The reasons for the tunnel on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, and other tunnels in the hampton roads area is for the navy ships from Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world, can safely get in and out of the bay without the fear of a collapsed bridge during times of war. A tunnel when destroyed is not as much as an obstacle as a bridge
The first picture he showed was not the bridge with the tunnle. There's the bay bridge and there's bay bridge tunnle and they are no where near eachother
I’ve lived in VA my whole life so I love to see you talking about it! It’s funny to see an outsiders perspective on all the places that feel like home to me
Love your nerdy channel! I have lived in VA for over 30 years. I would like to mention that 1) Pharrell, who is quite a famous recording artist is also from Virginia Beach, 2) that William & Mary is the second oldest university in the country I believe; 3) Virginia has one of the most interesting state mottos on its seal, which is unfortunately also famous for what JWB shouted when he assassinated President Lincoln; and Virginia is a Commonwealth, which is a bit different from a state. Not sure how that is different, but I believe that there are three states that are considered Commonwealths and that there is something unique about them.
We’re also home to Amazon’s 2nd headquarter, Nestle, Xerox, USA Today, Five Guys, Car Max, Booz Allen, Freddie Mac, the FBI, Rolls-Royce, Volkswagen, and A LOT more.
The Bay Bridge-Tunnel was built that way at the bequest of the US Navy. They were fearing that a bridge across the entrance of the Hampton Roads would be able to be blown up by the enemy to effectively blockade our largest Naval facility. They insisted on the much more complex and expensive design that you see now. One aspect of our agricultural business you missed on was our booming Wine and Beer production industry. The wine industry was originally started by Thomas Jefferson, who tried to grow his own grapes at Monticello. There's still a winery on those very same grounds to this day! If you're a fan of great Wine, Beer and distilled spirits, Virginia is definitely a great destination.
If you spot a bumper sticker telling you to "Get Naked," read the fine print -- it advertises a winery off Interstate-66 about 50 miles west of Washington, D.C.
There's a lot of variation. We haven't had much last couple of years, but there have been other years when we have approached New England-like totals to the west of DC.
You’d forgot peanuts! The first commercial peanut crop was grown near Wakefield, and peanuts are grown a lot in Southside. Suffolk was considered the Peanut Capitol of the World. Planters was based there until bought out.
Fun bar bet to win: Ewing, Virginia (the last named community before the Cumberland Gap) is actually further west than Detroit, Michigan. It's also further west than any part of West Virginia.
I lived in Ewing for 12 years. 1995-2007. Yes, it is further west than Detriot. Moving there from Fredericksburg was like going in the Way Back machine. They still had party-line telephones, no internet, no cell phone towers. Schools were using 1970's teaching techniques (which thankfully advanced when the state standardized curriculum). The income statistics were exactly opposite of Fredericksburg. In Fredericksburg only 10% of public school children were on public assistance and qualified for free/reduced cost school lunch. In Ewing, 90% of students were on public assistance and qualified for free/reduced lunch. There were lots of kids in Lee County who had no shoes, and food/housing issues. It was definitely a culture shock.
@@davidstoyanoff They're fortunate enough to be able to enjoy both Kentucky AND Tennessee jokes. Everyone in VA is allowed, even encouraged, to make West Virginia jokes.
Just moved to the SW part of Virginia from Georgia. I'm surprised you didn't mention a couple of features of this area: The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Galax Fiddler's Convention. Lots of great bluegrass and mountain music here as well as spectacular scenery.
Virginia is also home to Fort Lee, Fort Belvoir, Fort Meyer, The Radford Ammunition Plant where they make all of the rocket fuel, and of course; Marine Corps Base Quantico where Marine Corps OCS and the FBI training center are.
As a Virginian who lives by the beach, I would HIGHLY recomend you visit the beaches along the eastern shore over the ones in Hampton roads. There are some cute small towns there and the sand is really soft. Virginia beach is nice, I live there, but the eastern shore is nicer.
No, the term does not come even from his brother. While the origin of the term "lynching" is very murky, it appears even to predate the founding of Lynchburg and may come from Ireland where the name of Lynch is very common. A lord over there actually hung someone (his son) after a swift trial. John Lynch''s brother held a trial during the Revolutionary War accusing neighbors of being Royalists. No one recorded the penalty imposed, but no record of hanging exists. Seems like that would have made an impact and been recorded somewhere.
I was born and raised in the "city" of Newport News, in the Hampton Roads or "Tidewater" area. Home of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company! Makers of fine air craft carriers and submarines. I waited for you to mention it in the the military contractors. My sister lives in Virginia Beach.
Dear Kyle, I moved to Roanoke in 1980 at the age of 5. In all those years since, I’ve never known it to be even remotely “hillbilly backwater”. It was a great place to grow up!
I 💓 my state, with me living in the city of Roanoke you have some cool activities to do, also the city looks beautiful at night, especially if you're looking down on it from Mill Mountain. Valley View Mall is pretty decent too. Also the mountains that surround the city, especially in Fall, it looks beautiful. The leaves turning yellow and orange, it always looks nice.
I've ligit lived in Virginia my entire life and never knew before today that we were the only state that separates counties from cities...I thought that was just normal.
Excellent video! If memory serves, I remember growing up we were taught that there were three geographic regions- Tidewater, Piedmont, and Valley and Ridge. Nowadays kids are taught that there are five. They added the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Plateau. Love my Commonwealth!
I think you did fairly well in describing Virginia, at least just touching the surface. As a Virginian, I can say Virginia is a fascinating State. The diversity of geography here & weather is so unique that it's hard to quantify it all in one short video. The furthest north in the South means a few alligators along with a small maple syrup industry. Unbelievable natural coastlines & mountain scenery too. Amazing Cypress swamps & rugged Blue Ridge highlands. Peanuts, tobacco, even cotton grow here in my State. The seafood is spectacular & the wildlife along the mountains of Appalachia is impressive. Elk, wild Boar, Bobcats, Deer... wild critters abound here! I live in the southern Shenandoah Valley where our mountain sightlines are incredibly beautiful. You left out the Valley in your geographic profile but that's ok. We here like to keep our gorgeous area in the southern Valley as the best kept secret in Virginia. We're still deep South in mannerisms & symbols here. I mean that in all ways good!!! Thanks for a nice video about my Virginia.
