The area now called England has been settled by people of various cultures for about 35,000 years,[9] but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world.[10] The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country’s parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations.[11] The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world’s first industrialised nation.[12] England’s Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science.[13]

England’s terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north (for example, the mountainous Lake District, Pennines, and Yorkshire Dales) and in the south west (for example, Dartmoor and the Cotswolds). London, England’s capital, is the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures.[note 3] England’s population is about 51 million, around 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, and is largely concentrated in London, the South East and conurbations in the Midlands, the North West, the North East and Yorkshire, which developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century. Meadowlands and pastures are found beyond the major cities.

The Kingdom of England—which after 1284 included Wales—was a sovereign state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union put into effect the terms agreed in the Treaty of Union the previous year, resulting in a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain.[14] In 1800, Great Britain was united with Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, the Irish Free State was established as a separate dominion, but the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act in 1927 reincorporated into the kingdom six Irish counties to officially create the current United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Etymology
The name “England” is derived from the Old English name Engla land, which means “land of the Angles”.[15] The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in England during the Early Middle Ages. The Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea.[16] According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of “England” to refer to the southern part of the island of Great Britain occurs in 897, and its modern spelling was first used in 1538.[17]

The earliest attested mention of the name occurs in the 1st century work by Tacitus, Germania, in which the Latin word Anglii is used.[18] The etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars; it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape.[19] How and why a term derived from the name of a tribe that was less significant than others, such as the Saxons, came to be used for the entire country and its people is not known, but it seems this is related to the custom of calling the Germanic people in Britain Angli Saxones or English Saxons.[20]

An alternative name for England is Albion. The name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo:[21] “Beyond the Pillars of Hercules is the ocean that flows round the earth. In it are two very large islands called Britannia; these are Albion and Ierne”.[21] The word Albion (??ß???) or insula Albionum has two possible origins. It either derives from the Latin albus meaning white, a reference to the white cliffs of Dover, which is the first view of Britain from the European Continent.[22] An alternative origin is suggested by the ancient merchant’s handbook Massaliote Periplus, which mentions an “island of the Albiones”.[23] Albion is now applied to England in a more poetic capacity.[24] Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh Lloegr, which is derived from Arthurian legend.

History of England
The oldest proto-human bones discovered in the area date from 700,000 years ago. The discovery, of Homo erectus remains, was made in what is today Norfolk and Suffolk.[25] Modern humans first arrived in the area around 35,000 years ago;[9] but due to the tough conditions of the Last Ice Age, known specifically in this area as the Devensian glaciation,[26] they fled from Britain to the mountains of southern Europe. Only large mammals such as mammoths, bison and woolly rhinoceros remained.[9] Roughly 11,000 years ago, when the ice sheets began to recede, humans repopulated the area; genetic research suggests they came from the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula.[27] The sea level was lower than now, and Britain was connected by land to both Ireland and Eurasia. As the seas rose, it was separated from Ireland 9,000 years ago and from Eurasia half a century later.[28]

Beaker culture arrived around 2500 BC, and the making of food vessels constructed out of clay and copper was introduced.[29] It was during this time that major Neolithic monuments such as Stonehenge and Avebury were constructed. By heating together tin and copper, both of which were in abundance in the area, the Beaker culture people were able to make bronze, and later iron from iron ores. They were able to spin and weave sheep’s wool, from which they made clothing.[29] According to John T. Koch and others, England in the Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-networked culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age that included all of Britain and also Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal where Celtic languages developed with the Tartessian language the first written Celtic language so far discovered.[30][31][32][33][34][35]
Painting of woman, with outstretched arm, in white dress with red cloak and helmet, with other human figures to her right and below her to the left.
Boudica led an uprising against the Roman Empire.

During the Iron Age, Celtic culture, deriving from the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures, arrived from Central Europe. The development of iron smelting allowed the construction of better ploughs, advancing agriculture (for instance, with Celtic fields), as well as the production of more effective weapons.[29] Brythonic was the spoken language during this time. Society was tribal; according to Ptolemy’s Geographia there were around 20 different tribes in the area, however earlier divisions are unknown because the Britons were not literate. Like other regions on the edge of the Empire, Britain had long enjoyed trading links with the Romans. Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic attempted to invade twice in 55 BC; although largely unsuccessful, he managed to set up a client king from the Trinovantes.

The Romans conquered Britain in AD 43 during the reign of Emperor Claudius, and the area was incorporated into the Roman Empire as Britannia province.[36] The best known of the native tribes who attempted to resist were the Catuvellauni led by Caratacus. Later, an uprising led by Boudica, queen of the Iceni, resulted in her death at the Battle of Watling Street.[37] This era saw a Greco-Roman high culture prevail with the introduction of law and order, Roman architecture, personal hygiene, sewage systems, education, many agricultural items, and silk.[37] In the 3rd century, Emperor Septimius Severus died at York, where Constantine was subsequently proclaimed emperor.[38] Christianity was first introduced around this time, though there are traditions linked to Glastonbury claiming an introduction through Joseph of Arimathea, while others claim through Lucius of Britain.[39] By 410, as their Empire declined, the Romans had left the island, to defend their frontiers in continental Europe.[37]

England in the Middle Ages
Following the Roman retreat, Britain was left open to invasion by pagan, seafaring warriors such as Saxons and Jutes who gained control in areas around the south east.[40] The advance was contained for a while after the Britons’ victory at the Battle of Mount Badon. The Sub-Roman Brythonic kingdoms in the north, later known collectively by British bards as the Hen Ogledd, were also gradually conquered by Angles during the 6th century. Reliable contemporary accounts from this period are scarce, as is archaeological evidence, giving rise to its description as a Dark Age. There are various conflicting theories on the extent and process of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain; Cerdic, founder of the Wessex dynasty, may have been a Briton.[41] Nevertheless, by the 7th century a coherent set of Anglo-Saxon petty kingdoms known as the Heptarchy had emerged in southern and central Britain: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Wessex.[42]

Christianity was introduced in the south by Augustine from Rome and in the north by Aidan from Ireland. This reintroduced Christianity, which was lost after the founding of the Heptarchy.[43] The title Bretwalda, meaning “Lord of the Britons”, denoted the most influential kingship.[44] Northumbria and Mercia were the most dominant forces early on.[45] However, following Viking conquests in the north and east, and the imposition of Danelaw, the premier English kingdom became Wessex under Alfred the Great. His grandson Athelstan unified England in 927, although this was only cemented after Edred defeated the Viking Eric Bloodaxe. King Cnut the Great briefly incorporated England into an empire that also included Denmark and Norway.[46] However the Wessex dynasty was restored under Edward the Confessor.
Painting of figures, on foot and horseback with swords and bows. In the background are water and buildings.
The Battle of Agincourt was fought on Saint Crispin’s Day and concluded with an English victory against a larger French army in the Hundred Years’ War.

England was conquered in 1066 by an army led by William the Conquerer from the Duchy of Normandy, a fief of the Kingdom of France.[47] The Normans themselves originated from Scandinavia and had settled in Normandy a few centuries earlier.[47] They introduced feudalism and maintained power through barons, who set up castles across England.[47] The spoken language of the new aristocratic elite was Norman French, which would have considerable influence on the English language.

The House of Plantagenet from Anjou inherited the English throne under Henry II, adding England to the budding Angevin Empire of fiefs the family had inherited in France including Aquitaine.[48] They reigned for three centuries, proving noted monarchs such as Richard I, Edward I, Edward III and Henry V.[48] The period saw changes in trade and legislation, including the signing of the Magna Carta, an English legal charter used to limit the sovereign’s powers by law and protect the privileges of freemen.[47] Catholic monasticism flourished, providing philosophers and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge were founded with royal patronage. The Principality of Wales became a Plantagenet fief during the 13th century[49] and the Lordship of Ireland was gifted to the English monarchy by the Pope.

During the 14th century, the Plantagenets and House of Valois both claimed to be legitimate claimants to House of Capet and with it France—the two powers clashed in the Hundred Years’ War.[50] The Black Death epidemic hit England, starting in 1348, it eventually killed up to half of England’s inhabitants.[51][52] From 1453 to 1487 civil war between two branches of the royal family occurred—the Yorkists and Lancastrians—known as the Wars of the Roses.[53] Eventually it led to the Yorkists losing the throne entirely to a Welsh noble family the Tudors, a branch of the Lancastrians headed by Henry Tudor who invaded with Welsh and Breton mercenaries, gaining victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field where the Yorkist king Richard III was killed.[54]

Early Modern
King Henry VIII became Supreme Head of the Church of England.

The Tudor period would prove to be eventful.[55] The Renaissance reached England through Italian courtiers, who reintroduced artistic, educational and scholary debate from classical antiquity.[55] During this time England began to develop naval skills, including inventing the theodolite and exploring to the West.[55] The catalyst for such explorations, was the Ottoman Empire’s control of the Mediterranean Sea, which blocked off trade with the East for the Christian states of Europe.[55]

Henry VIII broke from communion with the Catholic Church, over issues relating to divorce, under the Acts of Supremacy in 1534 which proclaimed the monarch head of the Church of England. Contrary to much of European Protestantism, the roots of the split were more political than theological.[note 4] He also legally incorporated his ancestral land Wales into the Kingdom of England with the 1535–1542 acts. There were internal religious conflicts during the reigns of Henry’s daughters; Mary I and Elizabeth I. The former attempted to bring the country back to Catholicism, while the later broke from it again more forcefully asserting the supremacy of Anglicanism.[55]

An English fleet under Francis Drake defeated an invading Spanish Armada during the Elizabethan period. Competing with Spain, the first English colony in the Americas was founded by explorer Walter Raleigh in 1585 and named Virginia.[55] With the East India Company, England also competed with the Dutch and French to the East.[55] The nature of the island was changed, when the Stuart King of Scotland, from a kingdom which was previously a long time rival, inherited the throne of England—creating a personal union under James I in 1603.[57][58] He styled himself King of Great Britain, despite having no basis in English law.[59]
Painting of seated male figure, with long black hair wearing a white cape and britches.
The English Restoration restored the monarchy under King Charles II and peace after the English Civil War.

Based on conflicting political, religious and social positions, there was an English Civil War between the supporters of Parliament and those of king Charles I, known as Roundheads and Cavaliers respectively. This was an interwoven part of the wider multifacited Wars of the Three Kingdoms, involving Scotland and Ireland. The Parliamentarians were victorious, Charles I was executed and the kingdom replaced with the Commonwealth. Leader of the Parliament forces, Oliver Cromwell declared himself Lord Protector in 1653, a period of personal rule followed.[60] After Cromwell’s death, and his son Richard’s resignation as Lord Protector, Charles II was invited to return as monarch in 1660 with the Restoration.[61] It was now constitutionally established that King and Parliament should rule together, though in practice this was not fully cemented until the following century.[61] With the founding of the Royal Society, science and the arts were encouraged.[61]

The Great Fire of London in 1666 gutted the capital but it was rebuilt shortly after.[62] In Parliament two factions had emerged—the Tories and Whigs. The former were royalists while the latter were classical liberals. Though the Tories initially supported Catholic king James II, some of them, along with the Whigs deposed him at the Revolution of 1688 and invited Dutch prince William III to become monarch. Some English people, especially in the north were Jacobites and continued to support James and his sons. After the parliaments of England and Scotland both agreed,[63] the two countries joined in political union, to create the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707.[57] To accommodate the union, institutions such as the law and national church of each remained separate.[64]
Late Modern and contemporary
A stone factory stands against a vivid blue sky, its reflection mirrored in the waters below.
Saltaire, West Yorkshire, is a model mill town from the Industrial Revolution, and a World Heritage Site.

Under the newly formed Kingdom of Great Britain, output from the Royal Society and other English initiatives combined with the Scottish Enlightenment to create innovations in science and engineering. This paved the way for the establishment of the British Empire, which became the largest in history.[61] Domestically it drove the Industrial Revolution, a period of profound change in the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of England, resulting in industrialised agriculture, manufacture, engineering and mining, as well as new and pioneering road, rail and water networks to facilitate their expansion and development.[61] The opening of northwest England’s Bridgewater Canal in 1761 ushered in the canal age in Britain.[65][66] In 1825 the world’s first permanent steam locomotive-hauled passenger railway—the Stockton and Darlington Railway—opened to the public.[65]

During the Industrial Revolution, many workers moved from England’s countryside to new and expanding urban industrial areas to work in factories, for instance at Manchester and Birmingham, dubbed “Warehouse City” and “Workshop of the World” respectively.[67][68] England maintained relative stability throughout the French Revolution; William Pitt the Younger was British Prime Minister for the reign of George III. During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon Bonaparte planned to invade from the south-east. However this failed to manifest and the Napoleonic forces were defeated by the British at sea by Lord Nelson and on land by the Duke of Wellington.[61] The Napoleonic Wars fostered a concept of Britishness and a united national British people, shared with the Scots and Welsh.[69]
A cuboid granite cenotaph, flanked by red wreaths.
The Cenotaph at Whitehall is a memorial to members of the British Armed Forces who died during the two World Wars.

London became the largest and most populous metropolitan area in the world during the Victorian era, and trade within the British Empire—as well as the standing of the British military and navy—was prestigious.[70] Political agitation at home from radicals such as the Chartists and the suffragettes enabled legislative reform and universal suffrage.[61] Power shifts in east-central Europe led to World War I; thousands of English soldiers died in trenches fighting for the United Kingdom as part of the Allies.[70] Two decades later, in World War II, the United Kingdom again fought for the Allies. Winston Churchill was the wartime Prime Minister.[71] Developments in warfare technology saw many cities damaged by air-raids during The Blitz.[71] Following the war the British Empire experienced rapid decolonisation, as well as a series of technological innovations; automobiles became the primary means of transport and Whittle’s development of the jet engine led to wider air travel.[71]

Since the 20th century there has been significant population movement to England, mostly from other parts of the British Isles, but also from the Commonwealth, particularly the Indian subcontinent.[72] Since the 1970s there has been a large move away from manufacturing and an increasing emphasis on the service industry.[73] As part of the United Kingdom, the area joined a common market initiative called the European Economic Community which became the European Union. Since the late 20th century the administration of the United Kingdom has moved towards devolved governance in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.[74] England and Wales continues to exist as a legal entity within the United Kingdom.[75] Devolution has stimulated a greater emphasis on a more English-specific identity and patriotism.[76][77] There is no devolved English government, but an attempt to create a similar system on a sub-regional basis was rejected by referendum.[78]
Governance
Politics
Main article: Politics of England
Photograph of rectangular floodlight building, reflected in water. The building has multiple towers including one at each end. The tower on the right includes an illuminated clock face.
Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

As part of the United Kingdom, the basic political system in England is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system.[79] There has not been a Government of England since 1707, when the Acts of Union 1707, putting into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union, joined England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.[63] Before the union England was ruled by its monarch and the Parliament of England. Today England is governed directly by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, although other countries of the United Kingdom have devolved governments.[80] In the House of Commons which is the lower house of the British Parliament based at the Palace of Westminster, there are 532 Members of Parliament (MPs) for constituencies in England, out of the 650 total.[81]

In the United Kingdom general election, 2010 the Conservative Party had won an absolute majority in England’s 532 contested seats with 61 seats more than all other parties combined (the Speaker of the House not being counted as a Conservative). However, taking Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales into account this was not enough to secure an overall majority, resulting in a hung parliament.[82] In order to achieve a majority the Conservative party, headed by David Cameron, entered into a coalition agreement with the third largest party, the Liberal Democrats, led by Nick Clegg. Subsequently Gordon Brown announced he was stepping down as prime minister[83] and leader of the Labour party, now led by acting leader Harriet Harman until a new leader is elected.
Lines of men wearing large black bearskin hats and red tunics.
Changing of the Queen’s Guard at the royal residence, Buckingham Palace

As the United Kingdom is a member of the European Union, there are elections held regionally in England to decide who is sent as Members of the European Parliament. The 2009 European Parliament election saw the regions of England elect the following MEPs: twenty-three Conservatives, ten Labour, nine United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), nine Liberal Democrats, two Greens and two British National Party (BNP).[84]

Since devolution, in which other countries of the United Kingdom—Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—each have their own devolved parliament or assemblies for local issues, there has been debate about how to counterbalance this in England. Originally it was planned that various regions of England would be devolved, but following the proposal’s rejection by the North East in a referendum, this has not been carried out.[78]

One major issue is the West Lothian question, in which MPs from Scotland and Wales are able to vote on legislation affecting only England, while English MPs have no equivalent right to legislate on devolved matters.[85] This when placed in the context of England being the only country of the United Kingdom not to have free cancer treatment, prescriptions, residential care for the elderly and free top-up university fees,[86] has led to a steady rise in English nationalism.[87] Some have suggested the creation of a devolved English parliament,[88] while others have proposed simply limiting voting on legislation which only affects England to English MPs.[89]
Law
Main article: English law
Ornate grey stone building with multiple turrets and arched windows.
The Royal Courts of Justice

The English law legal system, developed over the centuries, is the foundation of many legal systems throughout the Anglosphere.[90] Despite now being part of the United Kingdom, the legal system of the Courts of England and Wales continued as a separate legal system to the one used in Scotland as part of the Treaty of Union. The general essence of English law is that it is made by judges sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of legal precedent—stare decisis—to the facts before them.[91]

The court system is headed by the Supreme Court of Judicature, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice for civil cases and the Crown Court for criminal cases.[92] The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the highest court for criminal and civil cases in England and Wales, it was created in 2009 after constitutional changes, taking over the judicial functions of the House of Lords.[93] A decision of the highest appeal court in England and Wales, the Supreme Court, is binding on every other court in the hierarchy, which follow its directions.[94]

Crime increased between 1981–1995, though since then there has been 42% fall in crime for the period 1995–2006.[95] The prison population doubled over the same period, giving it the highest incarceration rate in Western Europe at 147 per 100,000.[96] Her Majesty’s Prison Service reporting to the Ministry of Justice, manages most prisons, housing over 80,000 convicts.[96]
Regions, counties, and districts
Main article: Subdivisions of England
See also: Regions of England, Counties of England, and Districts of England
Northumberland
Tyne and Wear
Durham
Cumbria
Lancashire
North Yorkshire
E. Riding of Yorks.
S. Yorks.
W. Yorks.
Gr. Manc.
Mers.
Cheshire
Derbs.
Notts.
Lincolnshire
Rutland
Leics.
Staffs.
Shropshire
Heref.
Worcs.
W. Mids.
Warks.
Northants.
Cambs.
Norfolk
Suffolk
Essex
Herts.
Beds.
Gr. London
Kent
E. Sussex
Surrey
W. Sussex
Berkshire
Bucks.
Oxon.
Glos.
Bristol
Hampshire
Wiltshire
Somerset
Isle of Wight
Dorset
Devon
Cornwall

The subdivisions of England consist of as many as four levels of subnational division controlled through a variety of types of administrative entities. They have been created for the purposes of local government in England. The highest tier of local government are the nine regions of England—North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East, South East, South West, and Greater London. These were created in 1994 as Government Offices, used by the British Government to deliver a wide range of policies and programmes regionally.[97] They are used for electing Members of the European Parliament on a regional basis.

