Shenandoah Valley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Shenandoah Valley region of western Virginia and West Virginia is bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian and Allegheny Plateaus to the west. It is located within the Ridge and Valley region and is a portion of the Great Appalachian Valley.
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[edit] Geography
Named for the Shenandoah River, which stretches much of its length, the Shenandoah Valley encompasses seven counties in Virginia (Frederick County, Clarke County, Warren County, Shenandoah County, Page County, Rockingham County, and Augusta County) as well as two counties in West Virginia (Berkeley County and Jefferson County). Between Roanoke in the south and Harpers Ferry in the north, where the Shenandoah River joins the Potomac, the Valley contains municipalities of various sizes like Staunton, Harrisonburg, Winchester, Lexington, Waynesboro, and Front Royal. The northern section of the Shenandoah Valley is split in half by Massanutten Mountain range.
[edit] History
The word Shenandoah was derived from a Native American expression for "Beautiful Daughter of the Stars." The Valley Pike (or Valley Turnpike) began as a migratory trail for tribes such as the Delaware and Catawba and became the major thoroughfare of wagons and in time, motor vehicles. By the 20th century, the Valley Turnpike was a toll road, eventually being acquired by the Commonwealth of Virginia and becoming U.S. Highway 11. For much of the length, the newer Interstate 81 parallels the old Valley Pike.
The Shenandoah Valley is a productive agricultural region. Despite the great promise of the rich farmland of the Valley, the Blue Ridge Mountains, crossed by Governor Alexander Spotswood's legendary Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition at Swift Run Gap in 1716, were a major obstacle to colonial expansion from the east. Instead, the Valley was first settled by German and then by Scots-Irish immigrants from Pennsylvania in the 1730s. The former were known as "Shenandoah Deitsch." Both stocks came south into the Valley from the Potomac River, in contrast to the largely English settlement of the Virginia Tidewater and Piedmont regions.
The Shenandoah Valley was known as the breadbasket of the Confederacy during the American Civil War and as such, was major site of battle between Union and Confederate forces. It is also the location of the Shenandoah Valley American Viticultural Area.
[edit] See also
- 2003 Virginia earthquake
- Bridgewater College
- Buena Vista, Virginia
- Cave Ridge Vineyard
- Christendom College
- Eastern Mennonite University
- Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia
- James Madison University
- Lexington, Virginia
- Luray Caverns
- Mary Baldwin College
- Natural Bridge (Virginia)
- Shenandoah University
- Southern Virginia University, Virginia
- Valley Baseball League
- Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign
- Valley Campaigns of 1864
- Virginia Military Institute
- Washington and Lee University
[edit] External links
- Shenandoah Valley - Official State Tourism Website
- Visit Shenandoah Website
- Shenandoah Valley Magazine
- Shenandoah Valley Technology Council
- Shenandoah At War, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation
- CivilWarTraveler.com - Virginia's Valley and Mountains
- Valley Conservation Council
pdc:Shenandoah Daal fr:Vallée de Shenandoah ko:세넌도어 계곡 nl:Shenandoah-vallei ja:シェナンドー渓谷 zh:雪倫多亞河谷
