Southern West Virginia

Southern West Virginia in Blue
This article is about the region of West Virginia. For the adjacent region of Virginia, see Southwest Virginia.

Southern West Virginia is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Southern West Virginia has coal mining heritage and Southern affinity, including being part of the Bible Belt. The region is also closely identified with Southwestern Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, with close proximity to Western North Carolina and East Tennessee, which are all part of Appalachia and the Upland South.

Southern West Virginia, in a cultural and historical context, includes Boone County, Fayette County, Greenbrier County, Lincoln County, Logan County, McDowell County, Mercer County, Cabell County, Mingo County, Monroe County, Nicholas County, Raleigh County, Kanawha County, Wayne County, Summers County, and Wyoming County.

The New River Gorge Bridge located in Fayette County. Completed in 1977, it is the third longest arch bridge in the world.

The City of Charleston, in Kanawha County, is the largest city in this region, followed by Huntington, in Cabell County and then Beckley in Raleigh County.