The most northerly of the Southern states, Virginia is roughly
triangular in shape. The small section of the state that, along
with Maryland and Delaware, occupies the Delmarva peninsula
between Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean is separated from
the main part of Virginia and is called the Eastern Shore. The
coastal plain or tidewater region of E Virginia, generally flat
and partly swampy, is cut by four great tidal rivers—the Potomac
(forming most of the border with Maryland and beyond which also
lies Washington, D.C.), the Rappahannock, the York, and the
James—all of which empty into Chesapeake Bay. In the tidewater
region stretch vast forests of pine and hardwood, highlighted in
early spring by flowering redbud and dogwood. In the west the
tidewater region rises to c.300 ft. (90 m) at the fall line
(passing through Richmond) and gives way to the
Piedmont—rolling, generally fertile country that broadens
gradually as it extends south to the North Carolina line. Rising
abruptly in the western Piedmont is