Newport News : Virginia

Newport News is an independent city on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River covering a total area of 308.3 km² (119.1 mi²). 176.9 km² (68.3 mi²) of it is land and 131.5 km² (50.8 mi²) of it (42.64%) is water.

The community was named for Capt. Christopher Newport, who explored the area in 1607. Newport News entered a sister city relationship with Neyagawa, Osaka-fu, Japan in 1982 and a second sister city in Taizhou which is in the Jiangsu Province in China and possibly in the near future a relationship with Greifswald, Germany. Temperatures in Newport News range from an average high of 46 degrees and an average low of 30 in January to an average high of 85 degrees and an average low of 71 in July. The average year-round high is 68 degrees and the low is 51 degrees

Elevation: 15 feet

Land area: 68.3 square miles

Latitude: 37.07 N

Longitude: 76.48 W

Population: 179,899 as on 2005

Attractions

    * Mariners' Museum
    * Peninsula Fine Arts Center
    * Virginia Living Museum,
    * Newsome House Museum & Cultural Center
    * Christopher Newport Park

Festivals:

    * African-American Film Festival
    * Fall Festival of Folklife
    * Harvest Faire
    * Juneteenth Freedom Festival