位。该州有丰富的天然资源，煤是最有价值的矿物，同时还生产大量的石油和天然气。20世纪时旅游业是重要经济来源。原是印第安人居住地，1730年代白人殖民者进入该区，英国人在1750年代和1760年代从法国人手中夺得该区的控制权。西维吉尼亚原是维吉尼亚州的一部分，但是在1861年其大多不实行奴隶制度的人口投票反对退出联邦，因而与维吉尼亚分离。於1863年以新成立的独立州加入联邦，成为第三十五个州。面积62,758平方公里。首府查理斯敦。人口约1,808,344（2000）。

English version：

West Virginia

State (pop., 1997 est.: 1,816,000), eastern central U.S. It covers an area of 24,232 sq mi (62,760 sq km); its capital is Charleston. The Ohio River forms a large section of the upper western boundary, while the Potomac forms a section of the northern boundary. The Great Kanawha, Little Kanawha, Monongahela, and Shenandoah rivers cross the state. It contains the Appalachian Mtn. system, and is generally rugged land. The highest elevation is Spruce Knob (4,861 ft, or 1,482 m). Long occupied by Indian hunters, it was home to the Adena, or Mound Builders, who left archaeological traces. They were succeeded by the Iroquois and the Cherokee. The first permanent white settlement was in the 1730s. The English controlled the region during the 1750s and 1760s. Though eastern Virginia was rapidly settled, the area's western rugged terrain restricted settlement there. After the American Revolution, largely nonslaving settlers moved west; they grew dissatisfied with the Virginia government. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, residents from western Virginia voted against the ordinance of secession in 1861. In 1863 it was admitted to the Union as the 35th state. Its industrial emergence, encouraged by railroad expansion, began in the 1870s when its natural resources, including coal and gas, contributed to the growth of the U.S. In the 20th century, recreation and tourism became economically important.