A few things to point out about the state: There aren't any alligators in Virginia. They can be found in multiple places in North Carolina, including Merchants Millpond State Park, which is near the NC/VA border, but there aren't any that have migrated across the state border into Virginia...yet. A cool place you left out is the Birch Knob tower. On a clear day atop of the mountain, you can view Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Ohio all from the same spot. There are multiple great beaches to visit. With there being three peninsulas along the coast, it makes for some pretty great spots. The reason for the Hampton Roads Bridge turning into a tunnel is because the naval base located there in Norfolk is the biggest of any in the world. The warships are absolutely massive and can be seen in port from the bridge itself. It's in incredible view. Though for the most time the climate is somewhat mild, there are definitive peaks during the mid seasons. You can find yourself with -5° days in the winter along with 115° heat index days in the Summer...combine that heat with 100% humidity due to the swamps and you're in for a hot and sticky time.
I appreciate the info! I think I read somewhere about alligator sightings in the Great Dismal Swamp but I'm not sure if it as a one time outlier or a reputable source.
@@GeographyKing I had actually just read online that there were indeed alligators in the Great Dismal Swamp! Unfortunately mass hunting led to the decline of population in the area, but it appears soon that they will once again return. Also I love the channel.
I see people are already mentioning the reason for the tunnels under the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. A few other corrections/comments: Jamestown did not fail as a colony. Although it was eventually abandoned, it was done so as people moved to other towns nearby, like Williamsburg. It was still the first permanent settlement by the English in the new world (predating Plymouth Rock by 13 years) and directly lead to the formation of Virginia as a state through the efforts of the Virginia company prior to the revolution. The "Chesapeake Bay Bridge" carries US 50 between Annapolis, MD and Maryland's portion of the DelMarVa peninsula over a narrow portion of the bay. The "Chesapeake Bay Bridge _Tunnel_" carries US 13 between Virginia Beach, VA and Virginia's potion of the peninsula over the mouth of the bay. Virginia does has professional sports teams, such as the Richmond Flying Squirrels and Norfolk Tides MiLB baseball teams. It just doesn't have any "major" professional sports teams. Speaking of sports, although Virginia doesn't have any major teams, it does have 2 racetracks that host a total of 4 races on the NASCAR cup series (currently the "Monster Energy Cup") and is home to Wood Brothers Racing, one of the oldest still active teams in NASCAR. There is also a drag strip that has kind of an on again, off again relationship with the NHRA's top series.
Recently discovered your channel. Really love your content. Binge-worthy for geography enthusiasts! I will eagerly look forward to seeing more and following along!
Born and bred. Although to me the winters are cold it really is a moderate place to live. Sure it’s hot and humid, especially in coastal VA where I live, but, not unmanageable. Quick drive to DC, the mountains, the ocean. Whatever you want we have it! Even cold weather tolerant palm trees! History abounds with National Parks in Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown in the east and the beautiful Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway to the west. Visit Chincoteaque to see where “Misty of Chincoteaque” came from. Pony roundup yearly to benefit the fire department and keep the ponies going on the islands. We all wanted “Misty” as kids! Several First Nations tribes live here on tribal grounds making for a great powwow season in the state. Come visit and sit a spell. We’ll fix you some good sweet tea in the hot summers and sit on the porch and tell stories!
Yeah even when he started talking about the weather I was pretty impressed lol "it basically has every type of weather but not a whole lot of any specific type" yeah thats pretty accurate
Baltimore and St. Louis are also not in any counties. I don't know if they still have it, but the Chesapeake Bay Bridge used to have a service where people who are afraid of driving over water can get in touch with somebody who will drive your car over the bridge. I worked with a woman who used it every time she went that way.
Those 133 “counties” you mention include the 38 independent cities. So there are technically only 95 counties in Virginia. Baltimore, MD is also an independent city, completely surrounded by Baltimore County
Not Bristol VA, but Marion VA is the home of the dew. And Bristol TN not the VA side of the state line, has a claim (along with Johnson City TN) as the home of country music.
Interesting choice of state, Kyle. I live one state below Virginia in North Carolina and I've only been up there once, it was for a job interview in Manassas. Really dig these style of videos, keep up the informative work! I recommend your channel every chance I get
I did a video comparing the Southern states (which included NC) and a "VS. video" of Georgia vs. NC. These videos about individual states are going to cover the ones I haven't discussed as much in other videos.
Lived in Loudoun County my entire life. Very proud of my state, extremely pretty landscape. Love the colonial vibe of Fairfax area, plus more small town places. Great state that I'm proud to call home
Same feeling here! I bought my first home in Loudoun nearly 30 years ago, and I got grief for being so far out. Now those same people live even further west than me due to the greatness of this county. Fantastic for housing investment(s) too.
Roanoke and Blacksburg are 2 different metro areas that sit in close proximity, Roanoke City and Roanoke County form it's own metro of 350,000 people and metro Blacksburg is around 200,000, but if you look at the 460 corridor around Roanoke, from Blacksburg to Lynchburg, it's closer to 750,000 in a smaller area than any other metro in Va.
To answer your question about the tunnels in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.. since the Bay is the entrance to not only a major port,and especially the Naval Base in Norfolk, there was the fear that if a full bridge were bombed, it would block the transit of naval vessels. The bridge tunnel opened in April,1964, and the parallel span in 1999., but used the existing 2-lane tunnels.
