Virginia’s Natural Wonders
Virginia’s Natural Resources
• Virginia has a rich
variety of natural
resources.
• Natural resource things that exist in or
are formed by nature.
• Examples: Forests,
farmland, minerals,
wildlife, waterways, and
wonders.
Virginia’s Forests
• Lumber from Virginia’s
forests is used for
building materials and
pulp to make paper.
Virginia’s Farmland
• Virginia has good soil to
grow crops and raise
animals.
Virginia’s Minerals
• Virginia has coal, sand,
and rock for energy and
building materials.
Virginia’s Wildlife
• Virginia is home to
many different kinds of
wildlife.
• There are thousands of
different kinds of
animals that live in
Virginia.
Virginia’s Waterways
• Virginia has many
streams, rivers, lakes,
and bays.
• Virginia is also bordered
to its east by a large
ocean known as the
Atlantic Ocean.
Virginia’s Wonders
• Virginia is home to
amazing natural
formations of stunning
beauty!
Virginia’s Five Geographic Regions
• Virginia has five
geographic regions that
have a variety of natural
resources.
• The Coastal Plain
(Tidewater) Region is
home to many different
kinds of seafood.
Virginia’s Five Geographic Regions
• The Piedmont Region is
home to tobacco
products.
• The Blue Ridge
Mountains Region is
famous for producing
fruit.
Virginia’s Five Geographic Regions
• The Valley and Ridge
Region has dairy cattle,
beef cattle, apples, and
poultry.
• The Appalachian
Plateau Region is
famous for coal, sand,
and rocks.
Virginia’s Water Resources
• Rivers – Long, ribbonlike waterways that
usually flow toward an
ocean, lake, bay, or
other river. Rivers are
fed by precipitation,
snowmelt, or natural
springs (water from
beneath the Earth’s
surface.)
Virginia’s Water Resources
• Bays – Large bodies of
water that are
surrounded by land on
three sides. Bays usually
have a small channel
that connects them to a
larger body of water,
such as an ocean.
Virginia’s Water Resources
• Lakes – Large inland
bodies of water. Almost
all lakes hold fresh
water and are fed and
drained by small rivers
or streams.
Virginia’s Water Resources
• Oceans – Vary large
bodies of salt water.
Virginia is bordered to
the east by the Atlantic
Ocean.
• Oceans cover more
than 70% of the Earth’s
surface and contain
97% of the planet’s
water.
The Chesapeake Watershed
• Watershed – an area of
land where all the water
above and below
ground flows to the
same place.
• Chesapeake Watershed
covers parts of six states
and Washington, D.C.
The Chesapeake Watershed
• Estuary – a place where
salt water from the
ocean mixes with
freshwater from rivers
and streams.
• The Chesapeake
watershed is the largest
estuary in the United
States.
The Chesapeake Watershed
• Tributaries – streams
that feed larger
streams, lakes, or rivers.
Our Watershed Address
• Virginia’s four major
rivers, the Potomac,
Rappahannock, York,
and James, all flow into
the Chesapeake Bay and
finally the Atlantic
Ocean.
• Loudoun County is
bordered by the
Potomac River to the
north.
Our Watershed Address
• Virginia has 14 different
watersheds.
• Loudoun County is in
the Potomac River
Watershed that
eventually becomes
part of the Chesapeake
watershed!
Watersheds – A Big Deal!
• Water traveling over land
can carry many things.
• These things have the
potential to do great
harm to watersheds.
• These things include: soil
sediments, livestock and
pet waste, fertilizers,
pesticides, and other
pollutants including trash
and litter.
Watersheds – A Big Deal!
• What happens in the
tributaries of a
watershed has an effect
on everyone
downstream!
• Wildlife and animal
species are connected
to watersheds.
Watersheds – A Big Deal
• It is important that we
take care of our streams,
rivers, lakes, and bays.
• Humans can make a big
difference in the health of
watersheds by making
sure not to litter, cleaning
up after our pets, not
using too much fertilizer
or pesticides, and being
sure to contain loose soil.