1. Background-Regions Economic Development Situation
1. BACKGROUND-REGIONS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SITUATION A. General Description of Area The Cumberland Plateau Planning District is in Southwest Virginia and encompasses the counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell and Tazewell. The District borders West Virginia on the north and Kentucky on the northeast. Wise, Scott, Washington, Smyth and Bland Counties in Virginia form the boundaries on the west, south, and east. The District is 67 miles long and 40 miles wide and covers approximately 1,848 square miles. The District is divided into two physiographically distinct regions, both lying in the Appalachian Highlands. The counties of Buchanan and Dickenson, along with the northern portions of Russell and Tazewell Counties, lie in the Cumberland Plateau which is, in turn, a part of the Appalachian Plateau. This area has a uniformly mountainous surface characterized by many small streams separated by sharply rising ridges, steep slopes, and narrow valleys. The remaining region of the District, comprising the greater portion of Russell and Tazewell Counties, lies in the Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachian Highlands. This belt, consisting of alternate valleys and ridges is bordered on the south by the Clinch Mountains and on the north by the Cumberland Plateau. Elevations vary from 845 feet above sea level where the Levisa Fork crosses into Kentucky to 4,705 feet atop Garden Mountain in the southeastern part of the District near the Bland County line. The most prominent physiographic features in the District are Clinch Mountain, Breaks of the Cumberland, Burkes Garden, Big A Mountain, and Pine Mountain. Cumberland Plateau PDC 2018 Profile Page 1 Comparatively smooth to moderately sloping uplands are found in places in the southern and southeastern portions of the District.
[Show full text]