Physiographic Provinces of Virginia

A physiographic province is a landform region, an area delineated according to similar terrain that has been shaped by a common geologic history. Geographers and geomorphologists recognize more than 20 physiographic provinces in North America; Virginia intersects five of these.

Each province is characterized overall by its elevation, relief, lithology, and geologic structure. As a consequence of the region's history of rock formation, deformation, and erosion, specific types of landforms or other geologic features may be associated with a given province. It is often possible to subdivide the provinces into subregions on the basis of the distribution pattern of these features.

Virginia's five physiographic provinces


Appalachian Plateaus	Valley and Ridge
Blue Ridge	Piedmont Plateau
Coastal Plain

Suggested readings:

Bingham, Edgar. 1991. "The Physiographic Provinces of Virginia," The Virginia Geographer 23(2): 19-32.

Woodward, S. L. and R. L. Hoffman 1992. "The Nature of Virginia," pp. 23-48 in Virginia's Endangered Species, Karen Terwilliger, coordinator (Blacksburg: The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company). On reserve at McConnell Library

Woodward, S. 1994. "The Five Physiographic Provinces of Virginia," Virginia Explorer[Martinsville: Virginia Museum of Natural History] 10(1): 2-9.

|Geog202|Geography Department|

Created by SLW, January 1997