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36°58′N 76°22′W / 36.967°N 76.367°W
Hampton Roads | |
|---|---|
| Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC, Metropolitan Statistical Area | |
 Satellite view of Hampton Roads with the Hampton Roads channel at center. (City urban centers visible, clockwise from top: Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth) | |
 Flag | |
 Jurisdictions in the Hampton Roads MSA are colored in red. Jurisdictions in the CSA, but not the MSA, are colored in pink. | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Virginia North Carolina |
| Independent cities | - Virginia Beach - Norfolk - Chesapeake - Newport News - Hampton - Portsmouth - Suffolk - Williamsburg - Franklin - Poquoson |
| Counties | - James City County - York County - Isle of Wight County - Southampton County - Gloucester County - Mathews County - Camden (N.C.) County - Currituck (N.C.) County - Gates (N.C.) County |
| Settled | 1607 |
| Area | |
| • Metropolitan area | 3,729.76 sq mi (9,660.0 km2) |
| • Land | 2,889.16 sq mi (7,482.9 km2) |
| • Water | 840.6 sq mi (2,177 km2) |
| • Urban | 527 sq mi (1,360 km2) |
| Elevation | 0–144 ft (0–34 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Metropolitan area | 1,799,674 |
| • Density | 463.50/sq mi (178.96/km2) |
| • CSA | 1,890,162 |
| GDP | |
| • MSA | $116.686 billion (2022) |
| Time zone | EST |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT |
| Zip Codes | VA:230xx,231xx,233xx,234xx, 235xx,236xx,237xx,238xx NC: 279xx |
| Area codes | 757, 804, 948, 252 |
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic Ocean, and the surrounding metropolitan region located in the southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina portions of the Tidewater Region.
Comprising the Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC, metropolitan area and an extended combined statistical area that includes the Elizabeth City, North Carolina, micropolitan statistical area and Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, micropolitan statistical area, Hampton Roads is known for its large military presence, ice-free harbor, shipyards, coal piers, and miles of waterfront property and beaches, all of which contribute to the diversity and stability of the region's economy.
The body of water known as Hampton Roads is one of the world's largest natural harbors (more accurately a roadstead or "roads"). It incorporates the mouths of the Elizabeth, Nansemond, and James rivers, together with several smaller rivers, and empties into the Chesapeake Bay near its mouth leading to the Atlantic Ocean.[2][3]
The land area includes a collection of cities, counties, and towns on the Virginia Peninsula and in South Hampton Roads. Some of the outlying areas further from the harbor may or may not be included as part of "Hampton Roads", depending upon the organization or usage. For example, as defined for federal economic purposes, the Hampton Roads metropolitan statistical area (MSA) includes two counties in northeastern North Carolina and two counties in Virginia's Middle Peninsula. The Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC, MSA has an estimated 2022 population of 1,806,840, making it the 37th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.[4] The Combined Statistical Area includes three additional counties in North Carolina, pushing the regional population to 1,898,944 residents, the 32nd-largest CSA in the country.[5]
The area is home to hundreds of historical sites and attractions. The harbor was the key to Hampton Roads' growth, both on land and in water-related activities and events. While the harbor and its tributaries were (and still are) important transportation conduits, at the same time they presented obstacles to land-based commerce and travel.
Creating and maintaining adequate infrastructure has long been a major challenge. The Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel (HRBT) and the Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel (MMMBT) are major harbor crossings of the Hampton Roads Beltway interstate, which links the large population centers of Hampton Roads. In 2009, the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority (HRTA) was abolished by the Virginia General Assembly less than two years after its creation.[6] In 2014, the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission was established to oversee the Hampton Roads Transportation Fund.
Etymology
The term "Hampton Roads" is a centuries-old designation that originated when the region was a struggling English outpost nearly four hundred years ago.
The word "Hampton" honors one of the founders of the Virginia Company of London and a great supporter of the colonization of Virginia, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. The early administrative center of the new colony was known as Elizabeth Cittie, named for Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of King James I, and formally designated by the Virginia Company in 1619. The town at the center of Elizabeth Cittie became known as "Hampton", and a nearby waterway was designated Hampton Creek (also known as Hampton River).
Other references to the Earl include the area to the north across the bay (in what is now the Eastern Shore) which became known as Northampton, and an area south of the James River which became Southampton. As with Hampton, both of these names remain in use today.
