The Lynnhaven River is a tidal estuary located in the independent city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, in the United States, and flows into the Chesapeake Bay west of

Cape Henry Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to the long estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Cha ...

at Lynnhaven Inlet, beyond which is Lynnhaven Roads. It has a small, developed watershed covering , terminating at Lynnhaven Bay. It was once famous along the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

for its

oysters Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

, which declined through pollution and runoff. It is now being restored by the Lynnhaven River Now restoration project based out of the

Brock Environmental Center The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's (CBF) Brock Environmental Center is located on the banks of the Lynnhaven River in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is designed to meet the highest environmental standards in accordance with The U.S. Green Building Coun ...

. A proposed comprehensive project for ecosystem restoration of the Lynnhaven River Basin is currently under consideration by the United States Congress.

History

Notable historic residences near the entrance include the

Adam Keeling House __NOTOC__ The Adam Keeling House is a historic house in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. Dendrochronology undertaken by the Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory revealed that house was constructed of timbers felled in 1734–1735, pointing to a ...

Adam Thoroughgood House The Thoroughgood House is a brick house located at 1636 Parish Road, in the neighborhood of Thoroughgood, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. It was built ca. 1719. It was formerly known as the Adam Thoroughgood House. It was not built by ...

, and

Ferry Plantation House Ferry Plantation House, or Old Donation Farm, Ferry Farm, Walke Manor House, is a brick house in the neighborhood of Old Donation Farm in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The site dates back to 1642 when Savill Gaskin started the second ferry service ...

and the area was the site of the early colonial settlement of

Henry Town Henry Town, Henry Towne, or Henries Towne was an early English colonial settlement near Cape Henry, the southern point and gateway to the Chesapeake Bay in the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, now in modern Virginia Beach, Virginia, on the East Co ...

. The bay was a convenient harbor for coast-wise shipping in the colonial period.'Capt. Passenger to Governor Nicholson.' (Aug. 19, 1700). "America and West Indies: August 1700, 26-29." ''Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies'': Volume 18, 1700. Ed. Cecil Headlam. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1910. 494-505
British History Online.
Retrieved 28 May 2019. Adam Thoroughgood was from

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

in Norfolk, England. Many locations in Virginia Beach, including the Lynnhaven River, Lynn Shores, Thalia Lynn, Lynnhaven Road (parkway, drive, etc.) are named Lynn after King's Lynn. In 1807, it was the site of a British squadron of ships, from whence sailed HMS Leopard in its engagement and capture of USS Chesapeake.

References

{{authority control Bodies of water of Virginia Beach, Virginia Rivers of Virginia Tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay

History

See also

References