After devolution began to take place in other parts of the United Kingdom it was planned that referendums for the regions of England would take place for their own regional assemblies as a counterweight. London accepted in 1998—the London Assembly was created two years later. However, the proposal was rejected by the northern England devolution referendums, 2004 in the North East, further referendums were cancelled.[78] There are plans to abolish the remaining regional assemblies in 2010 and transfer their functions to respective Regional Development Agencies and new system of Local Authority Leaders’ Boards.[98]

Below the regional level all of England is divided into 48 ceremonial counties.[99] These counties are used primarily as a geographical frame of reference and have developed gradually since the Middle Ages, with some established as recently as 1974.[100] Each has a Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff; these posts are used to represent the British monarch locally.[99] Outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly, England is also divided into 83 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties; these correspond to areas used for the purposes of local government[101] and may consist of a single district or be divided into several.

There are six metropolitan counties which are based on the most heavily urbanised areas and do not have county councils.[101] In these areas the principal authorities are the councils of the subdivisions, the metropolitan boroughs. Twenty-seven non-metropolitan “shire” counties have a county council and are divided into districts, each with a district council. They are typically, though not always, found in more rural areas. The remaining non-metropolitan counties are of a single district and usually correspond to large towns or counties with low populations; they are known as unitary authorities. Greater London has a different system for local governance, with thirty-two London boroughs and the City of London covering a small area at the core, which is governed by the City of London Corporation.[102] At the most localised level, much of England is divided into civil parishes with councils; they do not exist in Greater London.[103]
Geography
Main article: Geography of England
Landscape and rivers
Blue lake between green hills.
Wastwater in the Lake District

Geographically England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus such offshore islands as the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly. It is bordered by two fellow countries of the United Kingdom—to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. England is closer to the European Continent than any other part of mainland Britain. It is separated from France by a 34-kilometre (21 mi)[104] sea gap, though the two countries are connected by the Channel Tunnel near Folkestone.[105][106] As England is on an island, is it surrounded by the water of the Irish Sea, North Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

The most important rivers in England, because of their ports of London, Liverpool, and Newcastle, are the tidal rivers Thames, Mersey and Tyne.[107] The tides raise the level of water in their estuaries and enable ships to enter the ports. At 354 kilometres (220 mi), the Severn is the longest river flowing through England. It empties into the Bristol Channel and is notable for its Severn Bore tidal waves, which can reach 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height.[107] However, the longest river entirely in England is the Thames, which is 346 kilometres (215 mi) in length.[108] There are many lakes in England but the majority are in the aptly named Lake District; the largest of which is Lake Windermere, it is known by the nickname “Queen of Lakes”.[107]
Green hills with trees in the foreground.
Terrain of Dartmoor, Devon

In geological terms, the Pennines, known as the “backbone of England”, are the oldest range of mountains the country, originating from the end of the Paleozoic Era around 300 million years ago.[109] The total length of the Pennines is 400 kilometres (250 mi), peaking at Cross Fell in Cumbria.[107] The material of which they are composed is mostly sandstone and limestone, but also coal. There are karst landscapes in calcite areas such as parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. The Pennine landscape is high moorland in upland areas, indented by fertile valleys of the region’s rivers.[107] They contain three national parks, the Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland, and the Peak District. The highest point in England, at 978 metres (3,209 ft), is Scafell Pike in Cumbria.[107] Straddling the border between England and Scotland are the Cheviot Hills.

The English Lowlands are to the south of the Pennines, consisting of green rolling hills, including the Cotswold Hills, Chiltern Hills, North and South Downs—where they meet the sea they form white rock exposures such as the cliffs of Dover.[107] The granitic Southwest Peninsula in the West Country provides upland moorland, such as Dartmoor and Exmoor, which flourish with a mild climate; both are national parks.[107]
Climate
Main article: Climate of England

England has a temperate maritime climate meaning that it is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0 °C (32 °F) in winter and not much higher than 32 °C (90 °F) in summer.[110] The weather is damp relatively frequently and is subject to change. The coldest months are January and February, the latter particularly on the English coast, while July is normally the warmest month. Months with mild to warm weather with least rainfall are May, June, September and October.[110]

The biggest influences on the climate of England comes from the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, its northern latitude and warming of the waters around the Gulf Stream.[110] England receives quite a significant proportion of rainfall during the year, with autumn and winter being the wettest time—geographically the Lake District receives more rain than anywhere else in the country.[110] Since weather recording records began, the highest temperature received was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on 10 August 2003 at Brogdale in Kent,[111] while the lowest was -26.1 °C (-15 °F) on 10 January 1982 in Edgmond, Shropshire.[112]
[hide]Climate data for England
Month     Jan     Feb     Mar     Apr     May     Jun     Jul     Aug     Sep     Oct     Nov     Dec     Year
Average high °C (°F)     7
(45)     7
(45)     9
(48)     12
(54)     15
(59)     18
(64)     21
(70)     21
(70)     18
(64)     14
(57)     10
(50)     7
(45)     13
(55)
Average low °C (°F)     1
(34)     1
(34)     2
(36)     4
(39)     6
(43)     9
(48)     11
(52)     11
(52)     9
(48)     7
(45)     4
(39)     2
(36)     6
(43)
Precipitation mm (inches)     84
(3.31)     60
(2.36)     67
(2.64)     57
(2.24)     56
(2.2)     63
(2.48)     54
(2.13)     67
(2.64)     73
(2.87)     84
(3.31)     84
(3.31)     90
(3.54)     838
(32.99)
Source: Met Office[113]
Major conurbations
See also: List of places in England

The Greater London Urban Area is by far the largest metropolitan area in England[114] and one of the busiest cities in the world. It is considered a global city and has a population larger than other countries in the United Kingdom besides England itself.[114] Other urban areas of considerable size and influence tend to be in northern England or the English Midlands.[114] There are fifty settlements which have been designated city status in England, while the wider United Kingdom has sixty-six.

While many cities in England are quite large in size, such as Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Bradford, Nottingham and others, a large population is not necessarily a prerequisite for a settlement to be afforded city status.[115] Traditionally the status was afforded to towns with diocesan cathedrals and so there are smaller cities like Wells, Ely, Ripon, Truro and Chichester.[115] According to the Office for National Statistics the ten largest, continuous built-up urban areas are;[114]
Rank     Urban Area     Population     Localities     Major localities
1     Greater London Urban Area     8,278,251     67     Greater London, divided into the City of London and 32 London boroughs including Croydon, Barnet, Ealing, Bromley[116]
2     West Midlands Urban Area     2,284,093     22     Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall
3     Greater Manchester Urban Area     2,240,230     57     Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Stockport, Oldham
4     West Yorkshire Urban Area     1,499,465     26     Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Halifax
5     Tyneside     879,996     25     Newcastle, North Shields, South Shields, Gateshead, Jarrow
6     Liverpool Urban Area     816,216     8     Liverpool, St Helens, Bootle, Huyton-with-Roby
7     Nottingham Urban Area     666,358     15     Nottingham, Beeston and Stapleford, Carlton, Long Eaton
8     Sheffield Urban Area     640,720     7     Sheffield, Rotherham, Chapeltown, Mosborough
9     Bristol Urban Area     551,066     7     Bristol, Kingswood, Mangotsfield, Stoke Gifford
10     Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton     461,181     10     Brighton, Worthing, Hove, Littlehampton, Shoreham, Lancing
Economy
Main article: Economy of England
See also: Banknotes of the pound sterling
Nighttime photograph of illuminated buildings and bridge, with their lights reflected in the water.
The City of London is the world’s largest financial centre.[117][118]

England’s economy is one of the largest in the world, with an average GDP per capita of £22,907.[119] Usually regarded as a mixed market economy, it has adopted many free market principles in contrast to the Rhine Capitalism of Europe, yet maintains an advanced social welfare infrastructure.[120] The official currency in England is the pound sterling, also known as the GBP. Taxation in England is quite competitive when compared to much of the rest of Europe—as of 2009 the basic rate of personal tax is 20% on taxable income up to £37,400, and 40% on any additional earnings above that amount.[121]

The economy of England is the largest part of the UK’s economy,[119] which has the 18th highest GDP PPP per capita in the world. England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry, and the manufacturing side of the software industry. London, home to the London Stock Exchange, the United Kingdom’s main stock exchange and the largest in Europe, is England’s financial centre—100 of Europe’s 500 largest corporations are based in London.[122] London is the largest financial centre in Europe, and as of 2009 is also the largest in the world.[123]
A silver coloured car.
Aston Martin is a well known English automobile company.

The Bank of England, founded in 1694 by Scottish banker William Paterson, is the United Kingdom’s central bank. Originally instituted to act as private banker to the Government of England, it carried on in this role as part of the United Kingdom—since 1946 it has been a state-owned institution.[124] The Bank has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales, although not in other parts of the United Kingdom. Its Monetary Policy Committee has devolved responsibility for managing the monetary policy of the country and setting interest rates.[125]

England is highly industrialised, but since the 1970s there has been a decline in traditional heavy and manufacturing industries, and an increasing emphasis on a more service industry oriented economy.[73] Tourism has become a significant industry, attracting millions of visitors to England each year. The export part of the economy is dominated by pharmaceuticals, automobiles—although many English marques are now foreign-owned, such as Rolls-Royce, Lotus, Jaguar and Bentley—crude oil and petroleum from the English parts of North Sea Oil along with Wytch Farm, aircraft engines and alcoholic beverages.[126] Agriculture is intensive and highly mechanised, producing 60% of food needs with only 2% of the labour force.[127] Two thirds of production is devoted to livestock, the other to arable crops.[128]
Infrastructure
Main articles: Transport in England and Healthcare in England
Red two-storey vehicle with windows on each level.
A Routemaster double-decker bus in London

The Department for Transport is the government body responsible for overseeing transport in England. There are several motorways in England, one of the most important trunk roads is the A1 Great North Road, stretching across the country from London to Newcastle.[129] The longest motorway in England is the M6, stretching from Rugby to the North West up to the Anglo-Scottish border.[129] There are other major roads; the M1 from London to Leeds, the M25 which encircles London, the M60 which encircles Manchester, the M4 from London to South Wales, the M62 from Liverpool to Manchester and East Yorkshire and the M5 from Birmingham to Bristol and the South West.[129]

Bus transport across the country is common, major companies include National Express, Arriva and Go-Ahead Group. The red double-decker buses in London have become a symbol of England. There is a rapid rail network in two English cities; the London Underground and the Tyne and Wear Metro, the latter in Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland.[130] There are tram networks, such as; Blackpool, Manchester Metrolink, Sheffield Supertram and Midland Metro.[130]
Light from sunset reflected over buildings and gray concrete.
London Heathrow Airport has more international passenger traffic than any other airport in the world.[131]

Rail transport in England is the oldest in the world, with the system originating there in 1825.[132] Much of Britain’s 16,116 kilometres (10,014 mi) of rail network lies in England, covering the country extensively.[133] These lines are mostly single, double or quadruple track, though there are narrow gauge lines. There is rail transport access to France and Belgium through an undersea rail link, the Channel Tunnel which was completed in 1994.

There are air transport facilities in England connected the public to numerous international locations, the largest airport is London Heathrow Airport which in terms of passenger volume in the busiest in Europe and one of the busiest in the world.[131] Other large airports include Manchester Airport, London Stansted Airport, Luton Airport and Birmingham International Airport.[131] By sea there is ferry transport, both for internal and external trips, some of the most common links are to Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium.[134] Travel by waterways such as rivers, canals, docks is common with around 7,100 km (4,400 mi) of navigable waterways in England, half of which is owned by British Waterways (Waterscape).[134] The Thames is the major waterway in England, with imports and exports focused at the Port of Tilbury, one of the United Kingdom’s three major ports.[134]
Red brick building partially obscured by trees.
Local NHS surgeries, such as this facility in Dorchester, Dorset, are available throughout England.

The National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly funded healthcare system in England responsible for providing the majority of healthcare in the country. The NHS began on 5 July 1948, putting into effect the provisions of the National Health Service Act 1946. It was based on the findings of the Beveridge Report, prepared by economist and social reformer William Beveridge.[135] The NHS is largely funded from general taxation including National Insurance payments,[136] it provides most services at no additional cost though there are extra charges associated with eye tests, dental care, prescriptions and aspects of personal care.[137]

The government department responsible for the NHS is the Department of Health, headed by the Secretary of State for Health, who sits in the British Cabinet. Most of the expenditure of the Department of Health is spent on the NHS—£98.6 billion was spent in 2008–2009.[138] In recent years the private sector has been increasingly used to provide more NHS services despite opposition by doctors and trade unions.[139] The average life expectancy of people in England is 77.5 years for males and 81.7 years for females, the highest of the four countries of the United Kingdom.[140]
Demographics
Population
Main articles: Demography of England, English people, and English diaspora
Map of England with regions shaded in different shades of blue.
The non-metropolitan counties and unitary authorities of England, colour-coded to show population.

With over 51 million inhabitants, England is the most populous country of the United Kingdom, accounting for 84% of the combined total.[5] England taken as a unit and measured against international states has the fourth largest population in the European Union and would be the 25th largest country by population in the world.[141] With a density of 395 people per square kilometre, it would be the second most densely populated country in the European Union after Malta.[142][143]

The English people are a British people[3]—genetic evidence suggests that 75–95% descend in the paternal line from prehistoric settlers who originally came from the Iberian Peninsula.[144][145][146] There is a significant Norse element, as well as a 5% contribution from Angles and Saxons,[144] though other geneticists place the Norse-Germanic estimate up to half.[147][148] Over time various cultures have been influential—Prehistoric, Brythonic,[149] Roman, Anglo-Saxon,[150] Norse Viking,[151] Gaelic cultures, as well as a large influence from Normans. There is an English diaspora in former parts of the British Empire; especially the United States, Canada, Australia, Chile, South Africa and New Zealand.[note 5] Since the late 1990s, English people have migrated to Spain.[156][157]
Pie chart with main body in blue and multiple smaller segments in other colours.
2007 estimates of ethnic groups in England

At the time of the Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, more than 90% of the English population of about two million lived in the countryside.[158] By 1801 the population had grown to 8.3 million, and by 1901 had grown to 30.5 million.[159] Due to the economic prosperity in South East England there are many economic migrants from the other parts of the United Kingdom.[3] There has been significant Irish migration, with 25% of English people having Irish ancestry.[160] The European population totals at 89.90%, including Germans[160] and Poles.[3]

Other people from much further afield in the former British colonies have arrived since the 1950s—5.30% of people living in England have migrated from the Indian subcontinent, mostly India and Pakistan.[3][160] 2.30% of the population are black, mostly from the Caribbean.[3][160] There is a significant number of Chinese and British Chinese.[3][160] As of 2007, 22% of primary school children in England were from ethnic minority families.[161] About half of the population increase between 1991–2001 was due to immigration.[162] Debate over immigration is politically prominent,[163] according to a Home Office poll 80% of people want to cap it.[164] The ONS has projected that the population will grow by six million between 2004 and 2029.[165]
Language
Main articles: English language and History of the English language
The English-speaking world. Countries in dark blue have a majority of native speakers. Countries in light blue have English as an official language, de jure or de facto. English is also one of the official languages of the European Union.[166]

As its name suggests, the English language, today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language of England, where it remains the principal tongue today. An Indo-European language in the Anglo-Frisian branch of the Germanic family, it is closely related to Scots.[167] After the Norman conquest, the Old English language was displaced and confined to the lower social classes as Norman French and Latin were used by the aristocracy.

By the 17th century, English came back into fashion among all classes, though much changed; the Middle English form showed many signs of French influence, both in vocabulary and spelling. During the English Renaissance, many words were coined from Latin and Greek origins.[168] Modern English has extended this custom of flexibility, when it comes to incorporating words from different languages. Thanks in large part to the British Empire, the English language is the world’s unofficial lingua franca.[169]

English language learning and teaching is an important economic activity, and includes language schooling, tourism spending, and publishing. There is no legislation mandating an official language for England,[170] but English is the only language used for official business. Despite the country’s relatively small size, there are many distinct regional accents, and individuals with particularly strong accents may not be easily understood everywhere in the country.

Cornish, which died out as a community language in the 18th century, is being revived,[171][172][173][174] and is now protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.[175] It is spoken by 0.1% of people in Cornwall,[176] and is taught to some degree in several primary and secondary schools.[177][178] State schools teach students a second language, usually French, German or Spanish.[179] Due to immigration, it was reported in 2007 that around 800,000 school students spoke a foreign language at home,[161] the most common being Punjabi and Urdu.[180]
Religion
Main article: Religion in England
Large yellow stone ornate building with buttresses and square central tower.
Canterbury Cathedral, seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Christianity is the most widely practised religion in England, as it has been since the Early Middle Ages, although it was first introduced much earlier, in Gaelic and Roman times. It continued through Early Insular Christianity, and today about 71.6% of English people identify as Christians.[181] The largest form practiced in the present day is Anglicanism,[182] dating from the 16th century Reformation period, with the 1536 split from Rome over Henry VIII wanting to divorce Catherine of Aragon, the religion regards itself as both Catholic and Reformed.

There are High Church and Low Church traditions, and some Anglicans regard themselves as Anglo-Catholics, after the Tractarian movement. The monarch of the United Kingdom is the head of the Church, acting as its Supreme Governor. It has the status of established church in England. There are around 26 million adherents to the Church of England and they form part of the Anglican Communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury acting as the symbolic worldwide head.[183] Many cathedrals and parish churches are historic buildings of significant architectural importance, such as Westminster Abbey, York Minster, Durham Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral.
Painting of man in armour on white horse fighting black dragon to his left.
Saint George, the patron saint of England

The second largest Christian practice is the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, which traces its formal, corporate history in England to the 6th century with Augustine’s mission and was the main religion on the entire island for around a thousand years. Since its reintroduction after the Catholic Emancipation, the Church has organised ecclesiastically on an England and Wales basis where there are 4.5 million members (most of whom are English).[184]

There has been one Pope from England to date, Adrian IV; while saints Bede and Anselm are regarded as Doctors of the Church. A form of Protestantism known as Methodism is the third largest and grew out of Anglicanism through John Wesley.[185] It gained popularity in the mill towns of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and amongst tin miners in Cornwall.[186] There are other non-conformist minorities, such as Baptists, Quakers, Congregationalists, Unitarians and the Salvation Army.[187]

The patron saint of England is Saint George, he is represented in the national flag, as well as the Union Flag as part of a combination.[188][188] There are many other English and associated saints, some of the best known include; Cuthbert, Alban, Wilfrid, Aidan, Edward the Confessor, John Fisher, Thomas More, Petroc, Piran, Margaret Clitherow and Thomas Becket.[189] There are non-Christian religions practiced. Jews have a history of a small minority on the island since 1070.[190] They were expelled from England in 1290 following the Edict of Expulsion, only to be allowed back in 1656.[190]

Especially since the 1950s Eastern religions from the former British colonies have began to appear, due to foreign immigration; Islam is the most common of these accounting for around 3.1% in England.[181] Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism are next in number adding up to 2% combined,[181] introduced from India and South East Asia.[181] Around 14.6% claim to have no religion.[181] Prior to the rise of Christianity—Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Norse paganism was practised.
Education
Main articles: Education in England and List of universities in England
Universities and learning institutions
Yellow stone buildings with columns around a grassy courtyard.
Christ Church, University of Oxford

The body responsible for state education in general up to the age of 19, in the United Kingdom is the Department for Children, Schools and Families—this body directly controls state schools in England.[191] Funded through taxation state-run schools are attended by approximately 93% of English schoolchildren.[192] There is a minority of faith schools, mostly Church of England or Catholic Church. Between three and four is nursery school, four and eleven is primary school, and eleven to sixteen is secondary school, with an option for a two-year extension to attend sixth form college.

