Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 96.3 square miles (249 km2), of which, 53.7 square miles (139 km2) of it is land and 42.6 square miles (110 km2) of it (44.22%) is water. Norfolk is located at 36°55′N 76°12′W / 36.917°N 76.2°W / 36.917; -76.2 (36.8857° N, 76.2599° W)
The city is located at the southeastern corner of Virginia at the junction of the Elizabeth River and Chesapeake Bay. The Hampton Roads Metropolitan Statistical Area (officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA) is the 34th largest in the United States, with a total population of 1,576,370. The area includes the Virginia cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Williamsburg, and the counties of Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Mathews, Surry, and York, as well as the North Carolina county of Currituck. The city of Norfolk is recognized as the central business district, while the Virginia Beach oceanside resort district and Williamsburg are primarily centers of tourism. Virginia Beach is the most populated city within the MSA though it functions more as a suburb.
In addition to extensive riverfront property, Norfolk has miles of bayfront resort property and beaches in the Willoughby Spit and Ocean View communities.
Read more about this topic: Norfolk, Virginia
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“Ktaadn, near which we were to pass the next day, is said to mean “Highest Land.” So much geography is there in their names.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“At present cats have more purchasing power and influence than the poor of this planet. Accidents of geography and colonial history should no longer determine who gets the fish.”
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)