St. Louis, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland are also independent cities. In terms of physiography, I would have divided the mountainous part of Virginia into the Appalachian Plateau, the Valley and Ridge, and the Blue Ridge. I really enjoyed this presentation, and I look forward to viewing more of your videos.
Its 41 independent cities in the country you are correct St Louis Baltimore and it's a small town in Nevada are the only ones that's outside of Virginia
This channel is fantastic. I'm from Connecticut, went to school in Boston, and live in Florida. I always have had a sort of prejudiced view of anywhere even remotely "southern," but it does wonders making me want to explore.
"To be a Virginian, either by birth, marriage, adoption, or even on one's mother's sideis an introduction to any state in the Union, a passport to any foreign country and a benediction from the Almighty God." I don't know who wrote that but they are right i will attest to it.. Virginia is the Mother of Presidents. This state has weathered the great storms that have built Colonies from wilderness & other nations wars against them, suffered the long birth pangs of a nation and offered up her sons & daughters to fight in wars both foreign & domestic. There is almost as many layers of history here in Virginia as there are in Europe over the last 600 years or so and new levels to that history being found every year. We were the refuge of the English Civil War & of the Cavaliers, For centuries Virginia has given dweller to the refugee of foreign lands and Virginians continues to struggle to remember,honor & mitigate its past. Texas may be bigger but Virginia has been & still is, more & longer cultured, refined, and industrious. As you can tell I'm a Virginian and damn proud of it.
Heeeeeyyyyyy, you said Portsmouth right! A musician you forgot to mention was Pharrell Williams but I think you're very well informed about Virginia and I loved the video. Although I'm well aware of my home state, I guess I was here to see if you'd get things right and I think you did an amazing job compared to others!
The reason for the tunnel sections of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was the insistence of the U.S. Navy to eliminate the threat of a potential blockage of our ships entering or leaving the naval base within the bay area. No matter how high a bridge the potential that it could be destroyed by an enemy and having the debris block our warships was unacceptable to the navy.
More information from a Virginian: The Blue Ridge mountains are called that because of the atmospheric lighting, and they’re older than the Rocky Mountains, which are formed tectonically. You can go into Luray Caverns in western VA and see the slow, methodical formation over a billion years or something. There were never any dinosaur bones found in there, anyway. The caverns here predate dinosaurs. Virginia was also a heated battleground in the two domestic wars. Of course Richmond being the capital of the confederacy… Fun story, a man by the name of McLean saw the Civil War break out on his property in Manassas, so he packed his belongings and moved to Appomattox. A few years later, he would witness the end of the war firsthand in his own parlor.
Virginia--The Mother of States and The Mother of Presidents. No state in the U.S. has a better combination of scenic beauty and history. It is the garden spot of America!
Jeez, you didn't mention musicians Wayne Newton and Pharrel Williams, you did mention one member of the Carter family, there are more. The interesting thing about some of the counties is that they were English Counties before the American Revolution Fairfax County was founded in June of 1742. One other fun fact, in the far end of VA at the Cumberland Gap, you're closer to nine other state capitols than you are to Richmond, VA.
I only got about 7 minutes into your video before I felt I had to correct you on a couple of things. First, the Norfolk / Virginia Beach Metro is not wholly inside the State of VA. There is a southern portion of the metro that extends into northeastern N.C. Second, the Jamestown colony was the first permanent English settlement in North America. In your video you stated it failed; however, Jamestown did not fail. I don't know if you might have confused it with the Roanoke Colony in North Carolina.
YOOOO! I was raised in Tidewater and knew that cities are independent, but I never realized we're the only grouping of cities together in Virginia. That makes sense why we say 'the 7 cities' sometimes now. Boy Edit: we have so many bridge-tunnels because of the Navy Edit edit: Northern Virginia and Tidewater have an additional 0.7% sales tax on top of the state sales tax of 5.3%. We pay 6% to pay for our extra infrastructures needs.
There are two tunnels in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Those are to provide two ship areas for ocean-bound ships. Some freighters will come down from larger ports in Baltimore and Philadelphia, and they often line up to enter the open ocean.
I’m from New Jersey, this and Florida are the only states I’ve actually vacationed to, I went to the Shannondoah valley, the town was called masanutin. It was one of the prettiest sights I’ve ever seen. Both were amazing but the views were much nicer in Virginia.
As someone that lives in nova I gotta say that going south/west makes it feel like such a different state. I don't even live deep in nova (fairfax/loudon) but the contrast is night and day
Everything to the west of the highway is pretty much more like West Virginia the state. If you’re from nova, and go to Richmond it’s very different, and then if you go to the Hampton roads it’s a different vibe as well. I’d say the state feels like 3 different states to me
I've never lived in Tidewater (I grew up in Northern Virginia and have lived in the northern Shenandoah Valley for 23 years), but an old friend was from Virginia Beach and according to him, Norfolk had a silent "r" and "l" and the second "o" was pronounced like a "u" -- I won't explicitly spell out the pronunciation on that, but there was a joke related to the numerous lonely wives of absent sailors'.
Oh I forgot to mention that the largest section of the AT winds through Virginia, and on that note an idea if you haven't done so is to do a video on the Appalachian Trail!
Born outside of D.C. and I currently live in the Shenandoah Valley. I literally geeked out when you mentioned familiar facts and places about Virginia. I was interested in seeing you say more about the southwestern portion of the state, but I can just watch the Geographic Profile of West Virginia instead.
Brunswick stew originated in Brunswick County. No matter what Brunswick GA says... they’re wrong. Grew up next door to Brunswick County and always love going home in the fall/winter and scoring some Red Oak Brunswick Stew! Yum!!!
As a resident of Greensville county, I completely agree. I was kind of shocked it wasn’t mentioned in this video, especially after showing an image of stew.