Although most English secondary schools are comprehensive, there are selective intake grammar schools, to which entrance is subject to passing the eleven plus exam. Around 7.2% of English schoolchildren attend private schools, which are funded by private sources.[193] Standards are monitored by regular inspections of state-funded schools by the Office for Standards in Education and of private schools by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.[194]
Large yellow stone building with an arched window and two towers at the end nearest the photographer. In the foreground is grass and water with people in a punt.
King’s College, University of Cambridge

After finishing compulsory education, pupils take a GCSE examination, following which they may decide to continue in further education and attend a further education college. Students normally enter universities in the United Kingdom from 18 onwards, where they study for an academic degree. England has more than 90 state-funded universities, which are monitored by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.[195] Students are generally entitled to student loans for maintenance.[note 6] The first degree offered to undergraduates is the Bachelor’s degree, which usually takes three years to complete. Students are then eligible for a postgraduate degree, a Master’s degree, taking one year, or a Doctorate degree, which takes three.

England has a history of promoting education, and its top institutions are internationally respected.[196] The most acclaimed English universities are Oxford and Cambridge. These two “ancient universities” have many common features and are nowadays known as Oxbridge. The King’s School, Canterbury and The King’s School, Rochester are the oldest schools in the English-speaking world.[197] Many of England’s better-known schools, such as Winchester College, Eton College, St Paul’s School, Rugby School, and Harrow School are fee-paying institutions.[198]
Science, engineering and innovation
Main articles: English inventions and discoveries and Royal Society
Torso of man with long white hair and dark coloured jacket
Sir Isaac Newton is one of the most influential figures in the history of science.

Prominent English figures from the field of science and mathematics include Sir Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Joseph Priestley, J. J. Thomson, Charles Babbage, Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking, Christopher Wren, Alan Turing, Francis Crick, Joseph Lister, Tim Berners-Lee, Andrew Wiles and Richard Dawkins. Experts claim that the earliest concept of a metric system was invented by John Wilkins, first secretary of the Royal Society in 1668.[199] As birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, England was home to many significant inventors during the late 18th and early 19th century. Famous English engineers include Isambard Kingdom Brunel, best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, and numerous important bridges, hence revolutionising public transport and modern-day engineering.[200]

Inventions and discoveries of the English include; the first industrial spinning machine, the first computer and the first modern computer, the World Wide Web along with HTTP and HTML, the first successful human blood transfusion, the vacuum cleaner, the lawnmower, the seat belt, the hovercraft, the electric motor, the microphone, steam engines, and theories such as the Darwinian theory of evolution and atomic theory.[201] Newton developed the ideas of universal gravitation, Newtonian mechanics, and infinitesimal calculus, and Robert Hooke his eponymously named law of elasticity. Other inventions include the iron plate railway, the thermosiphon, tarmac, the rubber band, the mousetrap, “cat’s eye” road safety device, joint development of the light bulb, steam locomotives, the seed drill, the jet engine and many modern techniques and technologies used in precision engineering.[201]
Culture
Main articles: Culture of England and English Renaissance
Architecture
White stone building with tower topped with a dome. In the foreground are trees and a red rectangular vertical box with windows.
St. Paul’s Cathedral, English Baroque

Many ancient standing stone monuments were erected during the prehistoric period, amongst the best known are Stonehenge, Devil’s Arrows, Rudston Monolith and Castlerigg.[202] With the introduction of Ancient Roman architecture there was a development of basilicas, baths, amphitheaters, triumphal arches, villas, Roman temples, Roman roads, Roman forts, stockades and aqueducts.[203] It was the Romans who founded the first cities and towns such as London, Bath, York, Chester and St Albans. Perhaps the best known example is Hadrian’s Wall stretching right across northern England.[203] Another well preserved example is the Roman Baths at Bath, Somerset.[203]

Early Medieval architecture’s secular buildings were simple constructions mainly using timber with thatch for roofing. Ecclesiastical architecture ranged from a synthesis of Hiberno—Saxon monasticism,[204][205] to Early Christian basilica and architecture characterised by pilaster-strips, blank arcading, baluster shafts and triangular headed openings. After the Norman conquest in 1066 various Castles in England were created so law lords could uphold their authority and in the north to protect from invasion. Some of the best known medieval castles include the Tower of London, Warwick Castle, Durham Castle and Windsor Castle amongst others.[206]
Yellow stone tower with two circular turrets which run the height of the building.
The Broadway Tower is a folly, or mock tower, in Worcestershire.

Throughout the Plantagenet era an English Gothic architecture flourished—the medieval cathedrals such as Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and York Minster are prime examples.[206] Expanding on the Norman base there was also castles, palaces, great houses, universities and parish churches. Medieval architecture was completed with the 16th century Tudor style; the four-centred arch, now known as the Tudor arch, was a defining feature as were wattle and daub houses domestically. In the aftermath of the Renaissance a form of architecture echoing classical antiquity, synthesised with Christianity appeared—the English Baroque style, architect Christopher Wren was particularly championed.[207]

Georgian architecture followed in a more refined style, evoking a simple Palladian form; the Royal Crescent at Bath is one of the best examples of this. With the emergence of romanticism during Victorian period, a Gothic Revival was launched—in addition to this around the same time the Industrial Revolution paved the way for buildings such as The Crystal Palace. Since the 1930s various modernist forms have appeared whose reception is often controversial, though traditionalist resistance movements continue with support in influential places.[note 7]
Folklore
Main article: English folklore
“Robin shoots with Sir Guy”
Robin Hood illustrated in 1912 by Louis Rhead.

English folklore developed over many centuries. Some of the characters and stories are present across England, but most belong to specific regions. Common folkloric beings include pixies, giants, elfs, bogeymen, trolls, goblins and dwarves. While many legends and folk-customs are thought to be ancient, for instance the tales featuring Offa of Angeln and Weyland Smith,[209] others date from after the Norman invasion; Robin Hood and his Merry Men of Sherwood and their battles with the Sheriff of Nottingham being, perhaps, the best known.[210]

During the High Middle Ages tales originating from Brythonic traditions entered English folklore—the Arthurian myth.[211][212][213] These were derived from Anglo-Norman, French and Welsh sources,[212] featuring King Arthur, Camelot, Excalibur, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table such as Lancelot. These stories are most centrally brought together within Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae.[note 8] Another early figure from British tradition, King Cole, may have been based on a real figure from Sub-Roman Britain. Many of the tales and pseudo-histories make up part of the wider Matter of Britain, a collection of shared British folklore.
Men in bright red clothing holding sticks in the air.
Morris dance, an English folk dance

Some folk figures are based on semi or actual historical people whose story has been passed down centuries; Lady Godiva for instance was said to have ridden naked on horseback through Coventry, Hereward the Wake was a heroic English figure resisting the Norman invasion, Herne the Hunter is an equestrian ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park and Mother Shipton is the archetypal witch.[215] On 5 November people make bonfires, set off fireworks and eat toffee apples in commemoration of the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot centred around Guy Fawkes. The chivalrous bandit, such as Dick Turpin, is a recurring character, while Blackbeard is the archetypal pirate. There are various national and regional folk activities, participated in to this day, such as Morris dancing, Maypole dancing, Rapper sword in the North East, Long Sword dance in Yorkshire, Mummers Plays, bottle-kicking in Leicestershire, and cheese-rolling at Cooper’s Hill.[216] There is no official national costume, but a few are well established such as the Pearly Kings and Queens associated with cockneys, the Royal Guard, the Morris costume and Beefeaters.[217]
Cuisine
Main article: English cuisine
A plate of fish and chips, with salad, dip, lemon slices and a glass of water.
Fish and chips is a widely consumed part of English cuisine.

Since the Early Modern Period the food of England has historically been characterised by its simplicity of approach, honesty of flavour, and a reliance on the high quality of natural produce.[218] During the Middle Ages and through the Renaissance period, English cuisine enjoyed an excellent reputation, though a decline began during the Industrial Revolution with the move away from the land and increasing urbanisation of the populace. The French sometimes referred to English people as les rosbifs, as a stereotype to suggest English food is unsophisticated or crude.[219] The cuisine of England has, however, recently undergone a revival, which has been recognised by the food critics with some good ratings in Restaurant’s best restaurant in the world charts.[220] An early book of English recipes is the Forme of Cury from the royal court of Richard II.[221]
An apple pie on a red table cloth, with green apples next to it.
Apple pie has been consumed in England since the Middle Ages.

Traditional examples of English food include the Sunday roast; featuring a roasted joint, usually beef, lamb or chicken, served with assorted boiled vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.[222] Other prominent meals include fish and chips and the full English breakfast—consisting of bacon, grilled tomatoes, fried bread, black pudding, baked beans, fried mushrooms, sausages and eggs. Various meat pies are consumed such as steak and kidney pie, shepherd’s pie, cottage pie, Cornish pasty and pork pie, the later of which is consumed cold.[222]

Sausages are commonly eaten, either as bangers and mash or toad in the hole. Lancashire hotpot is a well known stew. Some of the most popular cheeses are Cheddar and Wensleydale. Many Anglo-Indian hybrid dishes, curries, have been created such as chicken tikka masala and balti. Sweet English dishes include apple pie, mince pies, spotted dick, scones, Eccles cakes, custard and sticky toffee pudding. Common drinks include tea, which became far more widely drunk due to Catherine of Braganza,[223] while alcoholic drinks include wines and English beers such as bitter, mild, stout, and brown ale.[224]
Visual arts
Main articles: English art and Arts Council England
A painting of a red haired woman, sitting in a boat, surrounded by trees.
The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse in the Pre-Raphaelite style.

The earliest known examples are the prehistoric rock and cave art pieces, most prominent in North Yorkshire, Northumberland and Cumbria, but also feature further south, for example at Creswell Crags.[225] With the arrival of Roman culture in the 1st century, various forms of art utilising statues, busts, glasswork and mosaics were the norm. There are numerous surviving artefacts, such as those at Lullingstone and Aldborough.[226] During the Early Middle Ages the style was sculpted crosses and ivories, manuscript painting, gold and enamel jewellery, demonstrating a love of intricate, interwoven designs such as in the Staffordshire Hoard discovered in 2009. Some of these blended Gaelic and Anglian styles, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels and Vespasian Psalter.[227] Later Gothic art was popular at Winchester and Canterbury, examples survive such as Benedictional of St. Æthelwold and Luttrell Psalter.[228]

The Tudor era saw prominent artists as part of their court, portrait painting which would remain an enduring part of English art, was boosted by German Hans Holbein, natives such as Nicholas Hilliard built on this.[228] Under the Stuarts, Continental artists were influential especially the Flemish, examples from the period include—Anthony van Dyck, Peter Lely, Godfrey Kneller and William Dobson.[228] The 18th century was a time of significance with the founding of the Royal Academy, a classicism based on the High Renaissance prevailed—Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds became two of England’s most treasured artists.[228]

The Norwich School continued the landscape tradition, while the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood with their vivid and detailed style revived the Early Renaissance style—Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais were leaders.[228] Prominent amongst twentieth century artists was Henry Moore, regarded as the voice of British sculpture, and of British modernism in general.[229] Contemporary painters include Lucian Freud, whose work Benefits Supervisor Sleeping in 2008 set a world record for sale value of a painting by a living artist.[230]
Literature, poetry and philosophy
Main article: English literature
A man dressed in grey with a beard, holding a rosary, depicted next to a coat of arms.
Geoffrey Chaucer was an English author, poet and philosopher, best remembered for his unfinished frame narrative The Canterbury Tales.

Early authors wrote in Latin such as Bede and Alcuin.[231] The period of Old English literature provided the epic poem Beowulf, the secular prose the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,[232] along with Christian writings such as Judith, Cædmon’s Hymn and saintly hagiographies.[231] Following the Norman conquest Latin continued amongst the educated classes, as well as an Anglo-Norman literature.

Middle English literature emerged with Geoffrey Chaucer author of The Canterbury Tales, along with Gower, the Pearl Poet and Langland. Franciscans, William of Ockham and Roger Bacon were major philosophers of the Middle Ages. Julian of Norwich with her Revelations of Divine Love was a prominent Christian mystic. With the English Renaissance literature in the Early Modern English style appeared. William Shakespeare, whose works include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, remains one of the most championed authors in English literature.[233]

Marlowe, Spenser, Sydney, Kyd, Donne, Jonson are other established authors of the Elizabethan age.[234] Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes wrote on empiricism and materialism, including scientific method and social contract.[234] Filmer wrote on the Divine Right of Kings. Marvell was the best known poet of the Commonwealth,[235] while John Milton authored Paradise Lost during the Restoration.

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, this earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, this other Eden, demi-paradise; this fortress, built by nature for herself. This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
William Shakespeare.[236]

Some of the most prominent philosophers from the Enlightenment were Locke, Paine, Johnson and Benthem. More radical elements were later countered by Edmund Burke who is regarded as the founder of conservatism.[237] The poet Alexander Pope with his satirical verse became well regarded. The English played a significant role in romanticism—Coleridge, Byron, Keats, M Shelley, PB Shelley, Blake and Wordsworth were major figures.[238]

In response to the Industrial Revolution, agrarian writers looked to find a way between liberty and tradition; Cobbett, Chesterton and Belloc were main exponents, while founder of guild socialism, Penty and cooperative movement advocate Cole are somewhat related.[239] Empiricism continued through Mill and Russell, while Williams was involved in analytics. Authors from around the time of the Victorian era include Dickens, the Brontë sisters, Austen, Kipling, Wells, and Underhill.[240] Since then England has continued to produce novelists such as C. S. Lewis, Orwell, Blyton, Christie, J. R. R. Tolkien, and J. K. Rowling.[241]
Performing arts
Main article: Music of England

Traditional “Greensleeves”
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The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black”
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The Beatles’ “Get Back”
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The traditional folk music of England is centuries old and has contributed to several genres prominently; mostly sea shanties, jigs, hornpipes and dance music. It has its own distinct variations and regional peculiarities. Wynkyn de Worde printed ballads of Robin Hood from the 16th century are an important artefact, as are John Playford’s The Dancing Master and Robert Harley’s Roxburghe Ballads collections.[242] Some of the best known songs are The Good Old Way, Pastime with Good Company, Maggie May and Spanish Ladies amongst others. Many nursery rhymes are of English origin such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Roses are red, Jack and Jill, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush and Humpty Dumpty.[243]

Early English composers in classical music include Renaissance artists Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, followed up by Henry Purcell from the Baroque period. German-born George Frideric Handel became a British subject[244] and spent most of his composing life in London, creating some of the most well-known works of classical music, The Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks. There was a revival in the profile of composers from England in the 20th century led by Benjamin Britten, Frederick Delius, Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams and others.[245] Present-day composers from England include Michael Nyman, best known for The Piano.

In the field of popular music many English bands and solo artists have been cited as the most influential and best-selling musicians of all time. Acts such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Queen, Rod Stewart and The Rolling Stones are among the highest selling recording artists in the world.[246] Many musical genres have origins or strong associations with England, such as British invasion, hard rock, glam rock, heavy metal, mod, britpop, drum and bass, progressive rock, punk rock, indie rock, gothic rock, shoegazing, acid house, UK garage, trip hop and dubstep.[247]

Large outdoor music festivals in the summer and autumn are popular, such as Glastonbury, V Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals. The most prominent opera house in England is the Royal Opera House at Covent Gardens.[248] The Proms, a season of orchestral classical music concerts held at the Royal Albert Hall, is a major cultural event held annually.[248] The Royal Ballet is one of the world’s foremost classical ballet companies, its reputation built on two prominent figures of 20th century dance, prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn and choreographer Frederick Ashton.
Museums, libraries, and galleries
Further information: Museums in England
A museum building designed in the Greek Revival style with a flag on top.
The British Museum in London

English Heritage is a governmental body with a broad remit of managing the historic sites, artefacts and environments of England. It is currently sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The charity National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty holds a contrasting role. Seventeen of the twenty-five United Kingdom UNESCO World Heritage Sites fall within England.[249] Some of the best known of these include; Hadrian’s Wall, Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites, Tower of London, Jurassic Coast, Saltaire, Ironbridge Gorge, Studley Royal Park and various others.[250]

There are many museums in England, but the most notable is London’s British Museum. Its collection of more than seven million objects[251] is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world,[252] sourced from every continent, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present. The British Library in London is the national library and is one of the world’s largest research libraries, holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats; including around 25 million books.[253] The most senior art gallery is the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, which houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.[254] The Tate galleries house the national collections of British and international modern art; they also host the famously controversial Turner Prize.[255]
Sports
Main article: Sport in England
The interior of an empty stadium as viewed from its upper tier of seating. The seats are a vivid red and the pitch is a vivid green. The pale grey sky is visible through an opening in the ceiling above the pitch.
Inside Wembley Stadium, the most expensive stadium ever built[256]

England has a strong sporting heritage, and during the 19th century codified many sports that are now played around the world. Sports originating in England include association football,[257] cricket, rugby union, rugby league, tennis, badminton, squash,[258] rounders,[259] hockey, boxing, snooker, billiards, darts, table tennis, bowls, netball, thoroughbred horseracing and fox hunting. It has helped the development of sailing and Formula One. Football is the most popular of these sports. The England national football team, whose home venue is Wembley Stadium, won the FIFA World Cup in 1966, the year the country hosted the competition.

