[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11078]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           WEST VIRGINIA DAY

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, Sunday, June 20, is the 147th anniversary of 
wild and wonderful West Virginia's joining the United States as the 
35th State. I am proud of all that West Virginia has offered and 
continues to offer to the United States.
  West Virginia is a unique gem among the 50 States. It is the only 
State to be formed by seceding from a Confederate State, and only one 
of two States to be added to the Union during the Civil War--the other 
being the home State of my good friend Senator Reid, Nevada, which 
separated from the Utah Territory.
  Known as the Mountain State, West Virginia is the only State located 
entirely within the ancient Appalachian Mountain range which was formed 
over 300 million years ago. West Virginia has the highest elevation of 
any U.S. State east of the Mississippi River, with an average of 1,500 
feet above sea level. That elevation means that the Monongahela 
National Forest Region in the southeastern part of the State has a 
climate more akin to northern New England and Canada, with spruce 
forests, cool summers, and snow-filled winters. In fact, Dolly Sods, 
which is part of the Monongahela National Forest, has tundra-like 
vistas where, amid scenery reminiscent of Alaska, visitors might spot 
snowshoe hares. Our colder, tumbling waters also support trout that are 
an angler's dream, as well as a rafter's or kayaker's delight.
  Unlike its name, West Virginia's New River is actually very old, 
perhaps one of the oldest rivers in the world. Flowing in a generally 
south-to-north course through the Appalachian Mountains from North 
Carolina to West Virginia, where it merges with the Gauley River to 
form the Kanawaha River, the New River goes against the west-to-east 
flow that most other nearby rivers take, emptying into the Mississippi 
River rather than the Chesapeake Bay. Near Fayetteville, WV, the New 
River is spanned by the spectacular New River Gorge Bridge, featured on 
the reverse of the West Virginia State quarter coin. Each autumn, the 
community celebrates Bridge Day, allowing parachute-clad jumpers to 
leap from the highest vehicular bridge in the Americas to the New River 
some 876 feet below.
  For centuries, West Virginia has been a place where people could 
escape summer's heat and enjoy the great outdoors. In the eastern 
panhandle, the spa town of Berkeley Springs has welcomed visitors since 
the days when George Washington's family and friends laid out a town 
around the warm medicinal springs that bubble to the surface. In 
southern West Virginia, the majestic Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur 
Springs has hosted Presidents and other distinguished guests since 
1778.
  West Virginia has also long been a nearby winter getaway for snow-
seekers from milder climates. Since the Canaan Valley was discovered by 
air in the 1960s, West Virginia has become a skiing destination for 
downhillers and cross-country skiers. In addition to Canaan Valley, 
Snowshoe, Winterplace, Alpine Lake, Timberline, and Elk River offer 
skiing, tubing, snowboarding and sledding within easy driving distance 
of major metropolitan areas from Pittsburgh to Atlanta.
  Should a visitor come to West Virginia in June, he or she would be 
treated to beautiful misty views of tree-covered mountains stretching 
into the distance. In the foreground, wildflowers would be blooming in 
sunlit meadows and along roads that curve along steep hillsides or 
cross deep-flowing rivers and streams tumbling over massive boulders. 
In the shadowed hollows, dense stands of rhododendron, the State 
flower, would be coming into bloom. Later in the year, the hills come 
alive with vibrant color as the State tree, the sugar maple, bursts 
into flaming red, blazing against the deep russet of oaks, the bright 
yellow of tulip poplars, and the rich, deep green of spruce and pine. 
In the winter, nature's palette becomes more stark, as leafless trees 
etch sharp designs against crisp white snow. The West Virginia State 
bird, the northern cardinal, offers a bright spot of crimson on the 
otherwise monochromatic scenery. But every evening--winter, summer, 
spring or fall--the night sky will come alive with more stars than it 
is possible to count, as God sprinkles his blessings on West Virginia.

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