One interesting thing I've heard about places in the middle of the east coast states is that companies move there to save money on shipping..an example would be Burts bees moving from Maine to North Carolina to put them in the middle of the country and populations simply to save money on shipping
With the tunneled bridge it means finite water draft and infinite air draft- another place that does this is the Copenhagen-Malmo connection, both are near where either the Chesapeake or the Baltic mean the world ocean, and by having an infinite air draft it means the ports that would otherwise be blocked by this bridge near have to concern themselves with height, well at least not on a bridge they can’t necessarily control like Baltimore can’t force Virginia to alter the height of its bridge and St. Petersburg can’t force Denmark to change its bridge.
One thing interesting historical fact about Virginia is it could be the largest US State, but it donated a huge chunk of land to the union after it was formed for the use of territory to form new States from. Look up "the Northwest Territory". Today it makes up I think 6 or 7 States.
At 7:31, you included a photo of the twin spans of the William Preston Lane Memorial Bridge, better known as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which spans from Annapolis MD on the western shore to Stevensville MD on the eastern shore. I think you were meaning to include an image of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
Many, if not most, cities and counties have an added tax for food purchased at restaurants that are in the 4-6.5 range. (Although the state tax on food bought in grocery stores is only taxed at 2.5%)
In college towns and resort towns, the prepared meals tax (added to other taxes) can be as high as 11%. Thousands of residents using roads but not paying property tax calls for higher taxes on the services they use.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge- Tunnel (not to be confused with the Bay Bridge which is in Maryland) was built like it is for national security. The fear was that, if the entirety was a continuous bridge, a bombing from an enemy could render the bay unnavigable. Since the bay houses the US Naval Shipyards this would have been a terrible situation.
And no mention of Franklin County, the "Moonshine Capital of the World". As usual, North Virginia and East Virginia always gets the lions share of the ink. While the Appalachian/Blue Ridge region always gets poked fun of. Living here next to North Carolina and Tennessee I'm happy where I'm at.
The reasons for the tunnel on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, and other tunnels in the hampton roads area is for the navy ships from Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world, can safely get in and out of the bay without the fear of a collapsed bridge during times of war. A tunnel when destroyed is not as much as an obstacle as a bridge
@@martianmurray that's a scary thought, especially when you see water dripping down the walls!
I live in Norfolk.
Ah yes, those damn bridge tunnels that every driver in Hampton Roads fears
The first picture he showed was not the bridge with the tunnle. There's the bay bridge and there's bay bridge tunnle and they are no where near eachother
@@nielsvanlonden301 and its in maryland
I’ve lived in VA my whole life so I love to see you talking about it! It’s funny to see an outsiders perspective on all the places that feel like home to me
Same here !! Arlington to Richmond now
I have lived in Virginia for 3 years soon to be 4
NNK peninsula lmao for the past 20 years
540 Shenandoah Valley ✊🏼
@@hectorvargas4771 same westmoreland county be sure to let coke know i want my damn ginger ale back
Your channel is underrated. Brilliant stuff man
Thank you!
The bat sticker!!!! Fellow caver here, it’s one of the best parts about living in Virginia ^.^
Love your nerdy channel! I have lived in VA for over 30 years. I would like to mention that 1) Pharrell, who is quite a famous recording artist is also from Virginia Beach, 2) that William & Mary is the second oldest university in the country I believe; 3) Virginia has one of the most interesting state mottos on its seal, which is unfortunately also famous for what JWB shouted when he assassinated President Lincoln; and Virginia is a Commonwealth, which is a bit different from a state. Not sure how that is different, but I believe that there are three states that are considered Commonwealths and that there is something unique about them.
We’re also home to Amazon’s 2nd headquarter, Nestle, Xerox, USA Today, Five Guys, Car Max, Booz Allen, Freddie Mac, the FBI, Rolls-Royce, Volkswagen, and A LOT more.
Yeah, I was disappointed he didn’t mention Quantico/FBI/Marine Corps, also Volkswagen NA. Can’t have everything.
Amongst Roslyn, Ballston, Tysons and Reston/Dulles Tech Corridor there are so many corporate HQs
AOL
That’s it?
Airbus, Sprint, Capital One, Geico, Verisign, Altria, Hilton, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Dollar Tree, Mars Candy, Advanced Auto Parts, SAIC, The Salvation Army, CACI, Homeland Security, NASA, TSA, CIA, DEA, INS, NSF, FDIC, US Patent Office, USGS, US Fish & Wildlife, Rosetta Stone, Strayer University, E*Trade, Accenture, DynCorp, Motley Fool, Politico, Bloomberg, PBS, Washington Business Journal, The NRA, Lumber Liquidators, Custom Ink, Circuit City, Liberty Tax, Smithfield Foods, Dominion Energy, Sunrise Senior Living, Busch Gardens
The Bay Bridge-Tunnel was built that way at the bequest of the US Navy. They were fearing that a bridge across the entrance of the Hampton Roads would be able to be blown up by the enemy to effectively blockade our largest Naval facility. They insisted on the much more complex and expensive design that you see now.
One aspect of our agricultural business you missed on was our booming Wine and Beer production industry. The wine industry was originally started by Thomas Jefferson, who tried to grow his own grapes at Monticello. There's still a winery on those very same grounds to this day! If you're a fan of great Wine, Beer and distilled spirits, Virginia is definitely a great destination.
Yup, something like 70+ wineries and breweries here in Loudoun county alone.
If you spot a bumper sticker telling you to "Get Naked," read the fine print -- it advertises a winery off Interstate-66 about 50 miles west of Washington, D.C.
@@pablohammerly448 It's a very pretty little winery.
That snowfall outlook map seems very ambitious - Northern Virginia had *maybe* an inch or two that year
We’ve also had years in Loudoun where we topped 60 inches from just 3 or 4 storms - nearly always nor’easters.
There's a lot of variation. We haven't had much last couple of years, but there have been other years when we have approached New England-like totals to the west of DC.
