The Elizabeth River is a short tidal estuary forming an arm of Hampton Roads at the southern end of Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia in the United States. It is located along the southern side of the mouth of James River, between the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk. The estuary provides significant military and commercial port facilities for the two cities.
The main branch of the estuary is approximately 5 mi (8 km) long and 2 mi (3.2 km) wide at its mouth. It is formed at its southern end by three branches, the East Branch, South Branch, and West Branch. The South Branch connects to the Albemarle-Chesapeake Canal , forming part of the Intracoastal Waterway. The estuary receives the smaller Lafayette River estuary from the east near its mouth.
The river was named by the Jamestown colonists in the early 17th century for Princess Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of King James I of England and a sister of the later King Charles I.
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