Chesapeake is an independent city located in the South Hampton Roads portion of the Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia.  It is a deverse city with urban areas as well as many square miles of protected forests and wetlands, including a substantial portion of the Great Dismal Swamp.  Extending all the way from the rural border with North Carolina to the harbor are of Hampton Roads adjacent to the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, Chesapeake is located on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterwy and has miles of waterfront industrial, comericial and residential property.

It is currently the third largest city in Virginia in terms of population.  In 2006, its population was estimated to be 220,560, a 10.7% increase since its 2000 census count.

Chesapeake is one of the larger cities in Virginia and the nation in terms of land (350.9 square miles), a fact that poses challenges to city leaders in supporting a large infrastructure.  It has many historically and geographically distinct communities.

Points of interest include the Chesapeake Arboretum, Chesapeake and Albemarle Canal, and the Dismal Swamp Canal.