<P> The area's history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan . In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony . Slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colony's early politics and plantation economy . Virginia was one of the 13 Colonies in the American Revolution and joined the Confederacy in the American Civil War, during which Richmond was made the Confederate capital and Virginia's northwestern counties seceded to form the state of West Virginia . Although the Commonwealth was under one - party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, both major national parties are competitive in modern Virginia . </P> <P> The Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law - making body in the New World . The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 . It is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms . Virginia's economy has many sectors: agriculture in the Shenandoah Valley; federal agencies in Northern Virginia, including the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); and military facilities in Hampton Roads, the site of the region's main seaport . </P> <P> Virginia has a total area of 42,774.2 square miles (110,784.7 km), including 3,180.13 square miles (8,236.5 km) of water, making it the 35th - largest state by area . Virginia is bordered by Maryland and Washington, D.C. to the north and east; by the Atlantic Ocean to the east; by North Carolina to the south; by Tennessee to the southwest; by Kentucky to the west; and by West Virginia to the north and west . Virginia's boundary with Maryland and Washington, D.C. extends to the low - water mark of the south shore of the Potomac River . The southern border is defined as the 36 ° 30 ′ parallel north, though surveyor error led to deviations of as much as three arcminutes . The border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U.S. Supreme Court . </P> <P> The Chesapeake Bay separates the contiguous portion of the Commonwealth from the two - county peninsula of Virginia's Eastern Shore . The bay was formed from the drowned river valleys of the Susquehanna River and the James River . Many of Virginia's rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, which create three peninsulas in the bay . </P>

What are the five bordering states of virginia
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