At club level England is recognised by FIFA as the birth-place of club football, due to Sheffield FC founded in 1857 being the oldest club.[257] The Football Association is the oldest of its kind, FA Cup and The Football League were the first cup and league competitions respectively. In the modern day the Premier League is the world’s most lucrative football league[260] and amongst the elite.[261] The European Cup has been won by Liverpool, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, while Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds United have reached the final.[262]
Men in cricket whites play upon a green grass cricket field amidst a stadium.
England on the way to victory against Australia in the 2009 Ashes series at Lord’s Cricket Ground

Cricket is generally thought to have been developed in the early medieval period among the farming and metalworking communities of the Weald.[263] The England cricket team is a composite England and Wales team. One of the game’s top rivalries is The Ashes series between England and Australia, contested since 1882. The finale of the 2009 Ashes was watched by nearly 2 million people, although the climax of the 2005 Ashes was viewed by 7.4 million as it was available on terrestrial television.[264] England are the current holders of the trophy and are fifth in both Test and One Day International cricket.[265]

England has hosted four Cricket World Cups (1975, 1979, 1983, 1999) and the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009. There are several domestic level competitions, including the County Championship in which Yorkshire are by far the most successful club having won the competition 31 times.[266] Lord’s Cricket Ground situated in London is sometimes referred to as the “Mecca of Cricket”.[267] William Penny Brookes was prominent in organising the format for the modern Olympic Games. London hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1908 and 1948, and will host them again in 2012. England competes in the Commonwealth Games, held every four years. Sport England is the governing body responsible for distributing funds and providing strategic guidance for sporting activity in England. A Grand Prix is held at Silverstone.[268]
White men in grey suits, pale blue shirts and red ties celebrate upon the top floor of an open-top bus. On man holds a golden trophy in the air with one hand.
England rugby union team won the 2003 Rugby World Cup

The England rugby union team won the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the country was one of the host nations of the competition in the 1991 Rugby World Cup and is set to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[269] The top level of club participation is the English Premiership. Leicester Tigers, London Wasps, Bath Rugby and Northampton Saints have had success in the Europe-wide Heineken Cup. In another form of the sport—rugby league which was born in Huddersfield in 1895, the England national rugby league team are ranked third in the world and first in Europe.

Since 2008 England has been a full test nation in lieu of the Great Britain national rugby league team, which won three World Cups but is now retired. Club sides play in Super League, the present-day embodiment of the Rugby Football League Championship. Some of the most successful clubs include Wigan Warriors, St Helens, Leeds Rhinos and Huddersfield Giants; the former three have all won the World Club Challenge previously. The United Kingdom is to host the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.[270] In tennis, the Wimbledon Championships are the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely considered the most prestigious.[271][272]
National symbols
Main article: National symbols of England
A red shield tapers to its bottom end; on it are three stylised golden lions with blue claws.
England’s coat of arms

The national flag of England, known as St. George’s Cross, has been the national flag since the 13th century. Originally the flag was used by the maritime state the Republic of Genoa. The English monarch paid a tribute to the Doge of Genoa from 1190 onwards, so that English ships could fly the flag as a means of protection when entering the Mediterranean. A red cross acted as a symbol for many Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries. It became associated with Saint George, along with countries and cities, which claimed him as their patron saint and used his cross as a banner.[273] Since 1606 the St George’s Cross has formed part of the design of the Union Flag, a Pan-British flag designed by King James I.[188]
A red and white flower.
The Tudor rose, England’s national floral emblem

There are numerous other symbols and symbolic artefacts, both official and unofficial, including the Tudor rose, the nation’s floral emblem, the White Dragon and the Three Lions featured on the nation’s coat of arms. The Tudor rose was adopted as a national emblem of England around the time of the Wars of the Roses as a symbol of peace.[274] It is a syncretic symbol in that it merged the white rose of the Yorkists and the red rose of the Lancastrians—cadet branches of the Plantagenets who went to war over control of the royal house. It is also known as the Rose of England.[275] The oak tree is a symbol of England, representing strength and endurance. The term Royal Oak is used to denote the escape of King Charles II from the grasps of the parliamentarians after his father’s execution; he hid in an oak tree to avoid detection before making it safely into exile.

The national coat of arms of England, featuring three lions dates back to its adoption by Richard the Lionheart from 1198–1340. They are described as gules, three lions passant guardant or and provide one of the most prominent symbols of England; it is similar to the traditional arms of Normandy. England does not have an official designated national anthem, as the United Kingdom as a whole has God Save the Queen. However, the following are often considered unofficial English national anthems: Jerusalem, Land of Hope and Glory (used for England during the 2002 Commonwealth Games),[276] and I Vow to Thee, My Country. England’s National Day is St George’s Day, as Saint George is the patron saint of England, it is held annually on 23 April.[277]
Notes

1. ^ English is established by de facto usage.
2. ^ Assigned on a United Kingdom basis, not constituent country.
3. ^ According to the European Statistical Agency, London is the largest Larger Urban Zone which uses conurbations and areas of high population as its definition. A ranking of population within municipal boundaries places London first. However, the University of Avignon in France claims that Paris is first and London second when including the whole urban area and hinterland, that is the outlying cities as well.
4. ^ As Roger Scruton explains, “The Reformation must not be confused with the changes introduced into the Church of England during the ‘Reformation Parliament’ of 1529–36, which were of a political rather than a religious nature, designed to unite the secular and religious sources of authority within a single sovereign power: the Anglican Church did not until later make substantial change in doctrine”.[56]
5. ^ For instance, in 1980 around 50 million Americans claimed English ancestry.[152] In Canada there are around 6.5 million Canadians who claim English ancestry.[153] Around 70% of Australians in 1999 denoted their origins as Anglo-Celtic—a category which includes all peoples from Great Britain and Ireland.[154] Chileans of English descent are somewhat of an anomaly in that Chile itself was never part of the British Empire, but today there are around 420,000 people of English origins living there.[155]
6. ^ Students attending English universities now have to pay tuition fees towards the cost of their education, as do English students who choose to attend university in Scotland. Scottish students attending Scottish universities have their fees paid by the devolved Scottish Parliament.[86]
7. ^ While people such as Norman Foster and Richard Rogers represent the modernist movement, Prince Charles since the 1980s has voiced strong views against it in favour of traditional architecture and put his ideas into practice at his Poundbury development in Dorset.[208] Architects like Raymond Erith, Francis Johnson and Quinlan Terry continued to practice in the classical style.
8. ^ These tales may have come to prominence, at least in part, as an attempt by the Norman ruling elite to legitimise their rule of the British Isles, finding Anglo-Saxon history ill-suited to the task during an era when members of the deposed House of Wessex, especially Edgar the Ætheling and his nephews of the Scottish House of Dunkeld, were still active in the isles.[212][214] Also Michael Wood explains; “Over the centuries the figure of Arthur became a symbol of British history—a way of explaining the matter of Britain, the relationship between the Saxons and the Celts, and a way of exorcising ghosts and healing the wounds of the past.”[211]

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Nearly 60% of Washington’s residents live in the Seattle metropolitan area, the center of transportation, business, and industry, and home to an internationally known arts community. The remainder of the state consists of deep rain forests in the west, mountain ranges in the center, northeast and far southeast, and eastern semi-deserts given over to intensive agriculture.

Washington was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States, and is the only U.S. state named after a president. Washington is commonly called Washington State or occasionally the State of Washington to distinguish it from the U.S. capital (and because its proper name is the State of Washington). However, Washingtonians (residents of Washington) and many residents of neighboring states normally refer to the state simply as “Washington”, while usually referring to the nation’s capital as “Washington, D.C.” or simply “D.C.”

Geography
A land of contrasts: a farm and barren hills near Riverside.

Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States. Its northern border lies mostly along the 49th parallel, and then via marine boundaries through the Strait of Georgia, Haro Strait and Strait of Juan de Fuca, with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. Washington borders Oregon to the south, with the Columbia River forming most of the boundary and the 46th parallel forming the eastern part of the southern boundary.

To the east Washington borders Idaho, bounded mostly by the meridian running north from the confluence of the Snake River and Clearwater River (about 116°57′ west), except for the southernmost section where the border follows the Snake River. To the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean.[4] Washington was a Union territory during the American Civil War, although it never actually participated in the war.

Washington is part of a region known as the Pacific Northwest, a term which always includes at least Washington and Oregon and may or may not include Idaho, western Montana, northern California, and part or all of British Columbia, Alaska, and the Yukon Territory, depending on the speaker or writer’s intent.
Digitally colored elevation map of Washington.

The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting the state. Western Washington, west of the Cascades, has a mostly marine west coast climate with moderately mild temperatures, wet winters, and dry summers. Western Washington also supports dense forests of conifers and areas of temperate rain forest.[5] In contrast, Eastern Washington, east of the Cascades, has a relatively dry climate with large areas of semiarid steppe and a few truly arid deserts lying in the rainshadow of the Cascades; the Hanford reservation receives an average annual precipitation of between six and seven inches (178 mm). Farther east, the climate becomes less arid. The Palouse southeast region of Washington was grassland that has been mostly converted into farmland. Other parts of eastern Washington are forested and mountainous.

The Cascade Range contains several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains. From the north to the south these volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. Mount St. Helens is currently the only Washington volcano that is actively erupting; however, all of them are considered active volcanoes.

Washington’s position on the Pacific Ocean and the harbors of Puget Sound give the state a leading role in maritime trade with Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific Rim. Puget Sound’s many islands are served by the largest ferry fleet in the United States.

Washington is a land of contrasts. The deep forests of the Olympic Peninsula, such as the Hoh Rain Forest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States, but the semi-desert east of the Cascade Range has few trees. Mount Rainier, the highest mountain in the state,[3] is covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the lower 48 states.[6]
Federal land and reservations
National parks and monuments

There are three National Parks and two National Monuments in Washington:

* Mount Rainier National Park
* North Cascades National Park
* Olympic National Park
* Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
* Hanford Reach National Monument

National forests

Nine national forests are located (at least partly) in Washington:

* Colville National Forest
* Gifford Pinchot National Forest
* Idaho Panhandle National Forest
* Kaniksu National Forest
* Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
* Okanogan National Forest
* Olympic National Forest
* Umatilla National Forest
* Wenatchee National Forest

Federally protected wildernesses

31 wildernesses are located (at least partly) in Washington, including:

* Alpine Lakes Wilderness
* Glacier Peak Wilderness
* Goat Rocks Wilderness
* Henry M. Jackson Wilderness
* Juniper Dunes Wilderness
* Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness
* Mount Baker Wilderness
* Norse Peak Wilderness
* Olympic Wilderness
* Pasayten Wilderness
* Wild Sky Wilderness

National wildlife refuges

23 National Wildlife Refuges are located (at least partly) in Washington including:

* Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
* Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge
* Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
* Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
* Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge
* San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge
* Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge
* Willapa National Wildlife Refuge

Other federally protected lands

Other protected lands of note include:

* Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
* Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve
* Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
* Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
* Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
* Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
* Ross Lake National Recreation Area
* San Juan Island National Historical Park
* Whitman Mission National Historic Site
* 17 National Natural Landmarks

Military and related reservations

There are several large military-related reservations, including:

* Joint Base Lewis-McChord
* Fairchild Air Force Base
* Naval Base Kitsap
* Hanford Site
* Yakima Training Center
* Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (Bremerton)
* Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
* Naval Station Everett

Climate
Dryland farming caused a large dust storm in arid parts of eastern Washington on October 4, 2009. [7]

Washington’s climate varies greatly from west to east. An oceanic climate (also called “west coast marine climate”) predominates in western Washington, and a much drier semi-arid climate prevails east of the Cascade Range. Major factors determining Washington’s climate include the large semi-permanent high pressure and low pressure systems of the north Pacific Ocean, the continental air masses of North America, and the Olympic and Cascade mountains. In the spring and summer, a high pressure anticyclone system dominates the north Pacific Ocean, causing air to spiral out in a clockwise fashion.

For Washington this means prevailing winds from the northwest bringing relatively cool air and a predictably dry season. In the autumn and winter, a low pressure cyclone system takes over in the north Pacific Ocean, with air spiraling inward in a counter-clockwise fashion. This causes Washington’s prevailing winds to come from the southwest, bringing relatively warm and moist air masses and a predictably wet season. The term Pineapple Express is used to describe the extreme form of this wet season pattern.[8]

Despite western Washington having a marine climate similar to those of many coastal cities of Europe, there are exceptions such as the “Big Snow” events of 1880, 1881, 1893 and 1916 and the “deep freeze” winters of 1883–84, 1915–16, 1949–50 and 1955–56, among others. During these events western Washington experienced up to 6 feet (1.8 m) of snow, sub-zero (-18°C) temperatures, three months with snow on the ground, and lakes and rivers frozen over for weeks.[9] Seattle’s lowest officially recorded temperature is 0 °F (-18 °C) set on January 31, 1950, but areas a short distance away from Seattle have recorded lows as cold as -20 °F (-28.9 °C).[citation needed]

In 2006, the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington published The Impacts of Climate change in Washington’s Economy, a preliminary assessment on the risks and opportunities presented given the possibility of a rise in global temperatures and their effects on Washington state.[10]
Rain shadow effects
Washington experiences extensive variation in rainfall.

The Olympic mountains and Cascades compound this climatic pattern by causing orographic lift of the air masses blown inland from the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the windward side of the mountains receiving high levels of precipitation and the leeward side receiving low levels. This occurs most dramatically around the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Range. In both cases the windward slopes facing southwest receive high precipitation and mild, cool temperatures. While the Puget Sound lowlands are known for clouds and rain in the winter, the western slopes of the Cascades receive larger amounts of precipitation, often falling as snow at higher elevations. (Mount Baker, near the state’s northern border, is one of the snowiest places in the world: in 1999, it set the world record for snowfall in a single season: 1,140 inches, or 95 foot (29 m).[11]

East of the Cascades, a large region experiences strong rain shadow effects. Semi-arid conditions occur in much of eastern Washington with the strongest rain shadow effects at the relatively low elevations of the central Columbia Plateau—especially the region just east of the Columbia River from about the Snake River to the Okanagan Highland. Thus instead of rain forests much of eastern Washington is covered with grassland and shrub-steppe.
Temperatures

The average annual temperature ranges from 51 °F (11 °C) on the Pacific coast to 40 °F (4 °C) in the northeast. The lowest temperature recorded in the state was -48 °F (-44.4 °C) in Winthrop and Mazama. The highest recorded temperature in the state was 118 °F (48 °C) at Ice Harbor Dam. Both records were set east of the Cascades. Western Washington is known for its mild climate, considerable fog, frequent cloud cover and long-lasting drizzles in the winter, and sunny and dry summers. The western region occasionally experiences extreme climate. Arctic cold fronts in the winter and heat waves in the summer are not uncommon. In the Western region, temperatures have reached as high as 112 °F (44 °C) in Marietta[12] and as low as -20 °F (-28.9 °C) in Longview.[13]

The western side of the Olympic Peninsula receives as much as 160 inches (4,100 mm) of precipitation annually, making it the wettest area of the 48 conterminous states. Weeks or even months may pass without a clear day. The western slopes of the Cascade Range receive some of the heaviest annual snowfall (in some places more than 200 inches (510 cm) water equivalent) in the country. In the rain shadow area east of the Cascades, the annual precipitation is only 6 inches (150 mm). Precipitation then increases again eastward toward the Rocky Mountains.
History
Main article: History of Washington (U.S. state)
A reconstructed face of the Kennewick Man.
Mt. Rainier reflected in Reflection lake.
The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River
Mount Rainier with Tacoma in foreground

Prior to the arrival of explorers from Europe, this region of the Pacific Coast had many established tribes of Native Americans, each with its own unique culture. Today, they are most notable for their totem poles and their ornately carved canoes and masks. Prominent among their industries were salmon fishing and, among the Makah, whale hunting. The peoples of the Interior had a very different subsistence-based culture based on hunting, food-gathering and some forms of agriculture, as well as a dependency on salmon from the Columbia and its tributaries. The smallpox epidemic of the 1770s devastated the Amerindian population.[14]

The first European record of a landing on the Washington coast was by Spanish Captain Don Bruno de Heceta in 1775, on board the Santiago, part of a two-ship flotilla with the Sonora. They claimed all the coastal lands up to Prince William Sound in the north for Spain as part of their claimed rights under the Treaty of Tordesillas, which they maintained made the Pacific a “Spanish lake” and all its shores part of the Spanish Empire.

In 1778, British explorer Captain James Cook sighted Cape Flattery, at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but Cook thought the strait did not exist. It was not discovered until Charles William Barkley, captain of the Imperial Eagle, sighted it in 1787. Further explorations of the straits were performed by Spanish explorers Manuel Quimper in 1790 and Francisco de Eliza in 1791, then by British Captain George Vancouver in 1792.

The British-Spanish Nootka Convention of 1790 ended Spanish claims of exclusivity and opened the Northwest Coast to explorers and traders from other nations, most notably Britain and Russia as well as the fledgling United States. American captain Robert Gray (for whom Grays Harbor County is named) then discovered the mouth of the Columbia River. He named the river after his ship, the Columbia. Beginning in 1792, Gray established trade in sea otter pelts. The Lewis and Clark Expedition entered the state on October 10, 1805.

Explorer David Thompson, on his voyage down the Columbia River camped at the junction with the Snake River on July 9, 1811 and erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site.

The UK and the USA agreed to what has since been described as “joint occupancy” of lands west of the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean as part of the Anglo-American Convention of 1818, which established the 49th Parallel as the international boundary west from Lake of the Woods to the Rocky mountains. Resolution of the territorial and treaty issues, west to the Pacific, were deferred until a later time. Spain, in 1819, ceded their rights north of the 42nd Parallel to the United States, although these rights did not include possession.

Negotiations with Great Britain over the next few decades failed to settle upon a compromise boundary and the Oregon boundary dispute became important in geopolitical diplomacy between the British Empire and the new American Republic. Disputed joint-occupancy by Britain and the U.S.A., lasted for several decades. With American settlers pouring into the Oregon Country; the Hudson’s Bay Company, which had previously discouraged settlement because it conflicted with the fur trade, reversed its position in an attempt to maintain control of the Columbia District for Great Britain. Fur trapper James Sinclair, on orders from Sir George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, guided some 200 settlers from the Red River Colony west in 1841 to settle on Hudson Bay Company farms near Fort Vancouver. The party crossed the Rockies into the Columbia Valley, near present-day Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia, then traveled south-west down the Kootenai River and Columbia River. Despite such efforts, Britain eventually ceded all claim to land south of the 49th parallel to the United States in the Oregon Treaty on June 15, 1846.

In 1836, a group of missionaries including Marcus Whitman established several missions and Whitman’s own settlement Waiilatpu, in what is now southeastern Washington state, near present day Walla Walla County, in territory of both the Cayuse and the Nez Perce Indian tribes. Whitman’s settlement would in 1843 help the Oregon Trail, the overland emigration route to the west, get established for thousands of emigrants in following decades. Marcus provided medical care for the Native Americans, but when Indian patients – lacking immunity to new, ‘European’ diseases – died in striking numbers, while at the same time many white patients recovered, they held ‘medicine man’ Marcus Whitman personally responsible, and murdered Whitman and twelve other white settlers in the Whitman massacre in 1847. This event triggered the Cayuse War between settlers and Indians.

The first settlement in the Puget Sound area in the west of what is now Washington, was that of Fort Nisqually, a farm and trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company, in 1833. Washington’s erstwhile founder, the black pioneer George Washington Bush and his caucasian wife, Isabella James Bush, from Missouri and Tennessee, respectively, led four white families into the territory and settled New Market, now known as Tumwater, Washington, in 1846. They settled in Washington to avoid Oregon’s racist settlement laws.[15] After them, many more settlers, migrating overland along the Oregon trail, wandered north to settle in the Puget Sound area.