It seems you haven't been in NoVa very long
@@jobwesleycoxjr5103 I am in my 13th year here. I have been thru Snowmageddon and the rest
@@bjdon99 even near Richmond we had well over a foot of snow during snowmaggedon
You’d forgot peanuts! The first commercial peanut crop was grown near Wakefield, and peanuts are grown a lot in Southside. Suffolk was considered the Peanut Capitol of the World. Planters was based there until bought out.
I work at Planters at the moment
Fun bar bet to win: Ewing, Virginia (the last named community before the Cumberland Gap) is actually further west than Detroit, Michigan. It's also further west than any part of West Virginia.
Ewing is closer to the state Capitols of WV, KY, TN, GA, OH, NC, SC and AL than it is to Richmond.
I lived in Ewing for 12 years. 1995-2007. Yes, it is further west than Detriot. Moving there from Fredericksburg was like going in the Way Back machine. They still had party-line telephones, no internet, no cell phone towers. Schools were using 1970's teaching techniques (which thankfully advanced when the state standardized curriculum). The income statistics were exactly opposite of Fredericksburg. In Fredericksburg only 10% of public school children were on public assistance and qualified for free/reduced cost school lunch. In Ewing, 90% of students were on public assistance and qualified for free/reduced lunch. There were lots of kids in Lee County who had no shoes, and food/housing issues. It was definitely a culture shock.
It is so far west that the people make Kentucky jokes instead of West Virginia jokes.
@@davidstoyanoff They're fortunate enough to be able to enjoy both Kentucky AND Tennessee jokes. Everyone in VA is allowed, even encouraged, to make West Virginia jokes.
Been through Ewing several times. Spent a ton of time in Pennington Gap.
Just moved to the SW part of Virginia from Georgia. I'm surprised you didn't mention a couple of features of this area: The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Galax Fiddler's Convention. Lots of great bluegrass and mountain music here as well as spectacular scenery.
Abington
Shenandoah Valley Music Festival in Orkney Springs. Every summer at least one concert!
Agreed. The mountains are wonderful. Sometimes it's nice to have a 25 mile drive to Walmart.
I lived in Galax . Trust me there are too many things in VA that overshadow the Fiddlers Convention.
Virginia native here. You nailed it! Great job! I love VA!
Virginia is also home to Fort Lee, Fort Belvoir, Fort Meyer, The Radford Ammunition Plant where they make all of the rocket fuel, and of course; Marine Corps Base Quantico where Marine Corps OCS and the FBI training center are.
Glad you said it! Exactly what I was thinking when he was listing the Military installations.
I’ve lived in VA my whole life and I liked this video. Great job
I love my state!
Same
I hate my state but mostly because the state forgets we are alive down here xD
Bro it fuckin sucks here
Me too!
@@demolition_lovers then move
As a Virginian who lives by the beach, I would HIGHLY recomend you visit the beaches along the eastern shore over the ones in Hampton roads. There are some cute small towns there and the sand is really soft. Virginia beach is nice, I live there, but the eastern shore is nicer.
Can you name some of the cute little towns that you would recommend to visit?
@@MultiKiralove Cape Charles is the only one I've stayed in extensively, but there's also Onancock and Chincoteague(known for their wild horses)
@@3bellam thank you for your answer :)
For those thinking it Lynchburg is named after it's founder John Lynch and not the term, if fact the city dates back before the term was even used.
But the word lynch comes from his brother, who lynched loyalists during the revolution.
@@vector9511 that does change anything I said
No, the term does not come even from his brother. While the origin of the term "lynching" is very murky, it appears even to predate the founding of Lynchburg and may come from Ireland where the name of Lynch is very common. A lord over there actually hung someone (his son) after a swift trial. John Lynch''s brother held a trial during the Revolutionary War accusing neighbors of being Royalists. No one recorded the penalty imposed, but no record of hanging exists. Seems like that would have made an impact and been recorded somewhere.
@@vector9511 Probably not true. See my comment below.
I was born and raised in the "city" of Newport News, in the Hampton Roads or "Tidewater" area. Home of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company! Makers of fine air craft carriers and submarines. I waited for you to mention it in the the military contractors.
My sister lives in Virginia Beach.
The headquarters for Volkswagen USA is located in Herndon Va
Along with sub-brand Audi; the US HQ for Rolls Royce is at Reston Town Center
I live 5 minutes from there
Dear Kyle, I moved to Roanoke in 1980 at the age of 5. In all those years since, I’ve never known it to be even remotely “hillbilly backwater”. It was a great place to grow up!
I 💓 my state, with me living in the city of Roanoke you have some cool activities to do, also the city looks beautiful at night, especially if you're looking down on it from Mill Mountain. Valley View Mall is pretty decent too. Also the mountains that surround the city, especially in Fall, it looks beautiful. The leaves turning yellow and orange, it always looks nice.
Thumbs up for correctly pronouncing “Appalachian”
you say tomato...
@@googoo-gjoob Yes, we say tomato, and you say it wrong.
@@C.R.W , i enjoy your bravado, though ill-founded.
Apple Chain
Well he mispronounces "niche".
I live in southwest Virginia and it's beautiful here. There's not many good jobs but it's a nice quiet place to live.
Is Roanoke really as bad as a lot of people say it is?
@@JoeyDNetsfan It really depends on where you're at in Roanoke.
I've ligit lived in Virginia my entire life and never knew before today that we were the only state that separates counties from cities...I thought that was just normal.
Excellent video! If memory serves, I remember growing up we were taught that there were three geographic regions- Tidewater, Piedmont, and Valley and Ridge. Nowadays kids are taught that there are five. They added the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Plateau. Love my Commonwealth!
