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contamination in the
Southern Branch along with other toxins including those causing cancer in some fish after a monitoring the river between 1999 and 2001. Efforts began in the 1990s and by 2003 bald eagles were returned to the watershed. 2008 saw the 3rd State Of The Elizabeth River report, prepared for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which finally provided data that most of the river was not suitable for swimming. At the same time, the report showed the most positive trends for improving levels of nutrients in Virginia compared to other areas of the Chesapeake Bay. In 2009, a pilot area was dredged at Money Point, replaced with clean sand, and restored with vegetation and artificial oyster reefs and in 2010 at least 17 species of fish and shellfish were found in the former toxic site where barely any life existed previously. In 2011, dredging of the toxic sediment began, near Money Point as part of a larger initiative to help restore the Elizabeth River. Industries along the river are also voluntarily playing their part in restoring wetlands and oyster reefs in one of the largest restoration projects on the Chesapeake Bay.
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and storm water discharge contributed over time to the declining health of the river. In 1983, the EPA mentions the
Elizabeth River was singled out as one of the most highly polluted bodies of water in the entire Bay watershed and as of 2011 remains one of the most polluted rivers on the United States east coast. Sediment contamination has made "toxic hot spots" within the Elizabeth River. Notably, the Southern Branch of the river at Money Point had become a 35-acre biological dead-zone with a nearly entirely lifeless river floor.
137:, they were seeking a pathway to the west to reach the "Great Indies" and soon sailed upriver along the largest and most likely westerly river, which they named the James (for their king), passing by the areas closest to the ocean as they sought a protected haven from other European forces such as the Spanish. Their settlement 35 miles (56 km) inland at Jamestown was flawed in many other ways, but did meet the requirement of providing protection. Settlement along the Elizabeth River came a few years later.
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312:. There are many other highway and railroad bridge crossings of the Eastern, Southern, and Western branches of the river of various ages and capacities, often with draw spans. The city of Chesapeake, with crossings of all three branches of the river by both railroads and highways of every type, and both
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The
Elizabeth River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay and faces significant environmental pollution challenges of its own that also hamper recovery in the Bay. The Elizabeth River's history with various industrial sites, such as dry docks, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, processing plants, and both sewage
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draw spans, has the greatest number to contend with. In
Chesapeake, the legal ownership and maintenance responsibilities are divided among the city, VDOT, and the railroads. In November 2012, the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge (SNJB) opened, a public-private partnership that allows the builder to toll
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The
Commonwealth of Virginia entered into an agreement in 1995 after the Chesapeake Bay Program identified the Elizabeth River system as a "Region of Concern" in 1993. By 2003 a report entitled "State of the River 2003" by the Elizabeth River Project had been published, highlighting the sediment
261:, which had long surrounded the other two large and expanding cities. The three cities surround the Elizabeth River and most of the area served by its three main branches. The Elizabeth River is the home of the oldest shipyard in the United States, the
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for 50 years. The Bridge connects to Elm Avenue in
Portsmouth and to Poindexter Street in Chesapeake. The bridge has no toll booths and relies on VDOT EZ-Pass transponders for payment or sends bills based on photography of license plates.
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branches of the
Elizabeth River, extending 7 to 14 miles (11 to 23 km) into neighboring communities. The Western and Southern branches are partially fed by tributaries that originate within the
265:. Founded as The Gosport Shipyard in 1767, the shipyard is still in use today having survived both the American Revolutionary and Civil wars and fires set to the shipyard within each conflict.
180:. Under the command of Lord Dunmore, these ships patrolled along Norfolk's Elizabeth River waterfront and on New Year's Day 1776, began shelling Norfolk in what would later become known as the
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The main branch of the estuary is approximately 6 miles (10 km) long and is 2 miles (3 km) wide at its mouth. It is formed by three primary branches, all tidal, known as the
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The
Elizabeth River estuary and its tributaries provide significant military and commercial port facilities for Norfolk and Portsmouth, as well as a third major city,
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connects to the greater
Hampton Roads area through the Elizabeth River. They are of great importance to both commerce and the U.S. military considerations.
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A portion of the
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503:"The Money Point Sustainable Revitalization Plan - Chesapeake, VA Crisman+ Petrus; UVA School of Architecture"
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on December 9, 1775. Upon British defeat, Lord Dunmore and his army withdrew onto four ships of the
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U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data.