The term "Roads" (short for roadstead) indicates the safety of a port; as applied to a body of water, it is "a partly sheltered area of water near a shore in which vessels may ride at anchor".[7] Examples of other roadsteads are Castle Roads, in another of the Virginia Company's settlements, Bermuda, and Lahaina Roads, in Hawaii.
In 1755, the Virginia General Assembly recorded the name "Hampton Roads" as the channel linking the James, Elizabeth, and Nansemond rivers with the Chesapeake Bay.[8]
Hampton Roads is among the world's largest natural harbors. It is the northernmost major East Coast port of the United States which is ice-free year round. (This status is claimed with the notable exception of the extraordinarily cold winter of 1917, which was the entire U.S.'s coldest year on record.)
Over time, the entire region has come to be known as "Hampton Roads", a label more specific than its other moniker, "Tidewater Virginia", which includes the whole coastal region of the state. The U.S. Postal Service changed the area's postmark from "Tidewater Virginia" to "Hampton Roads, Virginia" beginning in 1983.[8]
Definitions
Counties and independent cities
The U.S. Census Bureau defines the "Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC, MSA" as 19 county-level jurisdictions—six counties and ten independent cities in Virginia, and three counties in North Carolina. While the borders of what locals call "Hampton Roads" may not perfectly align with the definition of the MSA, Hampton Roads is most often the name used for the metropolitan area.
"Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC, MSA" is a U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). In 2022, the population was estimated to be 1,806,840.[9]
Since a state constitutional change in 1871, all cities in Virginia are independent cities and they are not legally located in a county. The OMB considers these independent cities to be county-equivalents for the purpose of defining MSAs in Virginia. Each MSA is listed by its counties, then cities, in alphabetical order and not by size.[citation needed]
In Virginia
The MSA consists of these locations in Virginia:[10]
Counties
| # | Independent city | County | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2019 (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia Beach | – | – | 8,091 | 172,106 | 262,199 | 393,069 | 425,257 | 437,994 | 449,974 |
| 2 | Norfolk | - | 213,513 | 305,872 | 307,951 | 266,979 | 261,229 | 234,403 | 242,803 | 242,742 |
| 3 | Chesapeake | – | – | – | 89,580 | 114,486 | 151,976 | 199,184 | 222,209 | 244,835 |
| 4 | Newport News | – | – | – | – | – | 170,045 | 180,150 | 180,719 | 179,225 |
| 5 | Hampton | - | – | – | – | – | 133,811 | 146,437 | 137,436 | 134,510 |
| 6 | Portsmouth | – | 80,039 | 114,773 | 110,963 | 104,577 | 103,910 | 100,565 | 95,535 | 94,398 |
| 7 | Suffolk | – | – | – | – | 47,621 | 52,141 | 63,677 | 84,585 | 92,108 |
| 8 | Williamsburg | – | – | – | – | – | 11,530 | 11,998 | 14,068 | 14,954 |
| 9 | Poquoson | – | – | – | – | – | 11,005 | 11,566 | 12,150 | 12,271 |
| 10 | Franklin | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7,967 |
| – | South Norfolk (defunct, 1950–1963) | – | 10,434 | 22,035 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 11 | – | James City County, VA | – | – | – | – | 34,859 | 48,102 | 67,009 | 76,523 |
| 12 | – | York County, VA | – | – | – | – | 42,422 | 56,297 | 65,464 | 68,280 |
| 13 | – | Gloucester County, VA | – | – | – | – | 30,131 | 34,780 | 36,858 | 37,348 |
| 14 | – | Isle of Wight County, VA | – | – | – | – | 25,503 | 29,728 | 35,270 | 37,109 |
| 15 | – | Currituck County, NC | – | – | – | 11,089 | 13,736 | 18,190 | 23,547 | 27,763 |
| 16 | – | Gates County, NC | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12,197 | 11,562 |
| 17 | – | Mathews County, VA | – | – | – | – | 8,348 | 9,207 | 8,978 | 8,834 |
| 18 | – | Southampton County, VA | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 17,631 |
| 19 | – | Camden County, NC | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10,867 |
| – | – | Surry County, VA | – | – | – | – | – | 6,829 | – | – |
| – | – | Norfolk County, VA (defunct, 1950–1963) | 99,537 | 51,612 | – | – | – | – | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Hampton_Roads