The area served by the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia is located in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains and is a region of geographic, cultural, and historical diversity. From the Civil War battlefields in the north to the coalfields in the south, Southwestern Virginia embraces the broad fertile valley of the Shenandoah, the sweeping grandeur of the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains, the roaring white waters of the New River, and the steep ridges and deep hollows of the Appalachian coalfields.