Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is a channel through which the waters of the James River, Nansemond River, and Elizabeth River of Virginia
pass (between Old Point Comfort to the north and Sewell?s Point to
the south) into Chesapeake Bay. It is an important highway of commerce,
especially for the cities of
Norfolk,
Portsmouth, and
Newport News, and is a chief rendezvous of the United States Navy. 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. 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; and at Portsmouth, a few miles up the Elizabeth River, is an important naval yard.
The famous battle between USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (ex-Merrimack) took place in the Roads.
- (from an old encyclopedia)
Hampton Roads is also the common name for the metropolitan area in southeastern Virginia that surrounds that body of water. Locals subdivide the area into two regions. Most of the region's population lives in South Hampton Roads or, more often, the Southside (not to be confused with Southside Virginia, a separate region farther inland), made up of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Suffolk. The northern portion of the area is typically called the Peninsula, after the Virginia Peninsula. The main cities on the Peninsula are Newport News, Hampton, Williamsburg, and Poquoson.
Referenced By
1862 | 8 March | 8th March | 9 March | 9th March | Aircraft Carrier | Battle of Hampton Roads | Battleship | Battleships | CSS Albemarle | CSS Virginia | Charles Wilkes | Dreadnought | Fort Wood | Fort Wool | Hampton, Virginia | I-10 | I-610 | I-75 | International Womens Day | Interstate 10 | Interstate 610 | Interstate 64 | Interstate 75 | John E. Wool | John Ericsson | List of North American area codes | List of regions in the United States | List of regions of the United States | March 8 | March 8th | March 9 | March 9th | Newport News | Newport News, Virginia | Norfolk, Virginia | Norfolk International Airport | Operation Torch | Poquoson, Virginia | Regions of the United States | San Bernardino Freeway | Suffolk, Virginia | Transportation in the United States | USS Alabama (BB-8) | USS Alaska (CB-1) | USS America (CV-66) | USS America (CVA-66) | USS Amsterdam (CL-101) | USS Antietam (CV-36) | USS Antietam (CVA-36) | USS Antietam (CVS-36) | USS Archerfish (SSN-678) | USS Arizona (BB-39) | USS Arkansas (BB-33) | USS Atik | USS Atik (AK-101) | USS Baltimore (C-3) | USS Bennington (PG-4) | USS Brandywine | USS Brooklyn (ACR-3) | USS Brooklyn (CA-3) | USS California (ACR-6) | USS Charleston (C-2) | USS Charleston (C-22) | USS Charleston (CA-19) | USS Chesapeake | USS Cheyenne (BM-10) | USS Chicago (1885) | USS Chicago (CA-14) | USS Chicago (CL-14) | USS Cleveland (C-19) | USS Cleveland (CL-21) | USS Congress (1799) | USS Connecticut (BB-18) | USS Culgoa (AF-3) | USS Delaware (1820) | USS Delaware (BB-28) | USS Dixie (1893) | USS Dolphin (brig) | USS Florida (BB-30) | USS Galena (1862) | USS Houston (CA-30) | USS Huntington (CA-5) | USS Idaho (BB-24) | USS Idaho (BB-42) | USS Illinois (BB-7) | USS Iowa (BB-04) | USS Iowa (BB-4) | USS Iowa (BB-61) | USS Jupiter (AC-3) | USS Kansas (BB-21) | USS Kearsage (CVA-33) | USS Kearsarge (BB-5) | USS Kearsarge (CV-33) | USS Kearsarge (CVA-33) | USS Kearsarge (CVS-33) | USS Kentucky (BB-6) | USS Keokuk | USS Lake Champlain (CV-39) | USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) ...
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