Virginia Beach | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Seal  Logo | |
| Nickname(s): "The Resort City", VA Beach | |
| Motto: Landmarks of Our Nation's Beginning | |
 Interactive map of Virginia Beach | |
 Virginia Beach in Virginia | |
  Virginia Beach  Virginia Beach | |
| Coordinates: 36°51′00″N 75°58′40″W / 36.85000°N 75.97778°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Virginia |
| Incorporated (town) | 1906 |
| Incorporated (city) | 1952 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council–manager |
| • Body | Virginia Beach City Council |
| • Mayor | Bobby Dyer (R) |
| Area | |
| • Independent city | 497.50 sq mi (1,288.52 km2) |
| • Land | 244.72 sq mi (633.83 km2) |
| • Water | 252.78 sq mi (654.69 km2) |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Population | |
| • Independent city | 457,672  |
| • Rank | US: 43rd VA: 1st |
| • Density | 1,877.53/sq mi (724.92/km2) |
| • Urban | 1,451,578 (US: 36th) |
| • Urban density | 3,013.6/sq mi (1,163.6/km2) |
| • Metro | 1,799,674 (US: 37th) |
| Demonym | Virginia Beachian (unofficial) |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 23450-23467, 23471, 23479 |
| Area code(s) | 757, 948 |
| FIPS code | 51-82000[4] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1500261[5] |
| Website | virginiabeach |
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Virginia Beach, officially the City of Virginia Beach, is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census.[2] Located on the southeastern coast of Virginia, it is the sixth-most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic and the 43rd-most populous city in the U.S. Located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Beach is a principal city in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area which has more than 1.8 million inhabitants and is the 37th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S.[6]
Virginia Beach is a resort city with miles of beaches and hundreds of hotels, motels, and restaurants along its oceanfront. Near the point where the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean meet, Cape Henry was the site of the first landing of the English colonists who eventually settled in Jamestown; modern Virginia Beach was established in 1906. It is home to several state parks, protected beaches, and military bases. Virginia Wesleyan University, Regent University, Christian Broadcasting Network, the U.S. headquarters of Stihl, and the Association for Research and Enlightenment are based in Virginia Beach. It also hosts the annual East Coast Surfing Championships and Neptune Festival.
The city is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having the longest pleasure beach in the world.[7] It is located at the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which was the world's longest bridge-tunnel complex[8] until the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge opened in 2018.[9]
- ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ a b "QuickFacts: Virginia Beach city, Virginia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Hampton Roads". Virginia.org. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- ^ "Virginia Beach also the world's longest stretch of pleasure Beach". September 12, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- ^ Melissa Jones (March 15, 2005). Superlatives USA: The Largest, Smallest, Longest, Shortest, and Wackiest Sites in America. Capital Books. pp. 137–. ISBN 978-1-931868-85-3. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
- ^ BBC. "World's longest sea crossing: Hong Kong-Zhuhai bridge opens". Retrieved October 23, 2018.