Map of West Virginia (WV)

Panorama of the New River Sandstone Falls in Summers County, West Virginia.
Image: Gene

West Virginia State Flag

About West Virginia

Where in the United States is West Virginia? Location map of West Virginia in the US.

West Virginia is a landlocked US state and the only one that is entirely within the Appalachian Mountain region of the central-eastern US mainland.

West Virginia borders Pennsylvania in the north, Virginia in the east, and Kentucky in the southwest. The Ohio River forms the border with Ohio in the east, and the Potomac river creates a section of the state's border with Maryland.
West Virginia consists of 55 counties. Its nickname is "The Mountain State."

The territory of West Virginia was originally part of the British Virginia Colony, which later became the state of Virginia.

West Virginia was separated from Virginia during the American Civil War (1861) and admitted to the Union as a separate state on 20th June 1863, as the 35th state.

West Virginia State Map

General Map of West Virginia, United States.

The detailed map shows the US state of West Virginia with boundaries, the location of the state capital Charleston, major cities and populated places, rivers and lakes, interstate highways, principal highways, and railroads.

You are free to use this map for educational purposes (fair use); please refer to the Nations Online Project.

More about West Virginia State

Some Geography

Topographic Regions Map Map of West Virginia (click map to enlarge)

Area
West Virginia occupies an area of 62,755 km² (24,230 sq mi), compared it is slightly larger than half the size of Bulgaria. Compared with other US states, West Virginia is almost three times the size of New Jersey or about half the size of Mississippi, but it would fit into Texas eleven times.

West Virginia Geography
Two principal physical regions dominate the Mountain State, the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region in the east, and the Allegheny Plateau in the center and west. Alongside both banks of the Ohio River stretches the Ohio Valley.

West Virginia's cultural regions

West Virginia's major culturally and geographically distinct regions are, from north to south:

View of Seneca Rocks in Monongahela National Forest in eastern West Virginia

View of Seneca Rocks, the cliff-like rocks are situated at the north end of the River Knobs within the Monongahela National Forest of eastern West Virginia.
Image: Aneta Kaluzna

1. The Northern Panhandle is the state's northernmost extension, an industrial region (steel and glass), the largest city and economic center is Wheeling.

2. Mountaineer Country (North Central West Virginia), largest city, home to West Virginia University (www.wvu.edu), and economic hub is the college-town of Morgantown.

3. The Mid-Ohio Valley lies in the northwestern part of the state, the largest city and the county seat of Wood County is Parkersburg, home to the Mid-Ohio Valley Multi-Cultural Festival (movmcf.org). The Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport serves the area.

4. The Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands is a small stretch of territory in the northeast of the state, which includes the Potomac Highlands, a region famous for its scenic areas like the North Fork Mountain area or the Germany Valley. The largest city is Martinsburg, the county seat of Berkeley County.

West Virginia's highest and lowest elevations
The Eastern Panhandle includes both the highest and lowest elevations of West Virginia. Spruce Knob at 1,482 m (4,863 ft), in Pendleton County, is the state's highest point and the highest peak in the Allegheny Mountains. The state's lowest point is along the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry at 73 m (240 feet) above sea level.

Mountains

View of the scenic Germany Valley high in the Allegheny Mountains, West Virginia.
Image: ellenm1

5. Mountain Lakes, Virginia’s heartland is a somewhat isolated region in the center of the state, promoted as "lakes, fresh air, and mountains" (wvmuseums.org/places/mountain-lakes). The main urban centers are Cowen, Summersville, Weston, Buckhannon, and Glenville.

6. The Metro Valley is West Virginia's urban center which includes the state capital Charleston.

7. Hatfield-McCoy Region (aka South Western Mountains) in southwestern West Virginia expands from the valleys of the Ohio, the Big Sandy, and the Tug Fork rivers to the south along the border of Kentucky and into the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains. Major urban centers are Wayne, Logan, and Chapmanville.

8. New River/Greenbrier Valley (aka Southern West Virginia) is a region with a coal mining heritage. Places of interest in the New River/Greenbrier Valley region are the New River Gorge and the New River Gorge Bridge. Tamarack, a large arts and crafts facility that offers "handmade crafts, arts, and cuisine." The Greenbrier, a palatial luxury resort and the site of a massive underground bunker that was meant to serve as an emergency shelter for the United States Congress. Main urban center and regional hub is Beckley.

Rivers

New River Gorge Bridge, Fayetteville, West Virginia

New River Gorge Bridge, the 924 m (3,030 ft) long steel arch bridge spans the New River Gorge near Fayetteville in West Virginia. The roadway of the bridge is 267 m (876 ft) above the New River.
Image: Dennis Church

Major rivers are the Gauley River, which merges with the New River to form the Kanawha River, the Greenbrier River, the Guyandotte River, the Monongahela River, and the Elk River.

All rivers in the western parts of the state are, via the Ohio River, eventually part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. However, the rivers in the Potomac Section (or Eastern Panhandle) in the northeast, are part of the Potomac River drainage basin and flow via the Potomac River into the Chesapeake Bay.

Lakes
Notable lakes are Summersville Lake, a reservoir fed by the Gauley River; it is West Virginia's largest lake located in Nicholas County.
The Tygart Lake is a reservoir fed by the Tygart Valley River, a major tributary of the Monongahela River. Bluestone Lake is a reservoir which is fed by the New River.

Highest point
Ironically the Mountain State's highest point is the summit of Spruce Mountain, known as Spruce Knob, at just 1,482 m (4863 ft) above sea level, with a prominence of 848 m (2,781 ft), however, it is the highest peak in the Allegheny Mountains.

Natural resources
West Virginia's primary natural resources are coal, natural gas, stone, salt, oil, and mineral springs.

Population

West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston

Rendered image of West Virginia State Capitol. The Italian Renaissance-style building is located at the Kanawha River in Charleston, the state capital of West Virginia. The Capitol houses the West Virginia Legislature and the office of the Governor of West Virginia.
Image: Google

West Virginia has a population of 1.79 million people (2019 est.) ^[2]; the capital and largest city is Charleston (pop. 47,200). The largest metro entirely within the state is the Charleston metropolitan area, with a population of 211,000.

The largest urban area is Huntington, which spans seven counties in three states and has 363,000 inhabitants.

Other major cities and towns are Morgantown, Parkersburg, Wheeling, and Weirton.

Race and Ethnic groups
The population of West Virginia is composed of Caucasians 92.1%, African Americans 3.6%, Hispanics or Latinos 1.7%, Asians 0.8%, and Native Americans 0.3%. ^[3]

The largest airport in the state is Charleston's Yeager Airport (IATA code: CRW).

Cities and Towns in West Virginia

West Virginia Capitol at Night, in Charleston, West Virginia

West Virginia Capitol in Charleston at Night.
Image: O Palsson

The map above shows the location of following cities and towns in West Virginia.

Major cities: Charleston, Morgantown, Huntington, and Wheeling.

Other cities an towns:
Beckley, Bluefield, Bridgeport, Buckhannon,
Charles Town, Clarksburg,
Elkins, Fairmont, Franklin, Grafton, Hinton, Keyser, Lewisburg, Logan, Madison, Marlinton, Martinsburg, Moundsville, New Martinsville,
Oak Hill, Parkersburg, Petersburg, Point Pleasant, Princeton,
Ripley, Romney,
Spencer, St Albans, Summersville, Sutton, Thomas,
Weirton, Welch, Weston, and Williamson.

More about West Virginia and the US

Cities -- Information about, and searchable maps of:

West Virginia's capital Charleston

U.S. States: