This book is a consolidation of two Bulletins of the U.S. Geological Survey. It consists of extensive alphabetical lists of Virginia and West Virginia place names (more than 12,000 altogether) and assists the researcher in pinpointing a particular ancestor in a specific locality. Places listed include post villages, towns, counties, mountains, rivers, and other notable topographical features. Most places are identified in relation to a county, and are thereupon described with even greater detail and refinement.