I think you did fairly well in describing Virginia, at least just touching the surface. As a Virginian, I can say Virginia is a fascinating State. The diversity of geography here & weather is so unique that it's hard to quantify it all in one short video. The furthest north in the South means a few alligators along with a small maple syrup industry. Unbelievable natural coastlines & mountain scenery too. Amazing Cypress swamps & rugged Blue Ridge highlands. Peanuts, tobacco, even cotton grow here in my State. The seafood is spectacular & the wildlife along the mountains of Appalachia is impressive. Elk, wild Boar, Bobcats, Deer... wild critters abound here! I live in the southern Shenandoah Valley where our mountain sightlines are incredibly beautiful. You left out the Valley in your geographic profile but that's ok. We here like to keep our gorgeous area in the southern Valley as the best kept secret in Virginia. We're still deep South in mannerisms & symbols here. I mean that in all ways good!!! Thanks for a nice video about my Virginia.
A few things to point out about the state:
There aren't any alligators in Virginia. They can be found in multiple places in North Carolina, including Merchants Millpond State Park, which is near the NC/VA border, but there aren't any that have migrated across the state border into Virginia...yet.
A cool place you left out is the Birch Knob tower. On a clear day atop of the mountain, you can view Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Ohio all from the same spot.
There are multiple great beaches to visit. With there being three peninsulas along the coast, it makes for some pretty great spots.
The reason for the Hampton Roads Bridge turning into a tunnel is because the naval base located there in Norfolk is the biggest of any in the world. The warships are absolutely massive and can be seen in port from the bridge itself. It's in incredible view.
Though for the most time the climate is somewhat mild, there are definitive peaks during the mid seasons. You can find yourself with -5° days in the winter along with 115° heat index days in the Summer...combine that heat with 100% humidity due to the swamps and you're in for a hot and sticky time.
I appreciate the info! I think I read somewhere about alligator sightings in the Great Dismal Swamp but I'm not sure if it as a one time outlier or a reputable source.
@@GeographyKing I had actually just read online that there were indeed alligators in the Great Dismal Swamp! Unfortunately mass hunting led to the decline of population in the area, but it appears soon that they will once again return. Also I love the channel.
Naw what else you got to say?
Love VA! Listening to a crazy summer thunderstorm. So green and hilly. Please don’t move here! 😊
I see people are already mentioning the reason for the tunnels under the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. A few other corrections/comments:
Jamestown did not fail as a colony. Although it was eventually abandoned, it was done so as people moved to other towns nearby, like Williamsburg. It was still the first permanent settlement by the English in the new world (predating Plymouth Rock by 13 years) and directly lead to the formation of Virginia as a state through the efforts of the Virginia company prior to the revolution.
The "Chesapeake Bay Bridge" carries US 50 between Annapolis, MD and Maryland's portion of the DelMarVa peninsula over a narrow portion of the bay. The "Chesapeake Bay Bridge _Tunnel_" carries US 13 between Virginia Beach, VA and Virginia's potion of the peninsula over the mouth of the bay.
Virginia does has professional sports teams, such as the Richmond Flying Squirrels and Norfolk Tides MiLB baseball teams. It just doesn't have any "major" professional sports teams.
Speaking of sports, although Virginia doesn't have any major teams, it does have 2 racetracks that host a total of 4 races on the NASCAR cup series (currently the "Monster Energy Cup") and is home to Wood Brothers Racing, one of the oldest still active teams in NASCAR. There is also a drag strip that has kind of an on again, off again relationship with the NHRA's top series.
On the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the routes are US 50/US 301 concurrent.
underrated state. has it all and is in a good location
*overrated
@@zack_7944 why don’t you like it?
Recently discovered your channel. Really love your content. Binge-worthy for geography enthusiasts! I will eagerly look forward to seeing more and following along!
Thank you! Welcome to the channel!
Wow, thanks for the beautiful presentation on VA. I have always like living in VA, yet I still have a lot to learn beyond NOVA area and Richmond.
Born and bred. Although to me the winters are cold it really is a moderate place to live. Sure it’s hot and humid, especially in coastal VA where I live, but, not unmanageable. Quick drive to DC, the mountains, the ocean. Whatever you want we have it! Even cold weather tolerant palm trees! History abounds with National Parks in Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown in the east and the beautiful Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway to the west. Visit Chincoteaque to see where “Misty of Chincoteaque” came from. Pony roundup yearly to benefit the fire department and keep the ponies going on the islands. We all wanted “Misty” as kids! Several First Nations tribes live here on tribal grounds making for a great powwow season in the state. Come visit and sit a spell. We’ll fix you some good sweet tea in the hot summers and sit on the porch and tell stories!
Great video! I thought it would be boring, but you presented the information in an interesting way.
Native Virginian here and I feel like you know us too well. Are you reading our emails?
Yeah even when he started talking about the weather I was pretty impressed lol "it basically has every type of weather but not a whole lot of any specific type" yeah thats pretty accurate
Baltimore and St. Louis are also not in any counties.
I don't know if they still have it, but the Chesapeake Bay Bridge used to have a service where people who are afraid of driving over water can get in touch with somebody who will drive your car over the bridge. I worked with a woman who used it every time she went that way.
This is best break down of Virginia I’ve ever seen. I’ve really enjoyed being a Virginia native.
Kyle, I can't believe you're calling anybody nerdy. Love your Channel man
Those 133 “counties” you mention include the 38 independent cities. So there are technically only 95 counties in Virginia. Baltimore, MD is also an independent city, completely surrounded by Baltimore County
Lamb of God, my favorite band, is also from Richmond. 🤘🤘🤘
Amazon HQ2 is headquartered in Virginia now as well
Fun fact: country music started in Bristol Virginia. Mountain dew was also invented here.
Not Bristol VA, but Marion VA is the home of the dew. And Bristol TN not the VA side of the state line, has a claim (along with Johnson City TN) as the home of country music.
And Bristol Tennessee lol
@@lominoodles1122 What do yall think about the big casino we're getting
@@bjdon99 i made a mistake with Mountain Dew, but I'm pretty sure it's the Virginia side that has claim to country music
@@TheSerdman never been a hugh fan of casinos, but I will probably go in to look around when it opens. Same with the Danville casino
Interesting choice of state, Kyle. I live one state below Virginia in North Carolina and I've only been up there once, it was for a job interview in Manassas. Really dig these style of videos, keep up the informative work! I recommend your channel every chance I get
Did he do North Carolina?
