West Virginia

Physical

West Virginia is slightly smaller in size than Ireland, at 24,077.73 square miles. It is 4,800 feet above sea level at its highest and 240 feet below sea level at its lowest, hence, its nickname, the Mountain State. It has a population density of approximately 75 people per square mile. Its total population (1,852,994 in 2010) is similar to the city of Houston, however, spread across an area 40 times the size. It is one of few wholly rural states and the only state located wholly in Appalachia, bordered by Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Economic

Because of its geographic isolation, sparse population, and reliance on extraction-based economies, West Virginia has long been considered one of the weakest economies in the United States, with one of the lowest per capita incomes and limited major interstate transportation routes. However, this figure belies West Virginia's strong culture of self-reliance, stewardship, and innovation.

West Virginia has been always been an innovator in rural consumption, becoming the first state to offer free rural mail delivery in Charles Town (1896) and the first to enact a state sales tax (1921). Both concepts were later adopted by other states.

West Virginia has always existed as an extraction-based economy. In the 1700s, it was a major salt manufacturer. West Virginia still has large reserves that are used in chemical production. Other natural resources include glass, timber, steel, and, most notably, coal. Since the 1800s, West Virginia's glass companies were world famous, producing glassware from new and recycled glass. Few existed by 2010, but one of the nation's remaining marble companies is in West Virginia.

The state is 79 percent forested and the third most forested state in the United States, most of it reforested. By the 1920s, West Virginia was deforested to provide timber for the U.S. steel industry centered in nearby Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Due to the introduction of sound practices, the timber industry and West Virginia environment were able to rebound. Similarly deforested countries send scientists to West Virginia to study reforestation practices.

West Virginia agriculture is over 90 percent single owner. Major commodities include poultry/eggs, livestock, dairy, and apples. Wild ginseng is a distinctive crop. By necessity, many agriculture industries practice commodity reuse and conservation, such as recycling hay-bale wrap.

The state is one of the nation's leading energy producers; West Virginia ranks second in the nation in interstate sales of electricity. Coal mined in West Virginia accounts for 15 percent of U.S. coal consumption. Although increased regulation has been implemented, ecological concerns are a challenge. Carbon sequestration projects aim to store carbon dioxide underground. Coal mining has had noticeable effects on the people and environment of West Virginia since the 18th century, and the advent of mountaintop removal mining in the 1960s brought new concerns over the consequences of coal extraction to the land, water, and people of West Virginia.

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