About Norfolk
Norfolk is located in the Southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 242,803, the city ranks as Virginia’s second-largest city behind nearby Virginia Beach.
Norfolk is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area and located at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. It is one of nine cities and seven counties that constitute the Hampton Roads metro area, officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA which has a total population of 1,672,319 as of the 2010 US Census. The city is bordered to the west by the Elizabeth River and to the north by the Chesapeake Bay. It also shares land borders with the independent cities (not situated in a particular county) of Chesapeake to its South and Virginia Beach to its East. One of the oldest of the cities in the area, Norfolk is considered to be the historic, urban, financial, and cultural center of the region.
Norfolk has a long history as a strategic military and transportation hub. The Norfolk Naval Base is the world’s largest. The world’s largest military alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has its defense headquarters here. The city also hosts the corporate headquarters of Norfolk Southern Railway which is one of North America’s principal shipping railroads, and Maersk Line, Limited, who manages the world’s largest fleet of US-flag vessels. As the city is bordered by multiple bodies of water, Norfolk has many miles of riverfront and bay-front property. It is linked to its neighbors by an extensive network of Interstate highways, bridges, tunnels, and bridge-tunnel complexes.
Nearby Cities & Towns
Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Yorktown, Pouquoson, Cape Charles, Chesapeake, Back River, Lynnhaven Roads, Williamsburg, York
