A state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is bordered by Maryland and the District of Columbia to the north and east; the Atlantic Ocean to the east; by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south; by Kentucky to the west and by West Virginia to the north and west. Due to a peculiarity of Virginia's original charter, its boundary with Maryland does not extend past the low-water mark of the southern shore of the Potomac River, so Maryland and the District of Columbia contain the whole width of the river rather than splitting it between them and Virginia. The southern border is defined as the 36deg30min parallel north.