Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The environment
of Virginia encompasses the geography and biology found in the U.S.
state 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. Forests cover 65% of
the state, wetlands and water cover 6% of the land in the state, while
5% of the state is a mixture of commercial, residential, and
transitional. 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).