Waynesboro is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a principal city of the Staunton-Waynesboro Metropolitan Statistical Area. Waynesboro is located in the Shenandoah Valley and is surrounded by Augusta County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,196.
The Shenandoah Valley is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, to the north by the Potomac River and to the south by the James River. The cultural region covers a larger area that includes all of the valley plus the Virginia highlands to the west, and the Roanoke Valley to the south. It is physiographically located within the Ridge and Valley province and is a portion of the Great Appalachian Valley.
U.S. Route 33 (US 33) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs northwest–southeast for 709 miles (1,141 km) from northern Indiana to Richmond, Virginia, passing through Ohio and West Virginia en route. Although most odd-numbered U.S. routes are north–south, US 33 is labeled east–west throughout its route, except in Indiana where it is labeled north–south. It roughly follows a historic trail used by Native Americans from Chesapeake Bay to Lake Michigan.
U.S. Route 211 is a spur of US 11 in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known for most of its length as Lee Highway, the U.S. Highway runs 59.09 miles (95.10 km) from Interstate 81 (I-81) and Virginia State Route 211 in New Market east to US 15 Business, US 29 Business, and US 211 Business in Warrenton. US 211 connects the Shenandoah Valley with the Piedmont town of Warrenton via Luray and Sperryville, where the highway runs concurrently with US 340 and US 522, respectively.
U.S. Route 522 is a spur route of US 22 in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The U.S. Highway travels in a north-south direction, and runs 308.59 miles (496.63 km) from US 60 near Powhatan, Virginia, to its northern terminus at US 11 and US 15 near Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. US 522 serves many small cities and towns in the Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, and northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The highway serves the Virginia communities of Goochland, Mineral, Culpeper, the town of Washington, and Front Royal and the independent city of Winchester. US 522 then follows the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians north and then east through the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, a 2-mile-wide (3.2 km) stretch of Western Maryland, and South Central Pennsylvania to its terminus in the Susquehanna Valley. The highway serves Berkeley Springs, West Virginia; Hancock, Maryland; and the Pennsylvania communities of McConnellsburg, Mount Union, Lewistown, and Middleburg.
U.S. Route 340 is a spur route of US 40, and runs from Greenville, Virginia to Frederick, Maryland. In Virginia, it runs north–south, parallel and east of US 11, from US 11 north of Greenville via Waynesboro, Grottoes, Elkton, Luray, Front Royal, and Berryville to the West Virginia state line. A short separate piece crosses northern Loudoun County on its way from West Virginia to Maryland.
The South River is one of the two main tributaries of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. It begins south of Waynesboro, Virginia, and flows northward to Port Republic, where it merges with the North River to form the South Fork. The river is 52.6 miles (84.7 km) long.
State Route 42 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Running parallel to and west of Interstate 81, SR 42 consists of three sections, with gaps filled by secondary routes in between. Some of SR 42 lies along the old Fincastle Turnpike. Another major piece, from near Clifton Forge to Buffalo Gap, parallels the old Virginia Central Railroad.
State Route 55 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known for most of its length as John Marshall Highway, the state highway runs 64.71 miles (104.14 km) from the West Virginia state line, where the highway continues as West Virginia Route 55, east to U.S. Route 29 in Gainesville. West of its interchange with Interstate 81 (I-81) in Strasburg, SR 55 runs concurrently with the easternmost portion of US 48 as part of Corridor H. East of Front Royal, the state highway serves as the local complement of I-66 as it passes through the towns of Marshall, The Plains, and Haymarket.
State Route 8 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 55.88 miles (89.93 km) from the North Carolina state line near Palmetto, where the highway continues south as North Carolina Highway 8, north to U.S. Route 11 in Christiansburg. SR 8 is part of a 151-mile (243 km) two-state highway 8 system and is the main north–south highway of Patrick County, Floyd County, and southern Montgomery County, connecting their respective county seats of Stuart, Floyd, and Christiansburg with each other and with the Blue Ridge Parkway. The state highway also links the New River Valley region of Virginia with Southside Virginia via US 58 and the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina via NC 8.