In 1852, people from all over what was to become Washington state gathered in Monticello (now Longview) to draft a memorandum to Congress. The memorandum expressed their desire to be granted statehood under the name of Columbia. This meeting came to be known as the Monticello Convention. The desires of the Convention were met favorably in Congress, but it was decided that a state named Columbia might be confused with the preexisting District of Columbia. In a manner which strangely enough did not solve the problem of being confused with the nation’s capital, the state was instead named Washington in honor of the first U.S. president.[16][17] Washington became the 42nd state in the United States on November 11, 1889.

Early prominent industries in the state included agriculture and lumber. In eastern Washington, the Yakima River Valley became known for its apple orchards, while the growth of wheat using dry-farming techniques became particularly productive. The heavy rainfall to the west of the Cascade Range produced dense forests, and the ports along Puget Sound prospered from the manufacturing and shipping of lumber products, particularly the Douglas-fir. Other industries that developed in the state include fishing, salmon canning and mining.

For a long period, Tacoma was noted for its large smelters where gold, silver, copper and lead ores were treated. Seattle was the primary port for trade with Alaska and the rest of the country, and for a time it possessed a large shipbuilding industry. The region around eastern Puget Sound developed heavy industry during the period including World War I and World War II, and the Boeing company became an established icon in the area.

During the Great Depression, a series of hydroelectric dams were constructed along the Columbia river as part of a project to increase the production of electricity. This culminated in 1941 with the completion of the Grand Coulee Dam, the largest concrete structure in the United States.

During World War II, the state became a focus for war industries, with the Boeing Company producing many of the nation’s heavy bombers and ports in Seattle, Bremerton, Vancouver, and Tacoma were available for the manufacture of warships. Seattle was the point of departure for many soldiers in the Pacific, a number of which were quartered at Golden Gardens Park. In eastern Washington, the Hanford Works atomic energy plant was opened in 1943 and played a major role in the construction of the nation’s atomic bombs.

On May 18, 1980, following a period of heavy tremors and eruptions, the northeast face of Mount St. Helens exploded outward, destroying a large part of the top of the volcano. This eruption flattened the forests, killed 57 people, flooded the Columbia River and its tributaries with ash and mud, and blanketed large parts of Washington and other surrounding states in ash, making day look like night.[18][19]
Demographics
Historical populations
Census     Pop.         %±
1850     1,201
—
1860     11,594         865.4%
1870     23,955         106.6%
1880     75,116         213.6%
1890     357,232         375.6%
1900     518,103         45.0%
1910     1,141,990         120.4%
1920     1,356,621         18.8%
1930     1,563,396         15.2%
1940     1,736,191         11.1%
1950     2,378,963         37.0%
1960     2,853,214         19.9%
1970     3,409,169         19.5%
1980     4,132,156         21.2%
1990     4,866,692         17.8%
2000     5,894,121         21.1%
Est. 2009[2]     6,664,195         13.1%
Washington Population Density Map
Seattle
Spokane
Tacoma

According to the U.S. Census, as of 2009, Washington has a historical estimated population of 6,664,195, which is an increase of 770,074, or 13.1%, since the year 2000.[20] This includes a natural increase of 221,958 people (that is, 503,819 births minus 281,861 deaths) and an increase from net migration of 287,759 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 157,950 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 129,809 people. Washington ranks first in the Pacific Northwest region in terms of population, followed by Oregon, and Idaho.

The center of population of Washington in the year 2000 was located in an unpopulated part of rural eastern King County, southeast of North Bend and northeast of Enumclaw.[21]

As of the Census 2000, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Metropolitan Area’s population was 3,043,878, approximately half the state’s total population.[22]

6.7% of Washington’s population was reported as under 5, 25.7% under 18, and 11.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.2% of the population.

The largest ancestry groups in the state are:[23]

* 20.9% German
* 12.6% English
* 12.6% Irish
* 6.2% Norwegian
* 4.1% American
* 4.0% French
* 3.9% Swedish
* 3.6% Italian
* 3.4% Scottish
* 2.6% Scotch Irish
* 2.5% Dutch
* 1.9% Polish
* 1.4% Russian
* 1.2% Danish
* 1.1% Welsh

Largest cities
See also: List of cities in Washington

The largest cities in Washington according to 2009 state census estimates.[24]
Rank     City     Population
1     Seattle     617,334
2     Spokane     203,276
3     Tacoma     199,637
4     Vancouver     165,809
5     Bellevue     126,626
6     Everett     99,384
7     Spokane Valley     87,378
8     Federal Way     85,929
9     Yakima     85,832
10     Kent     85,631
11     Bellingham     80,055
12     Kennewick     67,814
13     Auburn     63,544
14     Renton     62,076
15     Lakewood     57,710
Religion

Major religious affiliations of the people of Washington are:[25]

* Protestant: 49%
o Mainline: 23%
o Evangelical: 25%
o Other Protestant: 1%
* Unaffiliated: 25%
* Roman Catholic: 16%
* Latter-day Saint: 4%
* Jewish: 1%
* Muslim: 1%
* Other Religions: 3%

The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 716,133; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 178,000 (253,166 year-end 2007) ; and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 127,854.[26]

As with many other Western states, the percentage of Washington’s population identifying themselves as “non-religious” is higher than the national average. The percentage of non-religious people in Washington is the highest of any state other than Colorado with 31%.[27]
Economy
Main article: Economy of Washington (U.S. state)
Microsoft Corporation headquarters in Redmond.

The 2007 total gross state product for Washington was $311.5 billion, placing it 14th in the nation.[28] The per capita personal income in 2009 was $41,751, 12th in the nation. Significant business within the state include the design and manufacture of jet aircraft (Boeing), computer software development (Microsoft, Amazon.com, Nintendo of America, Valve Corporation), electronics, biotechnology, aluminum production, lumber and wood products (Weyerhaeuser), mining, and tourism. The state has significant amounts of hydroelectric power generation.

Significant amounts of trade with Asia pass through the ports of the Puget Sound. See list of United States companies by state. Fortune magazine survey of the top 20 Most Admired Companies in the US has 4 Washington based companies in it, Starbucks, Microsoft, Costco and Nordstrom.[29]

Washington is one of eighteen states which has a government monopoly on sales of alcoholic beverages, although beer and wine with less than 20% alcohol by volume can be purchased in convenience stores and supermarkets. Liqueurs (even if under 20% alcohol by volume) and spirits can only be purchased in state-run or privately-owned-state-contracted liquor stores.[30]

Among its resident billionaires, Washington boasts Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, who, with a net worth of $40 billion, was ranked the wealthiest man in the world as of February 2009, according to Forbes magazine.[31] Other Washington state billionaires include Paul Allen (Microsoft), Steve Ballmer (Microsoft), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Craig McCaw (McCaw Cellular Communications), James Jannard (Oakley), Howard Schultz (Starbucks), and Charles Simonyi (Microsoft).[32]

As of January 2010, the state’s unemployment rate is 9.3%.[33]
Taxes

The state of Washington is one of only seven states that does not levy a personal income tax. The state also does not collect a corporate income tax or franchise tax. However, Washington businesses are responsible for various other state levies. One tax Washington charges on most businesses is the business and occupation tax (B & O), a gross receipts tax which charges varying rates for different types of businesses.
Starbucks Headquarters, Seattle.

Washington’s state base sales tax is 6.5% which is combined with a local rate. As of April 2010, the rate will be 9.5% in Seattle and other cities.[34] These taxes apply to services as well as products.[35] Most foods are exempt from sales tax; however, prepared foods, dietary supplements and soft drinks remain taxable. The combined state and local retail sales tax rates increase the taxes paid by consumers, depending on the variable local sales tax rates, generally between 8 and 9%.[36]

An excise tax applies to certain select products such as gasoline, cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages. Property tax was the first tax levied in the state of Washington and its collection accounts for about 30% of Washington’s total state and local revenue. It continues to be the most important revenue source for public schools, fire protection, libraries, parks and recreation, and other special purpose districts.

All real property and personal property is subject to tax unless specifically exempted by law. Personal property also is taxed, although most personal property owned by individuals is exempt. Personal property tax applies to personal property used when conducting business or to other personal property not exempt by law. All property taxes are paid to the county treasurer’s office where the property is located. Washington does not impose a tax on intangible assets such as bank accounts, stocks or bonds. Neither does the state assess any tax on retirement income earned and received from another state. Washington does not collect inheritance taxes; however, the estate tax is decoupled from the federal estate tax laws, and therefore the state imposes its own estate tax.
Agriculture
Azwell, Washington, a small community of pickers’ cabins and apple orchards.

Washington is a leading agricultural state. (The following figures are from the Washington State Office of Financial Management and the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington Field Office.) For 2003, the total value of Washington’s agricultural products was $5.79 billion, the 11th highest in the country. The total value of its crops was $3.8 billion, the 7th highest. The total value of its livestock and specialty products was $1.5 billion, the 26th highest.

In 2004, Washington ranked first in the nation in production of red raspberries (90.0% of total U.S. production), wrinkled seed peas (80.6%), hops (75.0%), spearmint oil (73.6%), apples (58.1%), sweet cherries (47.3%), pears (42.6%), peppermint oil (40.3%), Concord grapes (39.3%), carrots for processing (36.8%), and Niagara grapes (31.6%). Washington also ranked second in the nation in production of lentils, fall potatoes, dry edible peas, apricots, grapes (all varieties taken together), asparagus (over a third of the nation’s production), sweet corn for processing, and green peas for processing; third in tart cherries, prunes and plums, and dry summer onions; fourth in barley and trout; and fifth in wheat, cranberries, and strawberries.

The apple industry is of particular importance to Washington. Because of the favorable climate of dry, warm summers and cold winters of central Washington, the state has led the U.S. in apple production since the 1920s.[37] Two areas account for the vast majority of the state’s apple crop: the Wenatchee–Okanogan region (comprising Chelan, Okanogan, Douglas, and Grant counties), and the Yakima region (Yakima, Benton and Kittitas counties).[38]
Transportation
Washington has the largest ferry system in the United States.

Washington has a system of state highways, called State Routes, as well as an extensive ferry system which is the largest in the nation[39] and the third largest in the world. There are 140 public airfields in Washington, including 16 state airports owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation. Boeing Field in Seattle is one of the busiest primary non-hub airports in the US.[40] The unique geography of Washington presents exceptional transportation needs.

There are extensive waterways in the midst of Washington’s largest cites, including Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma and Olympia. The state highways incorporate an extensive network of bridges and the largest ferry system in the United States to serve transportation needs in the Puget Sound area. Washington’s marine highway constitutes a fleet of twenty-eight ferries that navigate Puget Sound and its inland waterways to 20 different ports of call. Washington is home to four of the five longest floating bridges in the world: the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge and Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge over Lake Washington, and the Hood Canal Bridge which connects the Olympic Peninsula and Kitsap Peninsula.
Floating bridges on Lake Washington

The Cascade Mountain Range also provides unique transportation challenges. Washington operates and maintains roads over seven major mountain passes and eight minor passes. During winter months some of these passes are plowed, sanded, and kept safe with avalanche control. Not all are able to stay open through the winter. The North Cascades Highway, State Route 20, closes every year. This is because the extraordinary amount of snowfall and frequency of avalanches in the area of Washington Pass make it unsafe in the winter months.
Toxic chemicals

In 2007, Washington became the first state in the nation to target all forms of highly toxic brominated flame retardants known as PBDEs for elimination from the many common household products in which they are used. A 2004 study of 40 mothers from Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Montana found PBDEs in the breast milk of every woman tested.

Three recent studies by the Washington Department of Ecology showed that toxic chemicals banned decades ago continue to linger in the environment and concentrate in the food chain. In one of the studies, state government scientists found unacceptable levels of toxic substances in 93 samples of freshwater fish collected from 45 sites. The toxic substances included PCBs; dioxins, two chlorinated pesticides, DDE and dieldrin, and PBDEs. As a result of the study, the department will investigate the sources of PCBs in the Wenatchee River, where unhealthy levels of PCBs were found in mountain whitefish. Based on the 2007 information and a previous 2004 Ecology study, the Washington Department of Health is advising the public not to eat mountain whitefish from the Wenatchee River from Leavenworth downstream to where the river joins the Columbia, due to unhealthy levels of PCBs. Study results also indicated high levels of contaminants in fish tissue that scientists collected from Lake Washington and the Spokane River, where fish consumption advisories are already in effect [41].

On March 27, 2006 Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law the recently approved House Bill 2322. This bill would limit phosphorus content in dishwashing detergents statewide to 0.5% over the next six years. Though the ban would be effective statewide in 2010, it would take place in Whatcom County, Spokane County, and Clark County in 2008.[42] A recent discovery had linked high contents of phosphorus in water to a boom in algae population. An invasive amount of algae in bodies of water would eventually lead to a variety of excess ecological and technological issues.[43]
Law and government
See also: Category:Government of Washington (U.S. state)
The Washington State Capitol building in Olympia.

The bicameral Washington State Legislature is the state’s legislative branch. The state legislature is composed of a lower House of Representatives and an upper State Senate. The state is divided into 49 legislative districts of equal population, each of which elects two representatives and one senator. Representatives serve two-year terms, whilst senators serve for four years. There are no term limits. Currently, the Democratic Party holds majorities in both chambers.

Washington’s executive branch is headed by a governor elected for a four-year term. The current governor is Christine Gregoire, a Democrat who has been in office since 2005.

The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. Nine justices serve on the bench and are elected statewide.
U.S. Congress
See also: United States congressional delegations from Washington

The two U.S. Senators from Washington are Patty Murray (D) and Maria Cantwell (D).

Washington representatives in the United States House of Representatives (see map of districts) are Jay Inslee (D-1), Richard Ray (Rick) Larsen (D-2), Brian Baird (D-3), Doc Hastings (R-4), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-5), Norm Dicks (D-6), Jim McDermott (D-7), Dave Reichert (R-8), and Adam Smith (D-9).
State elected officials
Executive

* Christine Gregoire, Governor (D)
* Brad Owen, Lieutenant Governor (D)
* Sam Reed, Secretary of State (R)
* Rob McKenna, Attorney General (R)
* Jim McIntire, State Treasurer (D)
* Brian Sonntag, State Auditor (D)
* Randy Dorn, Superintendent of Public Instruction (non-partisan office)
* Peter J. Goldmark, Commissioner of Public Lands (D)
* Mike Kreidler, Insurance Commissioner (D)

Politics
See also: Political party strength in Washington
Presidential elections results Year     Republican     Democratic
2008     40.48% 1,229,216     57.65% 1,750,848
2004     45.59% 1,304,893     52.82% 1,510,201
2000     44.59% 1,108,864     50.21% 1,247,652
1996     37.32% 840,712     49.81% 1,123,323
1992     31.99% 731,234     43.41% 993,037
1988     47.97% 903,835     50.03% 933,516
1984     55.82% 1,051,670     42.86% 807,352
1980     49.66% 865,244     37.32% 650,193
1976     50.00% 777,732     46.11% 717,323
1972     56.92% 837,135     38.64% 568,334

The state has been thought of as politically divided by the Cascade Mountains, with Western Washington being liberal (particularly the I-5 Corridor) and Eastern Washington being conservative. Lately however, Washington has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1988. Spokane, the state’s second largest city located in Eastern Washington, has been leaning more liberal, with one example being Democrat Maria Cantwell winning by a wide margin in the 2006 senate race against Republican Mike McGavick.

Since the population is larger in the west, the Democrats usually fare better statewide. More specifically, the Seattle metro area (especially King County) generally delivers strong Democratic margins, while the outlying areas of Western Washington were nearly tied in both 2000 and 2004. It was considered a key swing state in 1968, and it was the only Western state to give its electoral votes to Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey over his Republican opponent Richard Nixon. Washington was considered a part of the 1994 Republican Revolution, and had the biggest pickup in the house for Republicans, making 7 of the 9 house members Republicans for the state of Washington.[44] However, this dominance did not last for long as Democrats picked up one seat in the 1996 election[45] and two more in 1998, giving the Democrats a 5–4 majority.[46]

The two current United States Senators from Washington are Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both of whom are members of the Democratic Party. The office of Governor is held by Christine Gregoire, who was re-elected to her second term in the 2008 gubernatorial election. Washington is the first and only state in the country to have elected women to both of its United States Senate seats and the office of Governor. Both houses of the Washington State Legislature (the Washington Senate and the Washington House of Representatives) are currently controlled by the Democratic Party.
Education
Elementary and secondary

See also List of school districts in Washington

As of the 2008-2009 school year, 1,040,750 students were enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in Washington, with 59,562 teachers employed to educate them.[47] As of August 2009, there were 295 school districts in the state, serviced by nine educational service districts.[48] Washington School Information Processing Cooperative (a non-profit, opt-in, State agency) provides information management systems for fiscal & human resources and student data. Elementary and secondary schools are under the jurisdiction of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), led by State School Superintendent Randy Dorn.[49]

High school juniors and seniors in Washington have the option of utilizing the state’s Running Start program. Initiated by the state legislature in 1990, the program allows students attend institutions of higher education at public expense, simultaneously earning high school and college credit.[50]

The State also has several public arts focused high schools including Tacoma School of the Arts, Vancouver school of Arts and Academics, and The Center School. And a Science and Math based high school in Tacoma, Washington known as SAMI.
Colleges and universities

State universities

* Central Washington University
* Eastern Washington University
* The Evergreen State College
* University of Washington
* Washington State University
* Western Washington University

Private universities

* Antioch University Seattle
* Argosy University/Seattle
* Art Institute of Seattle
* Bastyr University
* City University of Seattle
* Cornish College of the Arts
* DeVry University
* DigiPen Institute of Technology
* Gonzaga University
* Henry Cogswell College
* Heritage University
* Mars Hill Graduate School
* Moody Bible Institute – Spokane

* Northwest University
* Pacific Lutheran University
* St. Martin’s University
* School of Visual Concepts
* Seattle Bible College
* Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine
* Seattle Pacific University
* Seattle University
* Trinity Lutheran College
* University of Puget Sound
* Walla Walla University
* Whitman College
* Whitworth University

Community colleges

* Bates Technical College
* Bellevue College
* Bellingham Technical College
* Big Bend Community College
* Cascadia Community College
* Centralia College
* Clark College
* Clover Park Technical College
* Columbia Basin College
* Edmonds Community College
* Everett Community College
* Grays Harbor College
* Green River Community College
* Highline Community College
* Lake Washington Technical College
* Lower Columbia College

* Olympic College
* Peninsula College
* Pierce College
* Renton Technical College
* Seattle Community College District
* Shoreline Community College
* Skagit Valley College
* South Puget Sound Community College
* Spokane Community College
* Spokane Falls Community College
* Tacoma Community College
* Walla Walla Community College
* Wenatchee Valley College

