Richmond, Virginia, also known as The River City, is an independent city located in what is known as Central Virginia Piedmont region. It straddles the fall line of the James River, which marks the meeting lines for the eastern border of Virginia’s Piedmont and western border of its Coastal region. Downtown Richmond is considered the heart of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), and it spreads along the northern side of a bend in the James River. Greater Richmond has always been one of Virginia’s commercial hubs. Instead of using the river for transportation, however, the interstate and federal highways systems provide transportation throughout the city.
Interstate I-64 connects Virginia’s capital with the Blue Ridge, Charlottesville, and the coast, while I-95 slices the city from north to south as it travels from Washington, DC to North Carolina. I-85 is an alternate routh south, and I-295 encircles Richmond and reaches down to Petersburg. Beyond the interstates, federal highways such as U.S. highways 15, 60, and 522 often offer more direct and scenic drives between major Piedmont cities. U.S. 29 is the quickest route between Charlottesville and Washington, DC via I-66. Smaller state roads like Rt. 20, Rt. 231, and Rt. 40 meander accross the piedmont and up into the Blue Ridge foothills to the west. Richmond is also the terminus for U.S. highways 250 and 33.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 62.5 mi² (162.0 km²). 60.1 mi² (155.6 km²) of it is land and 2.5 mi² (6.4 km²) of it (3.96%) is water.
Note: Since a state constitutional change in 1871, all cities in Virginia are independent cities and they are not legally located in any county. The OMB (Office of Management and Budget) considers these independent cities to be county-equivalents for the purpose of defining MSAs in Virginia. Each MSA is listed by its counties, then cities, each in alphabetical order, and not by size.
Visit an interactive map for Richmond at Google Maps.
Posted by river queen in Cities/Towns