U.S. Route 33 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Elkhart, Indiana to Richmond, Virginia. In Virginia, the U.S. Highway runs 135.60 miles (218.23 km) from the West Virginia state line near Rawley Springs east to its eastern terminus at SR 33 in Richmond. US 33 is the primary east–west highway of Rockingham County, which lies in the Shenandoah Valley. The highway connects the independent city of Harrisonburg, the town of Elkton, and an entrance to Shenandoah National Park. East of the Blue Ridge Mountains, US 33 connects the Piedmont communities of Stanardsville, Gordonsville, and Louisa. The U.S. Highway is a major suburban and urban route in the Richmond metropolitan area. Within Richmond, US 33 runs concurrently with US 250. SR 33 continues from US 33's eastern terminus as a state-numbered extension of the U.S. Highway that connects Richmond with Virginia's Middle Peninsula.
State Route 56 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 60.87 miles (97.96 km) from U.S. Route 11 at Steeles Tavern east to US 60 near Buckingham. SR 56 is the main east–west highway of Nelson County. The state highway connects the county seat of Lovingston with Buckingham to the east and the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley to the west.
State Route 252 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 29.06 miles (46.77 km) from SR 39 near Rockbridge Baths north to U.S. Route 250, US 11 Business, and SR 254 in Staunton. SR 252 passes through rural areas of the upper Shenandoah Valley of northern Rockbridge County and western Augusta County.
State Route 253 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Port Republic Road, the state highway runs 12.18 miles (19.60 km) from U.S. Route 11 in Harrisonburg east to US 340 near Port Republic. SR 253 is a northwest–southeast highway that connects Harrisonburg with Cross Keys and Port Republic in southeastern Rockingham County. The state highway also provides access to portions of James Madison University on either side of Interstate 81 (I-81). SR 253 is maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation except for the portion in the independent city of Harrisonburg, which is municipally maintained.
State Route 256 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known for most of its length as Weyers Cave Road, the state highway runs 6.78 miles (10.91 km) from U.S. Route 11 near Weyers Cave east to US 340 in Grottoes. SR 256 connects Interstate 81 (I-81) with Weyers Cave in northern Augusta County and Grottoes, which is home to Grand Caverns, in southeastern Rockingham County.
Interstate 81 (I-81) is an 855.02-mile-long (1,376.02 km) Interstate Highway. In the US state of Virginia, I-81 runs for 324.92 miles (522.91 km), making the portion in Virginia longer than any other state's portion. It is also the longest Interstate Highway within the borders of Virginia. It stretches from the Tennessee state line near Bristol to the West Virginia state line near Winchester. It enters Virginia from Bristol, Tennessee, and leaves Virginia into Berkeley County, West Virginia.
U.S. Route 250 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Sandusky, Ohio to Richmond, Virginia. In Virginia, the highway runs 166.74 miles (268.34 km) from the West Virginia state line near Hightown east to its eastern terminus at US 360 in Richmond. US 250 is the main east–west highway of Highland County, which is known as Virginia's Little Switzerland; the highway follows the path of the 19th century Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike. From Staunton east to Richmond, the highway serves as the local complement to Interstate 64 (I-64), roughly following the 18th century Three Notch'd Road through Waynesboro and Charlottesville on its way through the Shenandoah Valley, its crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains at Rockfish Gap, and the Piedmont. In the Richmond metropolitan area, US 250 is known as Broad Street, a major thoroughfare through the city's West End and downtown areas.
The Madison Cave isopod, Antrolana lira, is a freshwater, cave-dwelling crustacean species. It is in the family Cirolanidae and it is the only species of its genus Antrolana. This isopod can be found in flooded limestone caves and karst aquifers throughout the Great Appalachian Valley of Virginia and West Virginia. The Madison Cave isopod has been listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 1983 and as a threatened species under the United States Endangered Species Act since 1982. The species was named after the cave in which it was first discovered, Madison Saltpetre Cave. Very little is known about the life history and behavior of the Madison Cave isopod.
Smith Creek is a 35.5-mile-long (57.1 km) tributary stream of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Its watershed comprises 106 square miles (270 km2) within Shenandoah and Rockingham counties on the western slope of the Massanutten Mountain ridge. Its headwaters lie in Rockingham County just north of Harrisonburg, and its confluence with the North Fork of the Shenandoah River is located just south of Mount Jackson.
