A fall line (or fall zone ) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls . The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock , and the coastal plain is softer sedimentary rock . A fall line often will recede upstream as a river cuts out the uphill dense material, forming "c"-shaped waterfalls and exposing bedrock shoals . Because of these features, riverboats typically cannot travel any farther inland without portaging , unless locks are built. The rapid change of elevation of the water and resulting energy release make the fall line a good location for water mills , grist mills , and sawmills . Seeking a head of navigation with a ready supply of water power, people have long made settlements where rivers cross a fall line.
16-619: (Redirected from Eastern Virginia ) East Virginia or Eastern Virginia may refer to: the Eastern part of Virginia, very roughly comprising the Tidewater (region) of Virginia A rarely used term for Virginia to distinguish it from West Virginia East Virginia (song) , a traditional song first recorded as "East Virginia Blues" by the Carter Family and popular bluegrass standard
32-795: Is a term for the north Atlantic Plain region of the United States. It is located east of the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line and north of the Deep South . It encompasses the Chesapeake Bay and includes Delaware , the remainder of the Delmarva Peninsula , Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore of Maryland , Washington, D.C. , Eastern Virginia , and Eastern North Carolina . Culturally,
48-519: Is the flooded river areas below the Fall Line . The Hampton Roads area of Virginia is considered to be a Tidewater region. Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore , parts of Delaware round out the northern part of the region on the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. The term tidewater may be correctly applied to all portions of any area, including Virginia, where the water level is affected by
64-405: The Eastern Shore of Virginia Eastern District of Virginia a fictional location in the comic strip Shoe a fictional location containing Grantville , which used various names See also [ edit ] Virginia (disambiguation) West Virginia (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
80-759: The Little Falls of the Potomac River . Numerous cities were founded at the intersection of rivers and the fall line. U.S. Route 1 links many of the fall line cities. In the USA, Mid-Atlantic and Southern fall line cities include: The Laurentian Upland forms a long scarp line where it meets the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands . Along this line numerous rivers have carved falls and canyons (listed east to west): The River Jacques-Cartier and River Saint-Maurice lack such noticeable feature because they cross
96-653: The Fall Line, where waterfalls or rapids mark the end of the Tidewater and the beginning of the foothill region known as the Piedmont . Tidewater is host to flora commonly associated with the South Atlantic pine forests and lower Southeast Coastal Plain maritime flora, the latter found primarily in southeastern Virginia. The Tidewater region has remained politically competitive since the 2010s, even as much of
112-774: The Fall Zone include the Potomac River's Little Falls and the rapids in Richmond, Virginia , where the James River falls across a series of rapids down to the tidal estuary of the James River. Columbia, South Carolina , is similar as well with the Congaree River . Before navigation improvements such as locks, the fall line was often the head of navigation of rivers due to rapids and waterfalls, such as
128-411: The Tidewater region usually includes the low-lying plains of southeast Virginia , northeastern North Carolina , southern Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay . The cultural Tidewater region got its name from the effects of the changing tides on local rivers , sounds , and the ocean . The area has a centuries-old cultural heritage that sets the Tidewater region apart from the adjacent inland parts of
144-438: The United States, especially with respect to its distinctive dialects of English, which are gradually disappearing, along with its islands and its receding shoreline. The tidewater region developed when sea level rose after the last ice age, resulting in the flooding of river valleys in the coastal plain. Such flooded river valleys now make up the tidewater since tides continue to affect water levels far inland, in some cases all
160-744: The Virginia governorship. A distinctive non-rhotic accent of the Old South was spoken in the Tidewater coastal region of Virginia. Known as a Tidewater accent , it is best associated with upper-class white speakers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the actual islands of the Chesapeake themselves, a separate, rhotic accent survives among the locals, sometimes known as " Hoi Toider ". Notes Bibliography 36°53′N 76°28′W / 36.883°N 76.467°W / 36.883; -76.467 Fall Line The slope of rivers crossing fall zones affected settlement patterns. For example,
176-526: The eastern United States . Much of the Atlantic Seaboard fall line passes through areas where no evidence of faulting is present. The fall line marks the geologic boundary of hard metamorphosed terrain—- the product of the Taconic orogeny —- and the sandy, relatively flat outwash plain of the upper continental shelf, formed of unconsolidated Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments . Examples of
SECTION 10
#1732783753736192-423: The fall line represents the inland limit of navigation of many rivers. As such, many cities along a fall line grew as a result of demand for transferring people and goods between land-based and water-based transportation at that place. Download coordinates as: The Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line , or Fall Zone , is a 1,400-kilometre (900-mile) escarpment where the Piedmont and Atlantic Coastal Plain meet in
208-597: The rest of the Southern United States has aligned towards the Republican Party. It contains the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, as well as Washington, D.C. . The heavily Democratic Northeast megalopolis includes Maryland, Delaware, and Northern Virginia. The Eastern Shore of Maryland is strongly Republican. As of 2024, Democrats hold the governorships of Delaware, Maryland, and North Carolina, while Republicans hold
224-710: The tides (more specifically, where the water level rises when the tide comes in). In the case of Virginia, the Tidewater region includes the land east of the Fall Line , the natural border with the Piedmont Region. It includes Hampton Roads , the rest of the Virginia Peninsula , the Middle Peninsula , the Northern Neck , and the Eastern Shore . Planters in the early American colonies extended their tobacco and peanut productions above
240-477: The title East Virginia . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=East_Virginia&oldid=1138043797 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Tidewater (region) " Tidewater "
256-604: The way west to the Fall Line . It is generally flat and low, with large expanses near the tidal shorelines composed of tidal marsh and swamp . Much of the area is covered with pocosin and the higher areas are used for agricultural farmlands. Geographically, in North Carolina and Virginia the Tidewater area is the land between the Suffolk Scarp and the Atlantic Ocean . In Maryland the Tidewater area
#735264