* Whatcom Community College
* Yakima Valley Community College

Professional sports
Club?     Sport?     League?     City & Stadium?
Seattle Seahawks     Football     National Football League; NFC     Seattle, Qwest Field
Seattle Mariners     Baseball     Major League Baseball; AL     Seattle, Safeco Field
Spokane Shock     Arena Football     Arena Football League     Spokane, Spokane Arena
Wenatchee Valley Venom     Arena Football     American Indoor Football Association     Wenatchee, Town Toyota Center
Seattle Storm     Basketball     Women’s National Basketball Association     Seattle, KeyArena
Spokane Spiders     Soccer     Premier Development League (Northwest Division)     Spokane, Joe Albi Stadium
Seattle Sounders FC     Soccer     Major League Soccer     Seattle, Qwest Field
Seattle Sounders     Soccer     USL First Division (men’s) (Defunct)
W-League (women’s)     Seattle, Qwest Field
Bellingham Slam     Basketball     American Basketball Association     Bellingham, Whatcom Community College
Bellevue Blackhawks     Basketball     American Basketball Association     Bellevue, Meydenbauer Center
Everett Silvertips     Ice Hockey     Western Hockey League     Everett, Everett Event Center
Spokane Chiefs     Ice Hockey     Western Hockey League     Spokane, Spokane Arena
Seattle Thunderbirds     Ice Hockey     Western Hockey League     Kent, ShoWare Center
Tri-City Americans     Ice Hockey     Western Hockey League     Kennewick, Toyota Center
Tri-City Fever     Indoor Football     IFL     Kennewick, Toyota Center
Kent Predators     Indoor Football     IFL     Kent, ShoWare Center
Tri-City Dust Devils     Baseball     Northwest League; A     Pasco, Dust Devils Stadium
Tacoma Rainiers     Baseball     Pacific Coast League; AAA     Tacoma, Cheney Stadium
Spokane Indians     Baseball     Northwest League; A     Spokane, Avista Stadium
Everett AquaSox     Baseball     Northwest League; A     Everett, Everett Memorial Stadium
Yakima Bears     Baseball     Northwest League; A     Yakima, Yakima County Stadium
Yakima Sun Kings     Basketball     Continental Basketball Association     Yakima, Yakima Valley SunDome
Old Puget Sound Beach RFC     Rugby     RSL     Seattle, various venues
Washington Stealth     Lacrosse     NLL     Everett, Everett Event Center
Seattle Mist     Lingerie Football     LFL     Kent, ShoWare Center
Miscellaneous topics

Four ships of the United States Navy, including two Battleships, have been named USS Washington in honor of the state. Previous ships had held that name in honor of George Washington.
The Evergreen State

The state’s nickname “Evergreen” was proposed in 1890 by Charles T. Conover of Seattle, Washington. The name proved popular as the forests were full of evergreen trees and the abundance of rain keeps the shrubbery and grasses green throughout the year.[51]
State symbols
Reverse side of the Washington quarter
Main article: List of Washington state symbols

The state song is “Washington, My Home,” the state bird is the American Goldfinch, the state fruit is the apple, and the state vegetable is the Walla Walla sweet onion.[52] The state dance, adopted in 1979, is the square dance. The state tree is the Western Hemlock. The state flower is the Coast Rhododendron. The state fish is the steelhead trout. The state folk song is “Roll On, Columbia, Roll On” by Woody Guthrie. The State Grass is bluebunch wheatgrass. The state insect is the Green Darner Dragonfly. The state gem is petrified wood. The state fossil is the Columbian Mammoth. The state marine mammal is the orca.[53] The state land mammal is the Olympic Marmot. The state seal (featured in the state flag as well) was inspired by the unfinished portrait by Gilbert Stuart.[54]
See also
North America portal
United States portal
Washington portal
Main articles: Outline of Washington and Index of Washington-related articles

* List of ghost towns in Washington

References

1. ^ State Symbols
2. ^ a b c “Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009″. United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/popest/states/tables/NST-EST2009-01.csv. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
3. ^ a b c “Elevations and Distances in the United States”. U.S Geological Survey. 29 April 2005. http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest. Retrieved November 9, 2006.
4. ^ Washington State Constitution, Article XXIV Boundaries
5. ^ Mapes, Lynda V. (February 3, 2010). “Hoh Rain Forest revels in wet, ‘wild ballet’”. The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010963527_rain03m.html. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
6. ^ Washington State’s Glaciers are Melting, and That Has Scientists Concerned — Blumenthal, Les. (August 29, 2006). McClatchy Newspapers. Retrieved on September 13, 2009 from Commondreams.org
7. ^ “Dust Storm in Eastern Washington : Image of the Day”. earthobservatory.nasa.gov. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40590. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
8. ^ Kruckeberg, Arthur R. (1991). The Natural History of Puget Sound Country. University of Washington Press. pp. 42–43. ISBN 0-295-97477-X.
9. ^ “HistoryLink.org- the Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History”. www.historylink.org. http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=3681. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
10. ^ Climate Change – Economic Impacts
11. ^ NOAA: Mt. Baker snowfall record sticks
12. ^ http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa5028 Western Regional Climate Data Center, Marietta
13. ^ http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa4769 Western Regional Climate Data Center, Longview
14. ^ “Smallpox epidemic ravages Native Americans on the northwest coast of North America in the 1770s.”
15. ^ “Articles on George Washington Bush”. City of Tumwater, WA. http://www.ci.tumwater.wa.us/research%20bushTOC.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
16. ^ “City of Longview History”. City of Longview, WA. http://www.mylongview.com/community/longview_history.html. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
17. ^ “Settlers met at Cowlitz Landing and discussed the establishment of a new territory north of the Columbia River”. Washington History – Territorial Timeline. Washington Secretary of State. http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/Timeline/detail.aspx?id=205. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
18. ^ “Mount St. Helens: Senator Murray Speaks on the 25th Anniversary of the May 18, 1980 Eruption”. Senate.gov. http://murray.senate.gov/news.cfm?id=237728. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
19. ^ “Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument: General Visitor Information”. USDA Forest Service. http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/04mshnvm/general/index.shtml. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
20. ^ http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/53000.html
21. ^ “Population and Population Centers by State: 2001″. U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
22. ^ “Population in Metropolitan Statistical Areas Ranked by 2000 Census” (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t29/tab01a.pdf. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
23. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-context=adp&-qr_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_DP3YR2&-ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_&-tree_id=3308&-redoLog=false&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=04000US53&-format=&-_lang=en 2006-2008 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates
24. ^ Official July 1, 2009 Washington State Population Estimates | OFM
25. ^ Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
26. ^ http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/state/53_2000.asp
27. ^ Religion and Public Life in the Pacific Northwest: The None Zone
28. ^ http://www.bea.gov/regional/gsp/
29. ^ “Top 20 Most Admired Companies”. Fortune Magazine. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0703/gallery.mostadmired_top20.fortune/index.html. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
30. ^ “Washington State Liquor Control Board”. Washington State Liquor Control Board. http://www.liq.wa.gov/default.asp. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
31. ^ #1 William Gates III – The World’s Billionaires 2009 — Forbes (February 11, 2009). Retrieved 9-13-2009.
32. ^ [1] Seattle Times September 22, 2006 “No news here … Gates still richest”
33. ^ Bls.gov; Local Area Unemployment Statistics
34. ^ “Local Sales and Use Tax Rates by City/County”. Washington State Department of Revenue. http://dor.wa.gov/Docs/forms/ExcsTx/LocSalUseTx/LocalSlsUseFlyer_10_Q2_alpha.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
35. ^ “Collection of Retail Sales Tax”. Washington State Department of Revenue. http://dor.wa.gov/content/doingbusiness/businesstypes/industry/vets/vets_collection.aspx. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
36. ^ http://dor.wa.gov/content/home/TaxTopics/FederalDeductionLSTaxTable.aspx
37. ^ Schotzko, Thomas R.; Granatstein, David (2005), A Brief Look at the Washington Apple Industry: Past and Present, Pullman, WA: Washington State University, p. 1, http://www.agribusiness-mgmt.wsu.edu/agbusresearch/docs/SES04-05_BRIEF_LOOK_WAFTA.pdf, retrieved 2008-05-09
38. ^ Lemons, Hoyt; Rayburn, D. Tousley (July 1945). “The Washington Apple Industry. I. Its Geographic Basis”. Economic Geograpy (Clark University) 21 (3): 161–162, 166. doi:10.2307/141294.
39. ^ WSFLargest_foliov3_May06.indd
40. ^ King County International Airport/Boeing Field
41. ^ [2]
42. ^ http://www.landscouncil.org/documents/Newsletters/3%20Spring%2006.pdf
43. ^ http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/full_text_search/AllCRCDocs/94-54.htm/
44. ^ November 1994 General
45. ^ November 1996 General
46. ^ November 1998 General
47. ^ Washington State Report Card — Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved 10-6-2009.
48. ^ Districts and Schools — Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved 10-6-2009.
49. ^ About Us — Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved 10-6-2009.
50. ^ Running Start — Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved 10-6-2009.
51. ^ Jollata, Pat, “Naming Clark County”. Vancouver Historical Society. Vancouver, Washington. 1993. p.17
52. ^ Senate passes measure designating Walla Walla onion state veggie. Komo 4 Television. April 5, 2007. Retrieved on April 5, 2007.
53. ^ State Symbols. Washington State Legislature. Retrieved on April 5, 2007
54. ^ History of the State Seal. Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved on April 5, 2007

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The area’s history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony. Land from displaced Native American tribes and slave labor each played significant roles in the colony’s early politics and plantation economy. Virginia was one of the Thirteen Colonies in the American Revolution and joined the Confederacy in the American Civil War, during which Richmond was the Confederate capital and the state of West Virginia separated. Although traditionally conservative and historically part of the South, both major national parties are competitive in modern Virginia.[6]

The state government, home to the oldest legislature in the Americas, has been repeatedly ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States.[7] It is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its Governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginia’s economy has many sectors: agriculture in places like the Shenandoah Valley; federal agencies in Northern Virginia, including the Department of Defense and CIA; and military facilities in Hampton Roads, home to the region’s main seaport. The growth of the media and technology sectors have made computer chips the state’s leading export, with the industry based on the strength of Virginia’s public schools and universities.[8] Virginia does not have a major professional sports franchise, but is home to several prominent collegiate sports programs.

Geography
Environment of Virginia

Virginia has a total area of 42,774.2 square miles (110,784.67 km2), including 3,180.13 square miles (8,236.5 km2) of water, making it the 35th-largest state by area.[9] Virginia is bordered by Maryland and Washington, D.C. to the north and east; by the Atlantic Ocean to the east; by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south; by Kentucky to the west; and by West Virginia to the north and west. Due to a peculiarity of Virginia’s original charter, its boundary with Maryland and Washington, D.C. does not extend past the low-water mark of the south shore of the Potomac River (unlike many boundaries that split a river down the middle).[10] The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, though surveyor error led to deviations of as much as three arcminutes.[11]
Geology and terrain
Terrain map of Virginia divided with lines into five regions. The first region on the far left is small and only in the state’s panhandle. The next is larger, and covers most of the western part of the state. The next is a thin strip that covers only the mountains. The next is a wide area in the middle of the state. The left most is based on the rivers which diffuse the previous region.
Virginia is divided into five geographic regions.

The Chesapeake Bay separates the contiguous portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The bay was formed following a meteoroid impact crater during the Eocene.[12] Many of Virginia’s rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, James, and York, which create three peninsulas in the bay.[13][14] Geographically and geologically, Virginia is divided into five regions from east to west: Tidewater, Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Ridge and Valley, and Cumberland Plateau, also called the Appalachian Plateau.[15]

The Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries which enter the Chesapeake Bay. The Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic.[16] The region, known for its heavy clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains.[17] The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the chain of Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state, the tallest being Mount Rogers at 5,729 feet (1,746 m).[18] The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains, and includes the Great Appalachian Valley. The region is carbonate rock based, and includes Massanutten Mountain.[19] The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the south-west corner of Virginia, below the Allegheny Plateau. In this region rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin.[20]
Green tree covered mountains turn blue as the progress toward the horizon.
Deciduous and evergreen trees emit hydrocarbons which give the Blue Ridge Mountains their distinct color.[21]

Because of the areas of carbonate rock, more than 4,000 caves exist in Virginia, with ten open for tourism.[22] The Virginia seismic zone has not had a history of regular activity. Earthquakes are rarely above 4.5 on the Richter magnitude scale because Virginia is located centrally on the North American Plate. The largest earthquake, at an estimated 5.9 magnitude, was in 1897 near Blacksburg.[23] Coal mining takes place in the three mountainous regions at 40 distinct coal beds near Mesozoic basins.[24] Besides coal, resources such as slate, kyanite, sand, and gravel are mined, with an annual value over $2 billion as of 2006[update].[25]

Climate of Virginia

The climate of Virginia varies according to location, and becomes increasingly warmer and humid farther south and east.[26] Virginia experiences seasonal extremes, from average lows of 26 °F (-3.3 °C) in January to average highs of 86 °F (30 °C) in July. The moderating influence of the ocean from the east, powered by the Gulf Stream has a strong effect on the southeastern coastal areas of the state. It also creates the potential for hurricanes near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.[27] Although Hurricane Camille devastated Nelson County in 1969, and Fran and Isabel caused flash flooding in the mountains in 1996 and 2003, hurricanes rarely threaten communities far inland.[26][28]

Thunderstorms are a regular occurrence, particularly in the western part of the state. Virginia has an annual average of 35-45 days of thunderstorm activity, and an average annual precipitation of 42.7 inches (108.5 cm).[27][29] Cold air masses arriving over the mountains in winter, can lead to significant snowfalls, such as the Blizzard of 1996 and winter storms of 2009–2010. The interaction of these elements with the state’s topography creates distinct microclimates in the Shenandoah Valley, the mountainous southwest, and the coastal plains.[30] Virginia averages seven tornadoes annually, though most are F2 or lower on the Fujita scale.[31]

In recent years, the expansion of the southern suburbs of Washington, D.C. into Northern Virginia has introduced an urban heat island primarily caused by increased absorption of solar radiation in more densely populated areas.[32] In the American Lung Association’s 2009 report, 15 counties received failing grades for air quality, with Fairfax County having the worst in the state, due to automobile pollution.[33][34] Haze in the mountains is caused in part by coal power plants.[35]
Flora and fauna

Forests cover 65% of the state, primarily with deciduous, broad leaf trees.[36] Lower altitudes are more likely to have small but dense stands of moisture-loving hemlocks and mosses in abundance, with hickory and oak in the Blue Ridge.[26] However since the early 1990s, Gypsy moth infestations have eroded the dominance of oak forests.[37] Other common trees and plants include chestnut, maple, tulip poplar, mountain laurel, milkweed, daisies, and many species of ferns. The largest areas of wilderness are along the Atlantic coast and in the western mountains, which are likely home to the largest populations of trillium wildflowers in North America.[26][38]
Two red-brown colored deer graze among yellow flowers in a meadow.
White-tailed deer, also known as Virginia deer, graze at Tanner Ridge in Shenandoah National Park

Mammals include White-tailed deer, black bear, beaver, bobcat, coyote, raccoon, skunk, groundhog, Virginia Opossum, gray fox, and eastern cottontail rabbit.[39] Birds include cardinals, barred owls, Carolina chickadees, Red-tailed Hawks, and Wild Turkeys. The Peregrine Falcon was reintroduced into Shenandoah National Park in the mid-1990s.[40] Walleye, brook trout, Roanoke bass, and blue catfish are among the 210 known species of freshwater fish.[41] Running brooks with rocky bottoms are often inhabited by a plentiful amounts of crayfish and salamanders.[26] The Chesapeake Bay is home to many species, including blue crabs, clams, oysters, and rockfish (also known as striped bass).[42]

Virginia has 30 National Park Service units, such as Great Falls Park and the Appalachian Trail, and one national park, the Shenandoah National Park.[43] Shenandoah was established in 1935 and encompasses the scenic Skyline Drive. Almost 40% of the park’s area (79,579 acres/322 km2) has been designated as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System.[44] Additionally, there are 34 Virginia state parks and 17 state forests, run by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Department of Forestry.[36][45] The Chesapeake Bay, while not a national park, is protected by both state and federal legislation, and the jointly run Chesapeake Bay Program which conducts restoration on the bay and its watershed. The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge extends into North Carolina.[46]
History
Main article: History of Virginia
A black and white drawing of a young dark-haired Native American woman shielding a Elizabethan era man from execution by a Native American chief. She is bare-chested, and her face is bathed in light from an unknown source. Several Native Americans look on at the scene.
A 19th-century depiction of Pocahontas, of the Powhatan tribe, an ancestor of many of the First Families of Virginia

Jamestown 2007 marked Virginia’s quadricentennial year, celebrating 400 years since the establishment of the Jamestown Colony. The far-reaching social changes of the mid- to late-20th century were expressed by broad-based celebrations marking contributions of three cultures to the state: Native American, European, and African.[47][48] These three groups have each had a significant part in shaping Virginia’s history. Warfare has also had an important role, and Virginia has been a focus several conflicts from the American Revolution and the Civil War to the Cold War and the War on Terrorism.[49] Stories about historic figures, such as those surrounding Pocahontas and John Smith, George Washington’s childhood, or the antebellum period, have also created potent myths of state history, and have served as rationales for Virginia’s ideology.[50]
Colony
Main article: Colony of Virginia

The first peoples are estimated to have arrived in Virginia over 12,000 years ago.[51] By 5,000 years ago more permanent settlements emerged, and farming began by 900 CE. By 1500, the Algonquian peoples had founded towns such as Werowocomoco in the Tidewater region, which they referred to as Tsenacommacah. The other major language groups in the area were the Siouan to the west, and the Iroquoians, who included the Nottoway and Meherrin, to the north and south. After 1570, the Algonquians consolidated under Chief Powhatan in response to threats from these other groups on their trade network.[52] Powhatan controlled more than 30 smaller tribes and over 150 settlements, who shared a common Virginia Algonquian language. In 1607, the native Tidewater population was between 13,000 to 14,000.[53]

In 1583, Queen Elizabeth I of England granted Walter Raleigh a charter to explore and plant a colony north of Spanish Florida.[54] In 1584, Raleigh sent an expedition to the Atlantic coast of North America.[55] The name “Virginia” may have been suggested by Raleigh or Elizabeth, perhaps noting her status as the “Virgin Queen”, and may also be related to a native phrase, “Wingandacoa”, or name, “Wingina”.[56] Initially the name applied to the entire coastal region from South Carolina to Maine, plus the island of Bermuda.[57] The London Company was incorporated as a joint stock company by the proprietary Charter of 1606, which granted land rights to this area. The Company financed the first permanent English settlement in the “New World”, Jamestown. Named for King James I, it was founded in May 1607 by Christopher Newport.[58] In 1619, colonists took greater control with an elected legislature called the House of Burgesses. With the bankruptcy of the London Company in 1624, the settlement was taken into royal authority as a British crown colony.[59]
A three story red brick colonial style hall and its left and right wings during winter.
Williamsburg was the capital from 1699 to 1780.

