Virginia has three main geographic areas: the Piedmont, the Coastal Plain, or Tidewater, and the Blue Ridge region. The HYPERLINK "http://www.britannica.com/" Piedmont region, in central Virginia, is made up of low rolling hills, reaching from the Blue Ridge to the HYPERLINK "http://www.britannica.com/" fall line, the place where rivers descend, often in rapids, from higher areas onto the flatter coastal plains. The Piedmont includes the Great Appalachian Valley (also known as the Great Valley). To the east, the Coastal Plain region—or Tidewater—is between the fall line and the Atlantic coast. This area includes many tidal rivers and the Northern Neck Peninsula, the Middle Peninsula, and the Virginia Peninsula—all west of Chesapeake Bay. The HYPERLINK "http://www.britannica.com/" Tidewater also contains the area south of the James River, which includes Norfolk and the Great Dismal Swamp, which spans 750 square miles (1,940 square km) and extends south into HYPERLINK "http://www.britannica.com/" North Carolina. The Blue Ridge region is made up of the rugged Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains, which are part of the Appalachian Mountain chain. The state’s highest point, Mount Rogers, at an elevation of 5,729 feet (1,746 meters), is in the HYPERLINK "http://www.britannica.com/" Blue Ridge area. The third region

Virginia has several major rivers that empty into the Atlantic Ocean. The Tidewater region is divided by four long peninsulas cut by Virginia’s four main rivers—the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James—and by the Chesapeake Bay. The Shenandoah River runs in the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, in West Virginia, and becomes the state’s border with Maryland before flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. On the opposite side of the Chesapeake Bay is Virginia's Eastern Shore, which makes up the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula. The Tidewater has many excellent harbors, especially the deep Hampton Roads estuary. The Dismal Swamp, in the southeast, includes Lake Drummond, near the North Carolina border. Other major lakes in Virginia include Smith Mountain (31 sq miles/80 sq km), the largest lake completely within the state, Claytor Lake, and South Holston Lake.

Virginia has a mild, humid climate. Temperatures are most mild in the Tidewater, and become cooler as you travel west. In southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, January temperatures average about 40 °F (4 °C); while July temperatures average in the upper 70s °F (about 26 °C). In the western Tidewater and Piedmont regions, there are colder winters. In the mountains, winter temperatures can dip to 0 °F (−18 °C), and summer high temperatures are usually below 90 °F (32 °C). Throughout the state, the average yearly rainfall is usually between 32 to 44 inches (810 to 1,120 mm). Yearly snowfall averages from a few inches in the southeast to as much as 30 inches (760 mm) in the mountains. The record high was 110°F (43°C), at Balcony Falls (near Glasgow) on 15 July 1954; the record low was –30°F (–34°C), set at Mountain Lake on 22 January 1985.