West Virginia is a land locked state that is known for its great outdoors and for its small population. The entire state's population is under 2 million people, which is considerably small being that there are several American cities have higher populations. West Virginia and neighboring Virginia were once a single state, but after the civil war they separated and are now quite different from each other.

The capital of West Virginia is Charleston, and even though it has a population of only 50,000 people it is also West Virginia's largest city. The entire surrounding area of Charleston has a population of 300,000, so this region has a significant amount of people and plenty to do. Above is a boat cruising down the Elk river which converges with the larger Kanawha river in the center of the city. On the left is the Charleston town center mall which was actually the largest mall east of the Mississippi river when it first opened in the early 1980s. To me the mall seemed about average in size, maybe above average at best, but it definitely didn't give me the impression that it was once the east coast's largest.

On the right is the state capitol building in downtown Charleston. Since West Virginia and Virginia were once one state, the capital of Richmond also governed this area. When West Virginia broke away after the civil war, Charleston was chosen as the capital due to its relatively strong economy and large population. As a state, West Virginia's economy is based on various industries, but mostly coal mining. Above is a industrial building owned by Dupont Chemical just 10 miles east of Charleston.

Most people travel to West Virginia to enjoy their outdoor sports or see its abundant wildlife. A popular resort town known as Snowshoe is built on a mountain top and has plenty of activities all year around. In the winter it is a major ski resort, while in the summer many come here to enjoy the fishing, hiking and other outdoor activities. Snowshoe has several nice hotels, outdoor shops and restaurants to enjoy. On the upper left is a picture of people walking around the center of the resort after an event. On the upper right is the end of a dirt bike race.

Another popular destination in West Virginia is the historic town of Harpers Ferry. The town has maintained its tiny population of only 300 people, but has been the site of several major historic events. The first president, George Washington, designated Harpers Ferry as a good location to build weapons because mills could be constructed along the rivers. Over a hundred years later, an American who did not believe in slavery took a team of over 20 people to take over the armory at Harpers Ferry in an attempt to start a slave rebellion. Later when the civil war started, Harpers Ferry was switched back and forth between the Union and the Confederates over 8 times. Above are two photos from the town, one showing an old wagon with an ammo box on the left, and on the right is the town itself..

These two photos above are also from Harpers Ferry. Aside from the history many people come here to go tubing or kayaking in the rivers or hiking in the nearby mountains. The nearby mountains have some pretty good hiking trails and what I believe to be some of the best views on the east coast. A very early hike in the local mountains gives some spectacular views of Harpers Ferry itself during the sunrise.

Most of West Virginia is made up of very small towns and tiny communities. The houses on the left belong to one of these communities found all over the state. Many of these towns also had livestock that included common farm animals such as the goat seen to the right.

On the left is a common style restaurant seen all over West Virginia. Many people in West Virginia also seem to enjoy sitting out on their porches or in front of other buildings. It's almost a stereotype of the state but when I visited I found it to be true. On the right are two more West Virginian's enjoying a smoke in front of a gas station. I asked them if I could take their photo for my site and they were nice enough to let me.

I was very surprised to stumble upon the huge hotel known as the Greenbrier that is located in the town of White Sulphur Springs. This five star hotel has hundreds of fancy rooms, an indoor swimming pool, a bowling alley and much more. This hotel looks and functions normally, but it actually had a big secret that was only known to a few government employees who held a top secret clearance. On the left is a picture of the outside of the Greenbrier hotel. On the lower left is a picture of one of their nice hallways which leaves a restaurant and passes by their indoor swimming pool, directly below is one of their spas. The Greenbrier hotel also has many shops on its lowest floor, so everything you need is in the hotel.

The Greenbrier hotel's big secret is its bunker that was created during the cold war. The bunker is designed to be able to survive a nuclear blast and was created to be a back up location for the US government to continue to operate. If Washington DC was ever under a nuclear attack, the US government planned to move all their personnel to the Greenbrier hotel and operate from the secret bunker. Guests who stayed at the hotel over the decades had no idea that this bunker even existed. On the left is one of the nuclear blast doors which is how you'd enter the bunker from the normal areas of the hotel. On the lower left is the restaurant designed for hundreds of people. Directly below are two conference rooms, one has a capacity for 474, (House of Representatives) and the room on the right has a capacity of 124, (US Senate).

If you're not into scenery and the outdoors then you probably won't have much to do in West Virginia. This state is one of the best for hiking and camping out in the open wilderness with no one around for dozens of miles. The upper left picture is of Seneca Rocks, one of the best places in the mid Atlantic region to do outdoor rock climbing. On the right are some clouds settled in the New River Gorge.

I went hiking with a friend through the mountains on the eastern part of the state. This part of West Virginia is bear country, but unfortunately we didn't come across any. Above are two snakes that we found on the trail, the upper left is a ring neck, and on the right is a ribbon snake. Both of these snakes are harmless, but poisonous rattlesnakes and copperheads live in these mountains.

Here are some creepy crawlers from West Virginia. On the left is what I believe is a wolf spider, to the right is some type of centipede.

 

These pictures were taken from different places in West Virginia. The butterfly and the rabbit above were from the center of the state. On the right is a lake in Watoga state park. Watoga state park is West Virginia's largest, and has many activities such as hiking, mountain biking, canoing, horseback riding and more. There are also plenty of places to sleep, such as camping, RV locations and many log cabins for rent. Below is a picture of the forest in Watoga, and on the right is a colorful mushroom. I saw dozens of deer and some other large birds bu

The two pictures above are the top of Spruce Knob, West Virginia's highest mountain at 4,863 feet.

Anthony from USA: I just wanted to remark on how beautiful your photos are and to clarify a couple of things. The boat photo is actually a photo of the Elk River, which converges with the Kanawha River at Charleston, and the industrial building is actually DuPont Chemical. DuPont is in Belle, about 10 miles east of Charleston and the area is most famous for being the home of NBA star Jason Williams and NFL star Randy Moss.

George: Thanks for the corrections

Jackson from USA: Oh yeah, love the picture of the trees! Last cheers ya! oh ya!