Virginia's Northern Piedmont Region by Ewingjr98
The Piedmont Region of Virginia is a part of the East Coast's greater Piedmont region that stretches from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south, through parts of nine states. The region is on the edge of the Appalachian Mountain, generally between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the "fall line," or areas of rapids or falls that marks the end of the navigable portion of the river from the ocean. Numerous towns grew up along the fall line including Richmond, VA; Trenton, NJ; Wilmington, DE; Baltimore, MD; Georgetown (in Washington DC); Petersburg, VA; Columbia, SC; and Augusta, GA. The US Piedmont region has diverse agriculture including tobacco, orchards, dairy farms, and other types of basic crops.In Virginia, the North and South Piedmont areas are considered by some as distinct regions both geographically and culturally. Virginia's Northern Piedmont stretches from the falls of the Potomac, Rappahannock, and James Rivers to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The region is about 50 miles wide and 100 miles long. At its northern corners are the major cities of Washington, D.C., and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia; on the southern corners, Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia. It encompasses the counties of Loudoun, Fauquier, Prince William, Culpeper, Madison, Greene, Orange, Louisa, Albemarle and Fluvanna in Virginia. This area even has its own dialect called the Virginia Piedmont.
During my drives through the Northern Piedmont Region, I have noticed that the areas closer to the Blue Ridge Mountains tend to be poorer and more hilly, while closer to the ocean is flat and generally more wealthy, particularly nearer to Washington, DC.
