Hampton Roads

Roadstead at the mouths of the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth rivers in southeastern Virginia, through which they flow into Chesapeake Bay. Some 6 km/4 mi long and 12 m/40 ft deep, it provides a natural deep-water harbour for the major ports of Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth, and Norfolk. Hampton Roads has been an important commercial and military waterway since Colonial times, and in 1862 was the site of the famous battle between the revolutionary ironclad ships Monitor and Merrimack.

The Port of Hampton Roads, established in 1926 by the State Port Authority of Virginia, is one of the busiest in the USA, and is a centre for shipbuilding and ship maintenance. It is also used by the US Navy, with the Atlantic Fleet Headquarters based at Norfolk and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard at Portsmouth. The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, which crosses between Hampton and Norfolk, is 2,281 m/7,479 ft long.