Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water and the land areas which surround it in southeastern Virginia in the United States.
World's largest natural harbor
The water area known as Hampton Roads is a channel through which the waters of the James River, Nansemond River, and Elizabeth River pass (between Old Point Comfort to the north and Sewell's Point to the south) into the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
Naming and historical significance
The term "Hampton Roads" is a centuries-old reference that originated when the region was a struggling British outpost nearly 400 years ago. Designated in the 17th Century as the name of the harbor, "Hampton Roads" honors one of the founders of the Virginia Company and a great supporter of the colonization of Virginia, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. Signifying the safety of a port, "roads" in nautical terminology means "a place less sheltered than a harbor where ships may ride at anchor." Although perhaps by that definition the label harbor is technically incorrect, Hampton Roads has become well-known as the "world's largest natural harbor."
The entrance from Chesapeake Bay was defended by Fort Monroe, built in 1819 on Old Point Comfort, and by Fort Wool, built as Fort Calhoun in 1829, on a small island called the Rip Raps near the middle of the channel. The famous Battle of Hampton Roads between USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (ex-USS Merrimack) during the US Civil War took place here on March 8-9, 1862.
Commercial and naval use in 21st Century
Hampton Roads is an important highway of commerce, especially for the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Newport News.
At Portsmouth, a few miles up the Elizabeth River, Norfolk Naval Shipyard isa located. Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company (NNS) is located a short distance up the James River. There are also several smaller shipyards, numerous docks and terminals.
Massive coal loading piers and facilities were established in the late 19th and early 20th century by the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O), Norfolk & Western (N&W), and Virginian (VGN) Railways. The latter two were predecessors railroads of Norfolk Southern Corporation, a Fortune 500 company which has its' headquarters in Norfolk, and continues to export coal from a large facility at Lambert's Point on the Elizabeth River. CSX Transportation now serves the former C&O facility at Newport News.
Hampton Roads is also a chief rendezvous of the United States Navy. The Norfolk Navy Base is located at Sewell's Point near the mouth, on the site used for the tercentennial Jamestown Exposition in 1907. For a width of 500 feet the Federal government during 1902 through 1905 increased its minimum depth at low water from 25.5 feet to 30 feet.
Land areas
Hampton Roads is also the common name for the metropolitan area in southeastern Virginia that surrounds that body of water. Hampton Roads has a population nearing 1.6 million and is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the southeastern United States, and the largest between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta.
Peninsula and South Hampton Roads
The land portion of Hampton Roads is divided into two regions, the Peninsula, on the north side, and South Hampton Roads, on the south side, where most of the area's population lives.
The Peninsula region is comprised up of four independent cities, Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and Williamsburg. The peninsula region also includes James City County and York County, where Yorktown is located.
The South Hampton Roads region includes five independent cities Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach, and the counties of Surry and Isle of Wight, where the town of Smithfield is located.
Highways, bridges, and tunnels
The Hampton Roads area has an extensive network of Interstate Highways, including spurs and bypasses linked to Interstate 64, the major east-west route to and from the area.
The Hampton Roads Beltway extends 56 miles on along loop through the region, crossing the harbor on two toll-free bridge tunnel facilities, the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel.
There are also two other tunnels in the area, as well as the 17-mile-long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a toll facility which links the region with Virginia's Eastern Shore. A major toll bridge connects with Virginia's Middle Peninsula region at Yorktown.
Natural areas and historical sites
The region has extensive natural areas, including 26 miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches, the Chesapeake Bay, picturesque rivers, state parks, wildlife refuges, and botanical gardens. There's also a wealth of history to explore. The first permanent English settlement in the New World was established at Jamestown in 1607. Colonial Williamsburg is a living museum of early American life. General Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown in 1781.
See also
- Interstate 64
- Hampton Roads Beltway
- Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
- Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel
- Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
- Sewell's Point
- Battle of Hampton Roads
- Jamestown Exposition
- Norfolk Naval Shipyard
- Norfolk Navy Base
- Oceana Naval Air Station
External links
- Hampton Roads Visitor Guide (http://www.hamptonroadsvisitor.com)
- USS Monitor Center and Exhibit Newport News , Virginia (http://www.monitorcenter.org/)
- Mariner's Museum, Newport News, Virginia (http://www.mariner.org/)
- Hampton Roads Naval Museum (http://www.hrnm.navy.mil/)
- Norfolk City Historical Society (http://www.norfolkhistorical.org)
- Norfolk County Historical Society (http://www.chesapeake.lib.va.us/Wallace/nchs.htm)
- Norfolk Public Library – History of Willoughby (http://www.npl.lib.va.us/history/history65.html)
- Norfolk Public Library – History of Weather Events (http://www.npl.lib.va.us/history/history7.html)
- City of Norfolk website, Local History (http://www.norfolk.gov/Education/)
- Civil War and the Battle of Sewell’s Point (http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/civwar/html/cw_000301_sewellspoint.htm)
- Civil War Naval History (http://www.multied.com/Navy/cwnavalhistory/)
- [1] (http://www.geocities.com/hrforts/Fort_Wool/history.htm)
- [2] (http://www.navstanorva.navy.mil/INFO/ABOUT_US/HISTORY/EXPO/expo.htm)2
- Naval Station Norfolk website (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/norfolk.htm)
- Roads to the Future - I664 Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel (http://www.roadstothefuture.com/I664_VA_MMMBT.html)
