- BOUNDARIES of Virginia, QUERY I. An exaft defcription of the limits and boundaries of the ftate of Virginia?
Virginia is bounded on the Eaft by the Atlantic : on the North by a line of lati- tude, croffing the Eaftern Shore through Watkin's Point, being about 37^* 57\ North latitude; from thence by a ftraight line to Cinquac, near the mouth of Patowmac; thence by the Patowmac, which is common to Virginia and Maryland, to the firft fountain of its northren branch;
thence by a meridian line, paffing through that fountain till it interfedls a line running Eaft and Weft, in latitude 3 9''. 43'. 42.
/^\ which divides Maryland from Penn- fylvania, and which was marked by Meflrs. Mafon and Dixon; thence by that line, and a continuation of it weftwardly to the completion of five degrees of longi- tude from the eaftern boundary of Penn- J5 [ ^ ] fylvania, in the fame latitude, and thence by a meridian line to the Ohio: on the Weft by the Ohio and Miflifipi, to latitude 36^' 3o\ North: and on the South by the line of latitude laft mentioned. By admea- furements through nearly the whole of this laft line, and fupplying the unmeafured parts from good data, the Atlantic and Miffifipi are found in this latitude to be 758 miles diftant, equal to 30^. 38\ of longi- tude, reckoning ^5 miles and 3144 feet to the degree. This being our comprehenfion of longitude, that of our latitude, taken be- tween this and Mafon and Dixon's line, is 3^- I3\ 4 2. 4 '^. equal to 223.3 n^ll^s, fup- pofing a degree of a great circle to be 69 m. 864 feet as computed by Caffina. Thefe boundaries include an area fomevvhat tri- angular, of 121,525 fquare miles, where- of 79,650 lie weftward of the AUeghaney mountains, and 57,034 weftward of the me- ridian of the mouth of the Great Kanhaway.