Life in the colony was perilous, and many died during the “starving time” in 1609 and the Indian massacre of 1622, led by Opchanacanough.[60] By 1624, only 3,400 of the 6,000 early settlers had survived.[61] However, European demand for tobacco fueled the arrival of more settlers and servants.[62] African workers were first imported in 1619, and their slavery was codified after 1660. The headright system tried to solve the labor shortage by providing colonists with land for each indentured servant they transported to Virginia.[63] Tensions between the working and ruling classes led to Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676, by when current and former indentured servants made up as much as 80% of the population.[64] Colonists appropriated land from Virginia Indians by force and treaty, including the Treaty of 1677, which made the signatory tribes tributary states. Williamsburg became the colonial capital in 1699, following the founding of The College of William & Mary in 1693.[65]
Statehood
Upper-class middle-aged man dressed in a bright red cloak speaks before an assembly of other angry men. The subject’s right hand is raise high in gesture toward the balcony.
1851 painting of Patrick Henry’s speech before the House of Burgesses on the Virginia Resolves against the Stamp Act of 1765

The British Parliament’s efforts to levy new taxes following the French and Indian War (1754–1763) were deeply unpopular in the colonies. In the House of Burgesses, opposition to taxation without representation was led by Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee, among others.[66] Virginians began to coordinate their actions with other colonies in 1773, and sent delegates to the Continental Congress the following year.[67] After the House of Burgesses was dissolved by the royal governor in 1774, Virginia’s revolutionary leaders continued to govern via the Virginia Conventions. On May 15, 1776, the Convention declared Virginia’s independence from the British Empire and adopted George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was then included in a new constitution.[68] Another Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, drew upon Mason’s work in drafting the national Declaration of Independence.[69]

When the American Revolutionary War began, George Washington, who had commanded Virginia’s forces in the French and Indian War, was selected to head the colonial army. During the war, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of Governor Thomas Jefferson, who feared that Williamsburg’s location would make it vulnerable to British attack.[70] In 1781, the combined action of Continental and French land and naval forces trapped the British army on the Virginia Peninsula, where troops under George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau defeated British General Cornwallis in the Siege of Yorktown. His surrender on October 19, 1781, led to peace negotiations in Paris and secured the independence of the colonies.[71]

Virginians were instrumental in writing the United States Constitution. James Madison drafted the Virginia Plan in 1787 and the Bill of Rights in 1789.[69] Virginia ratified the Constitution on June 25, 1788. The three-fifths compromise ensured that Virginia, with its large number of slaves, initially had the largest bloc in the House of Representatives. Together with the Virginia dynasty of presidents, this gave the Commonwealth national importance. In 1790, both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to form the new District of Columbia, though in 1846 the Virginian area was retroceded.[72] Virginia is sometimes called “Mother of States” because of its role in being carved into several mid-western states.[73]
Civil War and aftermath
Main article: Virginia in the American Civil War
Wide view of a cityscape with evident destruction. Unused cannons and cannonballs litter the foreground, while a large Neoclassical building stands intact in the rear center.
Richmond, the capital of the Confederate States of America, was burned prior to its capture by the Union.

In addition to agriculture, slave labor was increasingly used in mining, shipbuilding and other industries.[74] After the Revolutionary War, the free black population rose, creating thriving communities in Petersburg and Richmond. Numerous individual manumissions were inspired by Quaker abolitionists and the revolution’s principles.[75] Nat Turner’s slave rebellion in 1831 and John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 showed deep social discontent about slavery and its role in the plantation economy. By 1860, almost half a million people, roughly 31% of the total population of Virginia, were enslaved.[76] This division contributed to the start of the American Civil War.

Virginia voted to secede from the United States on April 17, 1861, after the Battle of Fort Sumter and Abraham Lincoln’s call for volunteers. On April 24, Virginia joined the Confederate States of America, which chose Richmond as its capital.[73] After the 1863 Wheeling Convention, 48 counties in the northwest separated to form a new state of West Virginia, which chose to remain loyal to the Union. During the war, more battles were fought in Virginia than anywhere else, including Bull Run, the Seven Days Battles, Chancellorsville, and the concluding Battle of Appomattox Court House.[77] After the capture of Richmond in 1865, the capital was briefly moved to Danville.[78] Virginia was formally restored to the United States in 1870, due to the work of the Committee of Nine.[79]

During the post-war Reconstruction era, Virginia adopted a constitution which provided for free public schools, and guaranteed political, civil, and voting rights.[80] The populist Readjuster Party ran an inclusive coalition until the conservative white Democratic Party gained power after 1883.[81] It passed segregationist Jim Crow laws and in 1902 rewrote the Constitution of Virginia to include a poll tax and other voter registration measures that effectively disfranchised most African Americans and many poor whites.[82] Despite underfunding for segregated schools and services and a lack of political representation, African Americans still created vibrant communities and made progress.[83]
Modern times
Bronze sculptures of seven figures marching stand around a large rectangular block of white engraved granite.
The Virginia Civil Rights Memorial was erected in 2008 to commemorate the protests which led to school desegregation.

Protests started by Barbara Rose Johns in 1951 in Farmville against segregated schools led to the lawsuit Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County. This case, filed by Richmond natives Spottswood Robinson and Oliver Hill, was decided in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education, which rejected the segregationist doctrine of “separate but equal”. However in 1958, under the policy of “massive resistance” spearheaded by the powerful segregationist Senator Harry F. Byrd and his Byrd Organization, the state prohibited desegregated local schools from receiving funding.[84]

The Civil Rights Movement gained many participants in the 1960s and achieved the moral force to gain national legislation for protection of suffrage and civil rights for African Americans. In 1964 the United States Supreme Court ordered Prince Edward County and others to integrate schools.[85] In 1967, the Court also struck down the state’s ban on interracial marriage. From 1969 to 1971, state legislators under Governor Mills Godwin rewrote the constitution, after goals such as the repeal of Jim Crow laws had been achieved. In 1989, Douglas Wilder became the first African American elected as governor in the United States.[86]

New economic forces also changed the Commonwealth. In 1926, Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, rector of Williamsburg’s Bruton Parish Church, began restoration of colonial-era buildings in the historic district with financial backing of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.; their work led to the development of Colonial Williamsburg, the state’s most popular tourism site.[87] World War II and the Cold War led to massive expansion of national government programs housed in offices in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., and correlative population growth.[88] Among the federal developments was the Pentagon, which was later targeted in the September 11 attacks, during which 189 people died.[89]
Cities and towns
Main article: Political subdivisions of Virginia
Several tall towers lit at night form a skyline over a calm stretch of water, in which the lights are reflected.
The population of the Hampton Roads area is over 1.6 million.

Virginia is divided into 95 counties and 39 independent cities, which both operate the same way since independent cities are considered to be county-equivalent.[90] This method of treating cities and counties equally is unique to Virginia, with only three other independent cities in the United States outside Virginia.[91] While incorporation as a city constitutes independence (since 1871), there are also incorporated towns which operate under their own governments but are part of a county, too. Finally there are hundreds of unincorporated communities within the counties. Virginia does not have any further political subdivisions, such as villages or townships.

Virginia has 11 Metropolitan Statistical Areas; Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Richmond-Petersburg are the three most populated. Richmond is the capital of Virginia, and its metropolitan area has a population of over 1.2 million.[92] As of 2008[update], Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the Commonwealth, with Norfolk and Chesapeake second and third, respectively.[93] Norfolk forms the urban core of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, which is home to over 1.6 million people and the world’s largest naval base, Naval Station Norfolk.[92][94] Suffolk, which includes a portion of the Great Dismal Swamp, is the largest city by area at 429.1 square miles (1,111 km2).[95]

Fairfax County is the most populous division in Virginia, with over one million residents, although that does not include its county seat Fairfax, which is one of the independent cities.[96] Fairfax County has a major urban business and shopping center in Tysons Corner, Virginia’s largest office market.[97] Neighboring Loudoun County, with the county seat at Leesburg, is both the fastest-growing county in the United States and has the highest median household income ($107,207) as of 2007[update].[98][99] Arlington County, the smallest self-governing county in the United States by land area, is an urban community organized as a county.[100] The Roanoke area, with a population of 292,983, is the largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in western Virginia.[101]
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Virginia
Historical populations
Census     Pop.         %±
1790     691,737
—
1800     807,557         16.7%
1810     877,683         8.7%
1820     938,261         6.9%
1830     1,044,054         11.3%
1840     1,025,227         -1.8%
1850     1,119,348         9.2%
1860     1,219,630         9.0%
1870     1,225,163         0.5%
1880     1,512,565         23.5%
1890     1,655,980         9.5%
1900     1,854,184         12.0%
1910     2,061,612         11.2%
1920     2,309,187         12.0%
1930     2,421,851         4.9%
1940     2,677,773         10.6%
1950     3,318,680         23.9%
1960     3,966,949         19.5%
1970     4,648,494         17.2%
1980     5,346,818         15.0%
1990     6,187,358         15.7%
2000     7,078,515         14.4%
Est. 2009     7,882,590         11.4%
A map of Virginia with areas colored in green for low population changing to red for areas of high population. The most red areas are in the very north of the state, the center of the state, and the very south-east of the state. The rest is mostly green.
Virginia has metropolitan areas located throughout the state.

As of 2008[update], Virginia had an estimated population of 7,769,089 which is an increase of 56,998, or about 1%, from the prior year and an increase of 690,574, or 9.8%, since the year 2000.[5] This includes an increase from net migration of 314,832 people into the Commonwealth. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 159,627 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 155,205 people.[102] The center of population is located in Goochland County outside of Richmond.[103]

English was passed as the Commonwealth’s official language by statutes in 1981 and again in 1996, though the status is not mandated by the Constitution of Virginia.[104] English is the only language spoken by 6,245,517 (86.7%) Virginians, though it is spoken “very well” by an additional 570,638 (7.9%) for a total of 94.6% of the Commonwealth. Among speakers of other languages Spanish is the most common with 424,381 (5.9%). 226,911 (3.2%) speak Asian and Pacific Islander languages, including Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino.[105]
Ethnicity

As of 2000[update], the five largest reported ancestry groups in Virginia are: African (19.6%), German (11.7%), unspecified American (11.4%), English (11.1%), and Irish (9.8%).[106] Because of more recent immigration in the late 20th century and early 21st century, there are rapidly growing populations of Hispanics, particularly Central Americans, and Asians. As of 2007[update], 6.6% of Virginians are Hispanic, 5.4% are Asian, and 0.9% are American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.[5] The Hispanic population of the state tripled from 1990 to 2006, with two-thirds of Hispanics living in Northern Virginia. Hispanics in Virginia have higher median household incomes and educational attainment than the general United States or Virginia population.[107]

Most African American Virginians are descendants of enslaved Africans who worked on tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. These men, women and children were brought from west-central Africa, primarily from Angola and the Bight of Biafra. The Igbo ethnic group of what is now southern Nigeria were the single largest African group among slaves in Virginia.[108][109] Though the black population was reduced by the Great Migration, since 1965 there has been a reverse migration of blacks returning south.[110] The western mountains have many settlements founded by Scotch-Irish immigrants before the Revolution.[111] There are also sizable numbers of people of German descent in the northwestern mountains and Shenandoah Valley.[112] People of English heritage settled throughout the state during the colonial period, and others of British and Irish heritage have since immigrated to the state for work.[113]

Northern Virginia has some of the largest populations nationwide of Vietnamese Americans, whose major wave of immigration followed the Vietnam War, and Korean Americans, whose migration has been more recent and was induced in part by the quality school system.[114][115] The Filipino American community has about 45,000 in the Hampton Roads area, many of whom have ties to the U.S. Navy and armed forces.[116] Virginia also continues to be home to eight Native American tribes recognized by the state, though all lack federal recognition status. Most Native American groups are located in the Tidewater region.[117]
Ethnicity (2008)           Largest Ancestries by County     Ancestry (2000)
White     72.4%     Virginia counties colored either red, blue, yellow, green, or purple based on the populations most common ancestry. The south-east is predominately purple for African American, while the west is mostly red for American. The north has yellow for German, with two small areas green for Irish. Yellow is also found in spots in the west. A strip in the middle is blue for English.
U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 special tabulation. American Factfinder provides census data and maps.

African American      19.9%
Black or African American     20.5%

German     11.7%
Hispanic or Latino     6.6%

American     11.4%
Asian     5.4%

English     11.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native      0.8%

Irish     9.8%
Religion
Religion (2008)
Christian[118]     76%
Baptist     27%
Roman Catholic      11%
Methodist     8%
Lutheran     2%
Other Christian     28%
Buddhism     1%
Hinduism     1%
Judaism     1%
Islam     0.5%
Unaffiliated     18%

Virginia is predominantly Christian and Protestant; Baptists are the largest single group with 27% of the population as of 2008[update].[118] Baptist denominational groups in Virginia include the Baptist General Association of Virginia, with about 1,400 member churches, which supports both the Southern Baptist Convention and the moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship; and the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia with more than 500 affiliated churches, which supports the Southern Baptist Convention.[119][120] Roman Catholics are the second-largest religious group, and the group which grew the most in the 1990s.[121][122] The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington includes most of Northern Virginia’s Catholic churches, while the Diocese of Richmond covers the rest.
An 18th-century red brick church with white steeple behind a modern road in autumn.
Christ Church in Alexandria was frequented by George Washington and Robert E. Lee.

The Virginia Conference is the regional body of the United Methodist Church and the Virginia Synod is responsible for the congregations of the Lutheran Church. Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Congregationalists, and Episcopalians each composed 1–3% of the population as of 2001[update].[123] The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, Southern Virginia, and Southwestern Virginia support the various Episcopal churches.

In November 2006, 15 conservative Episcopal churches voted to split from the Diocese of Virginia over the ordination of openly gay bishops and clergy in other dioceses of the Episcopal Church; these churches continue to claim affiliation with the larger Anglican Communion through other bodies outside the United States. Though Virginia law allows parishioners to determine their church’s affiliation, the diocese claims the secessionist churches’ properties. The resulting property law case is a test for Episcopal churches nationwide.[124]

Among other religions, adherents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints constitute 1.1% of the population, with 188 congregations in Virginia as of 2008[update].[125] Fairfax Station is home to the Ekoji Buddhist Temple, of the Jodo Shinshu school, and the Hindu Durga Temple. While a small population in terms of the state overall, organized Jewish sites date to 1789 with Congregation Beth Ahabah.[126]

Muslims are a rapidly growing religious group throughout the state through immigration.[127] Megachurches in the state include Thomas Road Baptist Church, Immanuel Bible Church, and McLean Bible Church.[128] Several major Christian universities are also based in the state, including Regent University, Liberty University, and Lynchburg College.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Virginia
High-rise hotels line the ocean front covered with colorful beach-goers.
Ocean tourism is an important sector of Virginia Beach’s economy.

Virginia’s economy is balanced, with diverse sources of income, including government and military, farming, and business. Virginia has 4.1 million civilian workers, and one-third of the jobs are in the service sector.[129][130] The unemployment rate is 7.2% as of February 2010[update].[131] In 2009, Forbes Magazine named Virginia the best state in the nation for business for the fourth year in a row.[132] The Gross Domestic Product of Virginia was $397 billion in 2008.[133] As of 2000[update], Virginia had the highest number of counties in the top 100 wealthiest jurisdictions in the United States based upon median income.[134] Virginia is home to 18 Fortune 500 companies, ranking the state tenth nationwide.[135]

Virginia has the highest concentration of technology workers of any state.[136] Computer chips became the state’s highest-grossing export in 2006, surpassing its traditional top exports of coal and tobacco combined.[8] Northern Virginia, once considered the state’s dairy capital, now hosts software, communication technology, and consulting companies, particularly in the Dulles Technology Corridor. Northern Virginia’s data centers currently carry more than 50% of the nation’s internet traffic, and by 2012 Dominion Power expects that 10% of all its electricity in Northern Virginia will be used by data centers.[137] Loudoun and Fairfax counties in Northern Virginia have the highest and second highest median household income, respectively, of all counties in the United States as of 2006[update].[138]

Agriculture occupies 24% of the land in Virginia. As of 2007[update], about 357,000 Virginian jobs were in agriculture, with over 47,000 farms, averaging 171 acres (0.27 sq mi; 0.69 km2), in a total farmland area of 8.1 million acres (12,656 sq mi; 32,780 km2). Though agriculture has declined significantly since 1960 when there were twice as many farms, it remains the largest single industry in Virginia.[139] Tomatoes surpassed soy as the most profitable crop in Virginia in 2006, with peanuts and hay as other agricultural products.[140] Though its no longer the primary crop, Virginia is still the fifth-largest producer of tobacco nationwide.[141] Eastern oyster harvests are an important part of the Chesapeake Bay economy, but declining oyster populations from disease, pollution, and overfishing have diminished catches.[142] Wineries and vineyards in the Northern Neck and along the Blue Ridge Mountains also have begun to generate income and attract tourists.[143]
Aerial view of the huge five-sided building and its multiple rings. Parking lots and highways stretch away from it.
The Department of Defense is headquartered at The Pentagon in Arlington, the world’s largest office building.[144]

10% of all U.S. federal procurement money is spent in Virginia.[145] Virginia has the highest defense spending of any state per capita, providing the state with around 900,000 jobs.[145][146] Virginia is home to 800,000 veterans, more than any other state, and is second to California in total Department of Defense employees.[147][146] Many Virginians work for federal agencies in Northern Virginia, which include the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense, as well as the National Science Foundation, the United States Geological Survey and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Many others work for government contractors, including defense and security firms, which hold more than 15,000 federal contracts.[148] The Hampton Roads area has the largest concentration of military bases and facilities of any metropolitan area in the world. The largest of the bases is Naval Station Norfolk.[94]

Virginia collects personal income tax in five income brackets, ranging from 3.0% to 5.75%. The state sales and use tax rate is 4%, while the tax rate on food is 1.5%. There is an additional 1% local tax, for a total of a 5% combined sales tax on most Virginia purchases and 2.5% on most food.[149] Virginia’s property tax is set and collected at the local government level and varies throughout the Commonwealth. Real estate is also taxed at the local level based on 100% of fair market value. Tangible personal property also is taxed at the local level and is based on a percentage or percentages of original cost.[150]
Culture
Main article: Culture of Virginia
Five women dressed in long colonial style clothing sit on the stairs of tan and beige buildings talking. In front of them is a wooden wheelbarrow full of wicker baskets.
Colonial Virginian culture, language, and style is reenacted in Williamsburg.

