Virginia Beach

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Virginia Beach
Nickname : The Resort City, Neptune City
Virginia Beach 2.jpg
Seal of Virginia Beach
seal 		Virginia Beach flag
flag
Location in Virginia
Virginia Beach (Virginia)
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach
Basic data
Foundation : 1906
State : United States
State : Virginia
County : independent city
Coordinates : 36 ° 50 ′  N , 76 ° 5 ′  W Coordinates: 36 ° 50 ′  N , 76 ° 5 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area :		 452,602 (as of 2016)
1,726,907 (as of 2016)
Population density : 703.8 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 1,288.1 km 2  (approx. 497 mi 2 ) of
which 643.1 km 2  (approx. 248 mi 2 ) are land
Height : 6 m
Postcodes : 23450-23479
Area code : +1 757
FIPS : 51-82000
GNIS ID : 1500261
Website : www.vbgov.com
Mayor : Will Sessoms ( R )
Statue of Neptune in Virginia Beach.jpg
Statue of Neptune on the Virginia Beach boardwalk

Virginia Beach (abbreviation: VB ; also: Virginia Beach, Va. ) Is an independent city in the Hampton Roads region in the US state of Virginia . It is located on Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean . With a population of 438,000, it is the largest city in Virginia and number 41 on the list of largest cities in the United States . Together with Hampton , Portsmouth , Suffolk , Newport News , Chesapeake and Norfolk , Virginia Beach forms the metropolitan district of Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News (VA-NC MSA) .

Virginia Beach is connected to the Delmarva Peninsula by the 37 km long Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel , one of the largest bridge and tunnel structures in the world .

history

On April 26, 1607, it was here, at Cape Henry, that the colonists who founded Jamestown landed , the oldest permanent English settlement in North America. Today there is the First Landing State Park ("First Landing") and the military restricted area Fort Story used by the US military . In Fort Story is the Cape Henry Memorial , which commemorates the first landing of English settlers in North America.

In 1706 Grace Sherwood , who lived in Pungo , in what was then Princess Anne County, was the last known person in Virginia to be convicted of a witch .

In 1906 Virginia Beach was incorporated. After 1960 the number of inhabitants increased very strongly as a result of incorporations. As the population grew, urban planning was revised in the 1960s, and additional areas (over 600 km²) were released for development. In 1966 the first mall in the entire Hampton Roads area opened.

Virginia Beach and Bilbao in Spain are connected by the Marea Internet transatlantic submarine cable . Marea was relocated between August 2016 and October 2017 on behalf of Facebook Inc. and Microsoft .

In May 2019, 13 people died in a rampage .

Demographics

According to the 2010 census, the population was 64.5 percent white and 19.6 percent African-American; 6.1 percent were of Asian origin. 6.6 percent of the population were Hispanics . The median income per household was 2,015 at 66,634 US dollars . 8.2 percent of the population lived below the poverty line. Virginia Beach is one of the wealthiest cities in the United States.

year Residents¹
1980 262.199
1990 393.089
2000 425.257
2010 437.994

¹ 1980–2010: Census Results

climate

Virginia Beach is in the temperate zone . The summer months of July and August can get very hot with temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius. The lowest temperatures around freezing point are measured in the winter months of January and February. The rainfall is relatively evenly distributed over the year and is between 8 and 15 cm per month.

Due to its location, Virginia Beach is mostly spared from the foothills of the blizzards passing north or the hurricanes moving south . The last hurricane in the region - Ernesto in August / September 2006 - did not cause any significant damage to Virginia Beach other than flooded roads.

economy

The metropolitan area of ​​Virginia Beach generated an economic output of 92.8 billion US dollars in 2016, making it 39th among the metropolitan areas of the United States. The unemployment rate in the metropolitan area was 3.1 percent, below the American average of 3.8 percent. (As of May 2018).

The largest employers in 2018 were:

employer Workers
City of Virginia Beach / Schools 17,463
Naval Air Station Oceana 5,850
Sentara Healthcare 5,200
Joint Expeditionary Base-Little Creek 3,600
Geico 2,700
Lynnhaven Mall 2,600
Gold Key / PHR Hotels and Resorts 2,365
Stihl 2.113
Amerigroup 1,850
Navy Exchange 1,550

tourism

Tourism in Virginia Beach is very pronounced, especially in summer, with hardly any foreign tourists to be found. Virginia Beach is particularly known for its 45 km long sandy beach with a 5 km long boardwalk. In the Guinness Book of Records , this is listed as the longest pleasure beach in the world .

The development consists mainly of large hotel complexes, but the beach promenade offers some nice restaurants and bars and the main street behind the hotel front offers beach shops and entertainment. First Landing State Park is Virginia's most visited state park . But also several large malls, attractions such as the Virginia Aquarium or the Cape Henry Lighthouse , as well as numerous hotels, restaurants and motels are available to guests.

military

With the Naval Air Station Oceana of the Navy, one of the largest (approx. 44 km²) and most modern military airfields in the world is located in Virginia Beach. The peace and quiet in the immediate vicinity of Oceana is disturbed by the fact that fighter jets are constantly patrolling low-level flights or preparing to land at peak times.

Numerous other military facilities, such as the largest naval base in the world in Norfolk , are in the immediate vicinity. Five of the twelve aircraft carriers of the US Navy have their home ports here. The base can be visited with both harbor and bus tours on the military site itself.

Town twinning

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

Commons : Virginia Beach, Virginia  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files
Wikivoyage: Virginia Beach  Travel Guide

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jones, Melissa, Superlatives USA: The Largest, Smallest, Longest, Shortest, and Wackiest: online
  2. ↑ https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/virginia-beach-13-tote-nach-schiesserei.1939.de.html?drn:news_id=1013002
  3. ^ US Census Bureau: Search Results. Retrieved November 8, 2017 (American English).
  4. ^ The Weather Channel: Average Weather for Virginia Beach, VA - Temperature and Precipitation
  5. ^ US Department of Commerce, BEA, Bureau of Economic Analysis: Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved July 4, 2018 (American English).
  6. ↑ Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Economy at a Glance. Retrieved July 5, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Virginia Beach 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report , at www.vbgov.com , accessed June 1, 2019
  8. ^ Virginia.gov: First Landing State Park

  • Beach promenade with rentable mobile bicycles

  • Virginia Beach back country towards Norfolk

  • Driving over the 23 miles long Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is an attraction

  • Virginia Beach with Norfolk in the background

  • Access to Norfolk Military Base