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The river and its branches provide for both commerce and recreation activities. The
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sailed up the Elizabeth River and landed in Norfolk. The British Army and the
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Motor vehicles cross the main portion of the river using the
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Environmental Protection Agency Targeted Watersheds Grant
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When the settlers aboard the three tiny ships of Captain
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Group working to 'get the goo out' of Elizabeth River
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Once-toxic stretch of Elizabeth River teeming again
458:Elizabeth River Project: Rediscover the Treasure
102:colonists in the early 17th century for Princess
423:Virginia Department of Environmental Quality:
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384:U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1983.
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425:Elizabeth River Watershed Action Plan
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401:Project is Cleaning the River Bottom
78:Through its Southern Branch and the
39:is a 6-mile-long (10 km) tidal
133:a few days after reaching land at
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814:Lambert's Point Deperming Station
589:EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office
537:State of the Elizabeth River 2008
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935:Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area
341:Southern Branch Elizabeth River
110:and a sister of the later King
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1263:Tributaries of the James River
892:Governor's School for the Arts
346:Western Branch Elizabeth River
336:Eastern Branch Elizabeth River
84:Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
80:Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal
47:harbor at the southern end of
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832:Norfolk International Airport
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809:Joint Forces Staff College
460:Money Point Revitalization
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875:Matthew Fontaine Maury HS
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632:City of Norfolk, Virginia
399:Elizabeth River Project:
114:, and his older brother,
897:Norfolk State University
753:Norfolk Botanical Garden
535:Elizabeth River Project
375:, accessed April 1, 2011
63:, between the cities of
994:Battle of Hampton Roads
902:Old Dominion University
885:Booker T. Washington HS
572:Elizabeth River Project
444:Elizabeth River Project
331:List of Virginia rivers
205:Battle of Craney Island
1028:Catesby ap Roger Jones
860:Norfolk Public Schools
728:Chrysler Museum of Art
276:Environmental concerns
263:Norfolk Naval Shipyard
158:Battle of Great Bridge
142:U.S. Revolutionary War
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1273:Estuaries of Virginia
1268:Intracoastal Waterway
1239:36.92500°N 76.34361°W
837:Norfolk Train Station
794:Naval Station Norfolk
270:Intracoastal Waterway
154:U.S. Continental Army
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738:Harrison Opera House
481:The Virginian-Pilot
156:then engaged at the
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1008:John Lorimer Worden
919:The Virginian-Pilot
212:History of Virginia
127:Christopher Newport
1013:Samuel Dana Greene
743:MacArthur Memorial
582:2008-05-11 at the
554:2012-03-08 at the
488:2012-10-10 at the
465:2015-06-22 at the
430:2011-01-10 at the
406:2012-03-03 at the
371:2012-03-29 at the
241:Importance and use
235:Great Dismal Swamp
182:Burning of Norfolk
162:British Royal Navy
108:James I of England
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1190:James River
733:Harbor Park
711:Attractions
197:Fort Nelson
189:War of 1812
187:During the
140:During the
61:James River
1257:Categories
1230:76°20′37″W
1227:36°55′30″N
1099:Cumberland
933:See also:
880:Norview HS
799:Camp Allen
519:2012-03-14
352:References
318:swing-type
247:Chesapeake
210:See also:
178:Kingfisher
176:, and the
135:Cape Henry
73:Chesapeake
65:Portsmouth
1185:Tidewater
1163:Jamestown
1123:Minnesota
865:Granby HS
852:Education
768:Waterside
297:Crossings
285:(high in
217:Geography
170:Liverpool
112:Charles I
100:Jamestown
25:USS
1139:Beaufort
1091:Congress
1082:Virginia
950:Category
939:Virginia
787:Military
778:Mermaids
748:Nauticus
656:Timeline
646:Downtown
580:Archived
552:Archived
486:Archived
463:Archived
428:Archived
404:Archived
369:Archived
325:See also
308:and the
283:Creosote
227:Southern
148:and the
53:Virginia
1200:Norfolk
1147:Raleigh
1115:Roanoke
1072:Monitor
688:Economy
668:Culture
651:History
314:bascule
231:Western
223:Eastern
166:Dunmore
94:History
88:Florida
69:Norfolk
55:in the
41:estuary
1173:Places
1107:Zouave
1001:People
678:Sports
673:People
639:Topics
229:, and
172:, the
168:, the
164:, the
71:, and
1062:Ships
911:Media
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513:(PDF)
506:(PDF)
174:Otter
1161:CSS
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