Virginia’s historic culture was popularized and spread across America and the South by figures such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Robert E. Lee. Their homes in Virginia represent the birthplace of America and the South. Modern Virginia culture has many sources, and is part of the culture of the Southern United States.[151][152] The Smithsonian Institution divides Virginia into nine cultural regions.[153] The Piedmont region is one of the most famous for its dialect’s strong influence on Southern American English. While a more homogenized American English is found in urban areas, various accents are also used, including the Tidewater accent, the Old Virginia accent, and the anachronistic Elizabethan of Tangier Island.[154][155]

Literature in Virginia often deals with the state’s extensive, and sometimes troubled, past. The works of Pulitzer Prize winner Ellen Glasgow often dealt with social inequalities and the role of women in her culture.[156] Glasgow’s peer and close friend James Branch Cabell wrote extensively about the changing position of gentry in the Reconstruction era, and challenged its moral code with Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice.[157] William Styron approached history in works such as The Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie’s Choice.[158] Tom Wolfe has occasionally dealt with his southern heritage in bestsellers like I Am Charlotte Simmons.[159] Virginia also names a state Poet Laureate, currently Claudia Emerson of Fredericksburg who will serve until 2010.[160]

Besides the general cuisine of the Southern United States, Virginia maintains its own particular traditions. Virginia wine is made in many parts of the state.[143] Smithfield ham, sometimes called “Virginia ham”, is a type of country ham which is protected by state law, and can only be produced in the town of Smithfield.[161] Virginia furniture and architecture are typical of American colonial architecture. Thomas Jefferson and many of the state’s early leaders favored the Neoclassical architecture style, leading to its use for important state buildings. The Pennsylvania Dutch and their style can also be found in parts of the state.[112]
Fine and performing arts
See also: Music of Virginia
A small, boxy, wooden stage with a trapezoidal overhang stands in the center of meadow. In the foreground is a running stream with a stone embankment.
The Meadow Pavilion is one of the theaters at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.

Though rich in cultural heritage, Virginia ranks near the bottom of U.S. states in terms of public spending on the arts, at nearly half of the national average.[162] The state does fund institutions including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Science Museum of Virginia. Other museums include the popular Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum and the Chrysler Museum of Art.[163] Besides these sites, many open-air museums are located in the state, such as Colonial Williamsburg, the Frontier Culture Museum, and various historic battlefields.[164] The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities works to improve the Commonwealth’s civic, cultural, and intellectual life.[165]

Theaters and venues in the state are found both in the cities and suburbs. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is located in Vienna and is the only national park intended for use as a performing arts center.[166] The Harrison Opera House in Norfolk is home to the official Virginia Opera, while the Virginia Symphony Orchestra operates around Hampton Roads.[167] The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton is home to resident and touring theater troupes.[168] The Barter Theatre in Abingdon won the first ever Regional Theatre Tony Award in 1948, while the Signature Theatre in Arlington won it in 2009. There’s also a Children’s Theater of Virginia, Theatre IV, which is the second largest touring troupe nationwide.[169] Virginia has launched many award-winning traditional musical artists and internationally successful popular music acts, as well as Hollywood actors.[1] Notable performance venues include The Birchmere, the Landmark Theater, and Jiffy Lube Live.[170]
Festivals
Dozens of brown and white ponies surge out of the shallow water onto a grassy shore crowded with onlookers.
The annual Chincoteague Pony Swim features over 200 wild ponies swimming across the Assateague Channel into Chincoteague.

Many counties and localities host county fairs and festivals. The Virginia State Fair is held at the Meadow Event Park every September. Also in September is the Neptune Festival in Virginia Beach, which celebrates the city, the waterfront, and regional artists. Norfolk’s Harborfest, in June, features boat racing and air shows.[171] Fairfax County also sponsors Celebrate Fairfax! with popular and traditional music performances.[172] The Virginia Lake Festival is held during the third weekend in July in Clarksville.[173] Wolf Trap hosts the Wolf Trap Opera Company, which produces an opera festival every summer.[166]

On the Eastern Shore island of Chincoteague the annual Pony Swim & Auction of feral Chincoteague ponies at the end of July is a unique local tradition expanded into a week-long carnival. The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival is a six-day festival held annually in Winchester that includes parades and bluegrass concerts. The Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, begun in 1935, is one of the oldest and largest such events worldwide. Two important film festivals, the Virginia Film Festival and the VCU French Film Festival, are held annually in Charlottesville and Richmond, respectively.[171]
Media
Two geometric all glass towers connected by a central atrium stand in front of a grassy walkway and under a dark and cloudy sky
McLean is home to the headquarters of USA Today, the nation’s most circulated newspaper.

The Hampton Roads area is the 42nd-largest media market in the United States as ranked by Nielsen Media Research, while the Richmond-Petersburg area is 60th and Roanoke-Lynchburg is 68th.[174] There are 21 television stations in Virginia, representing each major U.S. network, part of 42 stations which serve Virginia viewers.[175] More than 800 FCC-licensed FM radio stations broadcast in Virginia, with over 300 such AM stations.[176][177] The nationally available Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is headquartered in Arlington. The locally focused Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation, which produces MHz Networks, is a non-profit corporation which owns public TV and radio stations and has offices around the state.[178]

The most circulated native newspapers in the Commonwealth are the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Norfolk’s The Virginian-Pilot, The Roanoke Times, and Newport News’ Daily Press. As of 2008[update], the Pilot has a daily subscription of 174,573, slightly more than the Times-Dispatch at 160,886, 54th and 59th in the nation respectively, while the Roanoke Times has about 90,557 daily subscribers.[179][180] Several Washington, D.C. papers are based in Northern Virginia, such as The Washington Examiner and The Politico. The paper with the nation’s widest circulation, USA Today, is headquartered in McLean.[181] Besides traditional forms of media, Virginia is home to telecommunication companies such as Sprint Nextel and XO Communications.
Education
Main article: Education in Virginia
A red brick, Neoclassical dome with a large portico on the front and covered walkway on the sides lit up at dusk. Dark trees border the building on both sides.
The University of Virginia, a World Heritage Site, was founded by President Thomas Jefferson.[182]

Virginia’s educational system consistently ranks in the top ten states on the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress, with Virginia students outperforming the average in all subject areas and grade levels tested.[183] The 2010 Quality Counts report ranked Virginia’s K–12 education fourth best in the country.[184] All school divisions must adhere to educational standards set forth by the Virginia Department of Education, which maintains an assessment and accreditation regime known as the Standards of Learning to ensure accountability.[185] In 2008, 81% of high school students graduated on-time after four years.[186] Between 2000 and 2008, school enrollment increased 5%, the number of teachers 21%.[187]

Public K–12 schools in Virginia are generally operated by the counties and cities, and not by the state. As of April 2010[update], a total of 1,259,623 students were enrolled in 1,881 local and regional schools in the Commonwealth, including three charter schools, and an additional 109 alternative and special education centers across 132 school divisions.[188][189] Besides the general public schools in Virginia, there are Governor’s Schools and selective magnet schools. The Governor’s Schools are a collection of more than 40 regional high schools and summer programs intended for gifted students.[190] The Virginia Council for Private Education oversees the regulation of 294 state accredited and 141 non-accredited private schools.[191] An additional 7,020 students receive homeschooling.[192]

As of 2010[update], there are 167 colleges and universities in Virginia.[193] In the U.S. News and World Report ranking of public colleges, the University of Virginia is second and The College of William & Mary is sixth.[194][195] Virginia Commonwealth University is ranked the top public graduate school in fine arts, while James Madison University has been recognized as the top public master’s program in The South since 1993.[196][197] The Virginia Military Institute is the oldest state military college and a top ranked public liberal arts college.[198][199] George Mason University is the largest university in Virginia with over 32,000 students.[200] Virginia Tech and Virginia State University are the state’s land-grant universities. Virginia also operates 23 community colleges on 40 campuses serving over 260,000 students.[201] There are 120 private institutions, including Washington and Lee University, Hampden–Sydney College, Roanoke College, and the University of Richmond.[193]
Health
A red brick high-rise building with several wings and levels in front of a bright blue sky with a traffic light and street sign visible at the bottom.
The A.D. Williams Clinic and West Hospital at VCU Medical Center in Richmond

Virginia has a mixed health record, and is ranked as the 21st overall healthiest state according to the 2009 United Health Foundation’s Health Rankings.[202] Virginia also ranks 21st among the states in the rate of premature deaths, 7,104 per 100,000. In 2008, Virginia reached its lowest ever rate of infant mortality, at 6.7 deaths per 1,000.[203] There are however racial and social health disparities, with African Americans experiencing 27.9% more premature deaths than whites, while 13.6% of Virginians lack any health insurance.[202] According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2007 survey, 25.3% of Virginians are obese and another 36.6% are overweight, and only 78.4% of residents exercise regularly.[204][205] About 30% of Virginia’s 10- to 17-year-olds are overweight or obese.[206]

There are 85 hospitals in Virginia listed with the United States Department of Health and Human Services.[207] Notable examples include Inova Fairfax Hospital, the largest hospital in the Washington Metropolitan Area, and the VCU Medical Center, located on the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. The University of Virginia Medical Center, part of the University of Virginia Health System, is highly ranked in endocrinology according to U.S.News & World Report.[208] Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, part of the Hampton Roads based Sentara Health System, is also nationally ranked, and was the site of the first successful in-vitro fertilization birth.[209][210] Virginia has a ratio of 124 primary care physicians per 10,000 residents, which is the 13th highest nationally.[202] Virginia was one of five states to receive a perfect score in disaster preparedness according to a 2008 report by the Trust for America’s Health, based on criteria such as detecting pathogens and distributing vaccines and medical supplies.[211]
Transportation
Main article: Transportation in Virginia
Blue and silver train engine with red and white accent lines moves closer leading a series of similarly colored passenger cars with shrubs and a sound wall in the background.
The Virginia Railway Express runs commuter lines in Northern Virginia.

Because of the 1932 Byrd Road Act, the state government controls most of Virginia’s roads, instead of a local city or county authority as is usual in other states.[212] As of 2007[update], the Virginia Department of Transportation owns and operates 57,867 miles (93,128 km) of the total 68,428 miles (110,124 km) of roads in the state, making it the third largest state highway system in the United States.[213] Virginia’s road system is ranked as the 16th best in the nation.[214] While the Washington Metropolitan Area has the second worst traffic in the nation, Virginia as a whole has the 21st-lowest congestion and the average commute time is 26.9 minutes.[215][216] Virginia has both low disbursements for roads and bridges, and a low road fatality rate.[214]

Virginia has Amtrak passenger rail service along several corridors, and Virginia Railway Express maintains two commuter lines into Washington, D.C. from Fredericksburg and Manassas. The Washington Metro rapid transit system serves Northern Virginia as far west as Fairfax County, although expansion plans call for Metro to reach Loudoun County by 2016.[217] Commuter buses include the Fairfax Connector and the Shenandoah Valley Commuter Bus. The Virginia Department of Transportation operates several free ferries throughout Virginia, the most notable being the Jamestown-Scotland ferry which crosses the James River in Surry County.[218]

Virginia has five major airports: Washington Dulles International, Reagan Washington National, Norfolk International, Richmond International, and Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport. Sixty-six public airports serve the state’s aviation needs.[219] The Virginia Port Authority’s main seaports are those in Hampton Roads, which carried 17,726,251 short tons (16,080,984 t) of bulk cargo in 2007, the sixth most of United States ports.[220] The Eastern Shore of Virginia is home to Wallops Flight Facility, a rocket testing center owned by NASA, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a commercial spaceport.[221][222] Space tourism is also offered through Vienna-based Space Adventures.[223]
Law and government
Main article: Government of Virginia
All white Neoclassical building with pediment and six columns rises on a grassy hill with a large American elm tree in the left foreground. Two boxier, but similarly styled wings are attached at the building’s rear.
The Virginia State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson and begun by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785, is home to the Virginia General Assembly.

In colonial Virginia, free men elected the lower house of the legislature, called the House of Burgesses, which together with the Governor’s Council, made the “General Assembly”. Founded in 1619, the Virginia General Assembly is still in existence as the oldest legislature in the Western Hemisphere.[224] The modern government is ranked by the Pew Center on the States with an A- in terms of its efficiency, effectiveness, and infrastructure. This is the second time Virginia received the highest grade in the nation, which it shares with two others.[7]

Since 1971, the government has functioned under the seventh Constitution of Virginia, which provides for a strong legislature and a unified judicial system. Similar to the federal structure, the government is divided in three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislature is the General Assembly, a bicameral body whose 100-member House of Delegates and 40-member Senate write the laws for the Commonwealth. The Assembly is stronger than the executive, as it selects judges and justices. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected every four years in separate elections. Incumbent governors cannot run for re-election, however the Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General can, and governors may serve non-consecutive terms.[225] The judicial system, the oldest in America, consists of a hierarchy from the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Court of Appeals of Virginia to the lower general district and circuit courts.[226]

The Code of Virginia is the statutory law, and consists of the codified legislation of the General Assembly. The Virginia State Police is the largest law enforcement agency in Virginia. The Virginia Capitol Police are the oldest police department in the United States.[227] The Virginia National Guard consists of 7,500 soldiers in the Virginia Army National Guard and 1,200 airmen in the Virginia Air National Guard.[228] Since the 1982 resumption of capital punishment in Virginia, 106 people have been executed, the second highest number in the nation.[229] The “total crime risk” is 28% lower than the national average.[230]
Politics
Main article: Politics of Virginia

In the last century Virginia has shifted from a largely rural, politically Southern and conservative state to a more urbanized, pluralistic, and politically moderate environment. Up until the 1970s, Virginia was a racially divided single-party state dominated by the Byrd Organization.[231] African Americans were effectively disfranchised until after passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s.[232] Enfranchisement and immigration of other groups, especially Hispanics, have placed growing importance on minority voting.[233] Regional differences play a large part in Virginia politics.[234] Rural southern and western areas moved to support the Republican Party in response to its “southern strategy”, while urban and growing suburban areas, including much of Northern Virginia, form the Democratic Party base.[235][236] Democratic support also persists in union-influenced parts of Southwest Virginia, college towns such as Charlottesville and Blacksburg, and the southeastern Black Belt Region.[237]
A crowded stage of politicians both white and African American stand before supporters and press.
Jim Webb speaks at a Richmond rally with former Governors Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, and Douglas Wilder, future President Barack Obama, and others.

Political party strength in Virginia has likewise been in flux. In the 2007 state elections, Democrats regained control of the State Senate, and narrowed the Republican majority in the House of Delegates to eight seats.[238] Yet elections in 2009 resulted in the election of Republican Robert McDonnell as governor by a 17 point margin, the election of a Republican Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General, as well as Republican gains of six seats in the House of Delegates.[239] State election seasons traditionally start with the annual Shad Planking event in Wakefield.[240]

In federal elections since 2006, Democrats have seen more success. In the 2006 Senate election, Democrat Jim Webb won on a populist platform over the Republican incumbent following a very close race.[241] The party took both U.S. Senate seats after 2008, when former Governor Mark Warner replaced retiring Republican John Warner.[242] Of the state’s 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats hold six and Republicans hold five. Virginia, which has 13 electoral votes, was won by Democrat Barack Obama in 2008, after being won by Republican candidates in the previous ten presidential elections.[243] Virginia may be considered a “swing state” in future presidential elections.[6]
Sports
See also: List of professional sports teams in Virginia
A quarterback hands off the football to his running back. The team is dressed in Chicago maroon and burnt orange jerseys with white pants.
The Virginia Tech Hokies football team has the third longest bowl game streak in the nation.[244]

Virginia is the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise.[245] The reasons for this include the lack of any dominant city or market within the state and the proximity of teams in Washington, D.C.[246] Virginia is home to many minor league clubs, especially in baseball and soccer. Additionally, the Washington Redskins have Redskins Park, their headquarters and training facility, in Ashburn and the Washington Capitals train at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston.[247] Virginia has many professional caliber golf courses including the Greg Norman course at Lansdowne Resort and Kingsmill Resort, home of the Michelob ULTRA Open. NASCAR currently schedules Sprint Cup races on two tracks in Virginia: Martinsville Speedway and Richmond International Raceway. Current Virginia drivers in the series include Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, and Elliot Sadler.[248]

The Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles also have followings due to their proximity, and both are broadcast in the state on MASN.[249] When the New York Mets ended their long affiliation with the Norfolk Tides in 2007, the Orioles adopted the minor league club as their top level (AAA) minor league affiliate.[250] The San Francisco Giants’ AA team, the Richmond Flying Squirrels, began play at The Diamond in 2010, replacing the AAA Richmond Braves, who relocated after 2008.[251] Additionally, the Nationals, Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and Atlanta Braves also have Single-A and Rookie-level farm teams in Virginia.[252]

Virginia does not allow state appropriated funds to be used for either operational or capital expenses for intercollegiate athletics.[253] Despite this, both the Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies have been able to field competitive teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference and maintain modern facilities. Their rivalry is followed statewide. Several other universities compete in NCAA Division I, particularly in the Colonial Athletic Association. Three historically black schools compete in the Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, and two others compete in the Division I Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Several smaller schools compete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the USA South Athletic Conference of NCAA Division III. The NCAA currently holds its Division III championships in football, men’s basketball, volleyball and softball in Salem.[254]
State symbols
Main article: List of Virginia state symbols
A large square metal sign, mostly white, with the words Virginia Welcomes You in blue and red. In the center a red cardinal bird sits on a branch with two white flowers around it.
The Virginia welcome sign at the Virginia welcome center on I-95 employs the state bird, the cardinal, and the state tree and flower, the dogwood.

The state nickname is its oldest symbol, though it has never been made official by law. Virginia was given the title “Dominion” by King Charles II of England at the time of The Restoration, because it had remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil War, and the present moniker, “Old Dominion” is a reference to that title. The other nickname, “Mother of Presidents”, is also historic, as eight Virginians have served as President of the United States, including four of the first five.[1]

The state’s motto, Sic Semper Tyrannis, translates from Latin as “Thus Always To Tyrants”, and is used on the state seal, which is then used on the flag. While the seal was designed in 1776, and the flag was first used in the 1830s, both were made official in 1930.[1] The majority of the other symbols were made official in the late 20th century.[255] The Virginia reel is among the square dances classified as the state dance.[15] Virginia currently has no state song. In 1940, Virginia made “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” the state song, but it was retired in 1997 and reclassified as the state song emeritus.[256] Various alternatives, including a version of “Oh Shenandoah”, have met with resistance in the Virginia House of Delegates.[257]

* Mammal: Virginia Big-Eared Bat
* Beverage: Milk
* Boat: Chesapeake Bay deadrise
* Bird: Cardinal
* Dance: Square dancing

* Dog: American Foxhound
* Fish: Brook trout
* Flower/Tree: Dogwood
* Fossil: Chesapecten jeffersonius
* Insect: Tiger swallowtail

* Motto: Sic Semper Tyrannis
* Nickname: The Old Dominion
* Shell: Eastern oyster
* Slogan: Virginia is for Lovers
* Tartan: Virginia Quadricentennial Tartan

References

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2. ^ “Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009″. United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/popest/states/tables/NST-EST2009-01.csv. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
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