Little Ray not yet. he’s done a NC vs. GA comparison though. it was good
Thanks man. I enjoy doing these videos and trying to cover as much as possible. I really appreciate the support!
I did a video comparing the Southern states (which included NC) and a "VS. video" of Georgia vs. NC. These videos about individual states are going to cover the ones I haven't discussed as much in other videos.
Manassas? I live in Manassas
What!????! You mentioned Missy without Tim? Neptunes? Bubba Chuck, L.T., Bruce Smith, and the list goes on.😂😂😂
Great videos! Liked & Sub'd!😎
one of 4 states that calls itself a Commonwealth, from before the American Revolution
also 4000+ known caves
Lived in Loudoun County my entire life. Very proud of my state, extremely pretty landscape. Love the colonial vibe of Fairfax area, plus more small town places. Great state that I'm proud to call home
Same feeling here! I bought my first home in Loudoun nearly 30 years ago, and I got grief for being so far out. Now those same people live even further west than me due to the greatness of this county. Fantastic for housing investment(s) too.
I live in Pulaski county, in the south west. The arsenal is in this county and it is, i believe, the only federal munitions plant.
Roanoke and Blacksburg are 2 different metro areas that sit in close proximity, Roanoke City and Roanoke County form it's own metro of 350,000 people and metro Blacksburg is around 200,000, but if you look at the 460 corridor around Roanoke, from Blacksburg to Lynchburg, it's closer to 750,000 in a smaller area than any other metro in Va.
To answer your question about the tunnels in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.. since the Bay is the entrance to not only a major port,and especially the Naval Base in Norfolk, there was the fear that if a full bridge were bombed, it would block the transit of naval vessels. The bridge tunnel opened in April,1964, and the parallel span in 1999., but used the existing 2-lane tunnels.
Another great video Kyle! Loved yore review, and even including Gwar?! You have officially crushed it, bravo🚀 🤪👍!!!
Thank you!
We also make aircraft carriers and submarines!
Great video. Considering changing scenery.
St. Louis, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland are also independent cities. In terms of physiography, I would have divided the mountainous part of Virginia into the Appalachian Plateau, the Valley and Ridge, and the Blue Ridge. I really enjoyed this presentation, and I look forward to viewing more of your videos.
Its 41 independent cities in the country you are correct St Louis Baltimore and it's a small town in Nevada are the only ones that's outside of Virginia
This channel is fantastic. I'm from Connecticut, went to school in Boston, and live in Florida. I always have had a sort of prejudiced view of anywhere even remotely "southern," but it does wonders making me want to explore.
"To be a Virginian, either by birth, marriage, adoption, or even on one's mother's sideis an introduction to any state in the Union, a passport to any foreign country and a benediction from the Almighty God." I don't know who wrote that but they are right i will attest to it.. Virginia is the Mother of Presidents. This state has weathered the great storms that have built Colonies from wilderness & other nations wars against them, suffered the long birth pangs of a nation and offered up her sons & daughters to fight in wars both foreign & domestic. There is almost as many layers of history here in Virginia as there are in Europe over the last 600 years or so and new levels to that history being found every year. We were the refuge of the English Civil War & of the Cavaliers, For centuries Virginia has given dweller to the refugee of foreign lands and Virginians continues to struggle to remember,honor & mitigate its past. Texas may be bigger but Virginia has been & still is, more & longer cultured, refined, and industrious.
As you can tell I'm a Virginian and damn proud of it.
Too bad they were on the Confederate side.
Heeeeeyyyyyy, you said Portsmouth right! A musician you forgot to mention was Pharrell Williams but I think you're very well informed about Virginia and I loved the video. Although I'm well aware of my home state, I guess I was here to see if you'd get things right and I think you did an amazing job compared to others!
Considering moving to Virginia next year, thanks for the insight!
Fort Belvoir where I went to AIT is also in Virginia.
Redskins park is in VA
Sandbridge beach which is south of VA beach is very nice, nicer than the outer banks in my opinion. Not very well known, worth looking into.
Assuming the road's not flooded out when you try to go.
The most underrated state in the country. Love my beautiful state of Virginia.
Virginia native and current resident also love your channel.
Beautiful world posters in the background
Very cool stuff man, thanks for the content
I really enjoy your broadcast. Keep it coming to us geo nerds!
The reason for the tunnel sections of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was the insistence of the U.S. Navy to eliminate the threat of a potential blockage of our ships entering or leaving the naval base within the bay area. No matter how high a bridge the potential that it could be destroyed by an enemy and having the debris block our warships was unacceptable to the navy.
More information from a Virginian:
The Blue Ridge mountains are called that because of the atmospheric lighting, and they’re older than the Rocky Mountains, which are formed tectonically.
You can go into Luray Caverns in western VA and see the slow, methodical formation over a billion years or something. There were never any dinosaur bones found in there, anyway. The caverns here predate dinosaurs.
Virginia was also a heated battleground in the two domestic wars. Of course Richmond being the capital of the confederacy…
Fun story, a man by the name of McLean saw the Civil War break out on his property in Manassas, so he packed his belongings and moved to Appomattox. A few years later, he would witness the end of the war firsthand in his own parlor.
Virginia--The Mother of States and The Mother of Presidents. No state in the U.S. has a better combination of scenic beauty and history. It is the garden spot of America!
Jeez, you didn't mention musicians Wayne Newton and Pharrel Williams, you did mention one member of the Carter family, there are more. The interesting thing about some of the counties is that they were English Counties before the American Revolution Fairfax County was founded in June of 1742. One other fun fact, in the far end of VA at the Cumberland Gap, you're closer to nine other state capitols than you are to Richmond, VA.
I only got about 7 minutes into your video before I felt I had to correct you on a couple of things. First, the Norfolk / Virginia Beach Metro is not wholly inside the State of VA. There is a southern portion of the metro that extends into northeastern N.C. Second, the Jamestown colony was the first permanent English settlement in North America. In your video you stated it failed; however, Jamestown did not fail. I don't know if you might have confused it with the Roanoke Colony in North Carolina.
Norfolk/Virginia Beach native. I miss it there.
YOOOO! I was raised in Tidewater and knew that cities are independent, but I never realized we're the only grouping of cities together in Virginia. That makes sense why we say 'the 7 cities' sometimes now. Boy
Edit: we have so many bridge-tunnels because of the Navy
Edit edit: Northern Virginia and Tidewater have an additional 0.7% sales tax on top of the state sales tax of 5.3%. We pay 6% to pay for our extra infrastructures needs.
There are two tunnels in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Those are to provide two ship areas for ocean-bound ships. Some freighters will come down from larger ports in Baltimore and Philadelphia, and they often line up to enter the open ocean.
I’m from New Jersey, this and Florida are the only states I’ve actually vacationed to, I went to the Shannondoah valley, the town was called masanutin. It was one of the prettiest sights I’ve ever seen. Both were amazing but the views were much nicer in Virginia.
Lots of haunted places in Va., including the state capital and civil war battlefield sites. Probably one of the most haunted states.
I love visiting Virginia, especially near DC or Virginia Beach.
Another cool thing in VA is the Wallops Flight Facility where you can camp out and watch rocket launches.
Great vid! Two omissions:
Va. is also home to the largest tobacco company, Phillip Morris.
And in music, it is also the home of Pharrell Williams.
From Front Royal and enjoyed the video man :)
If you get bored I would love to see an update version of this
As someone that lives in nova I gotta say that going south/west makes it feel like such a different state. I don't even live deep in nova (fairfax/loudon) but the contrast is night and day
Everything to the west of the highway is pretty much more like West Virginia the state. If you’re from nova, and go to Richmond it’s very different, and then if you go to the Hampton roads it’s a different vibe as well. I’d say the state feels like 3 different states to me
Yeah it is very different but beautiful
Norfolk is actually the largest naval base on Earth, not just the country. Fun fact
Kudos GK: you pronounced NEW-purt NEWS and NOR-fuk just like a native.
I've never lived in Tidewater (I grew up in Northern Virginia and have lived in the northern Shenandoah Valley for 23 years), but an old friend was from Virginia Beach and according to him, Norfolk had a silent "r" and "l" and the second "o" was pronounced like a "u" -- I won't explicitly spell out the pronunciation on that, but there was a joke related to the numerous lonely wives of absent sailors'.
Oh I forgot to mention that the largest section of the AT winds through Virginia, and on that note an idea if you haven't done so is to do a video on the Appalachian Trail!
Born outside of D.C. and I currently live in the Shenandoah Valley. I literally geeked out when you mentioned familiar facts and places about Virginia. I was interested in seeing you say more about the southwestern portion of the state, but I can just watch the Geographic Profile of West Virginia instead.
Brunswick stew originated in Brunswick County. No matter what Brunswick GA says... they’re wrong. Grew up next door to Brunswick County and always love going home in the fall/winter and scoring some Red Oak Brunswick Stew! Yum!!!
As a resident of Greensville county, I completely agree. I was kind of shocked it wasn’t mentioned in this video, especially after showing an image of stew.
Brunswick Stew originated in Virginia!
One interesting thing I've heard about places in the middle of the east coast states is that companies move there to save money on shipping..an example would be Burts bees moving from Maine to North Carolina to put them in the middle of the country and populations simply to save money on shipping
Pretty good! You didn't mention Hanover tomatoes!
Born and raised. Love it here!
With the tunneled bridge it means finite water draft and infinite air draft- another place that does this is the Copenhagen-Malmo connection, both are near where either the Chesapeake or the Baltic mean the world ocean, and by having an infinite air draft it means the ports that would otherwise be blocked by this bridge near have to concern themselves with height, well at least not on a bridge they can’t necessarily control like Baltimore can’t force Virginia to alter the height of its bridge and St. Petersburg can’t force Denmark to change its bridge.
One thing interesting historical fact about Virginia is it could be the largest US State, but it donated a huge chunk of land to the union after it was formed for the use of territory to form new States from. Look up "the Northwest Territory". Today it makes up I think 6 or 7 States.
Dont forget that Five Guys is headquartered in Fairfax County too!
Thank you for your video. I'd like to live in Virginia somewhere near the Appalachian mountains because of the most beautiful fall in the World (:
At 7:31, you included a photo of the twin spans of the William Preston Lane Memorial Bridge, better known as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which spans from Annapolis MD on the western shore to Stevensville MD on the eastern shore. I think you were meaning to include an image of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
Virginia’s a cool state. Your vids are nice man.
Many, if not most, cities and counties have an added tax for food purchased at restaurants that are in the 4-6.5 range. (Although the state tax on food bought in grocery stores is only taxed at 2.5%)
In college towns and resort towns, the prepared meals tax (added to other taxes) can be as high as 11%. Thousands of residents using roads but not paying property tax calls for higher taxes on the services they use.
Thanks, this was really informative!
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge- Tunnel (not to be confused with the Bay Bridge which is in Maryland) was built like it is for national security. The fear was that, if the entirety was a continuous bridge, a bombing from an enemy could render the bay unnavigable. Since the bay houses the US Naval Shipyards this would have been a terrible situation.
And no mention of Franklin County, the "Moonshine Capital of the World". As usual, North Virginia and East Virginia always gets the lions share of the ink. While the Appalachian/Blue Ridge region always gets poked fun of. Living here next to North Carolina and Tennessee I'm happy where I'm at.