According to geological surveys completed by the US government, Tidewater is the land located east of a line names the geological Fall Line. Historically, Tidewater is the old Chesapeake Bay Colony before the Revolutionary War and the area surrounding it, including the bay. As a Metroplex, several cities and counties in Southeastern Virginia, along with one county in North Carolina, would all be connected if it were not for several rivers and smaller waterways that divide them from one another.

Tidewater, this Metroplex largely in Virginia, actually contains ten cities and has been nicknamed Tidewater as well as Hampton Roads.

As a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of the US federal government's Office of Budget, it also contains the single county in North Carolina for business, economic, workforce development, and other analyses.

The cities in the Commonweath of Virgina are, in fact, not part of the counties in which they sit, but are completely independent governmental units. Different sources list some variation in which cities and counties are included in this Metroplex, but taken together, the following entities are in

TIDEWATER:

COUNTIES -Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City (County), Mathews, Surry, York; and Currituck County of North Carolina.

CITES - Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg.

The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act of 1988 is a conservation act that protects these additional Virginia COUNTIES:

Accomack, Arlington, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Essex, Fairfax, Hanover, Henrico, King George, King and Queen, King William, Lancaster, Middlesex, New Kent, Northampton, Northumberland, Prince George, Prince William, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Surry, and Westmoreland, and these additional Virginia CITIES:

Alexandria, Colonial Heights, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Hopewell, Petersburg, Richmond. However, for the analysis of economy, business, and jobs, the Metroplex actually refers to the first list of counties and cities above that are located more closely together.

AIRPORTS

Still others choose to divide the Metroplex from the rest of the state, according to the nearest airports. Many consider the communitites around these three airports to be Tidewater:

• Newport News-Williamsburg Airport
• Norfolk International Airport
• Richmond International Airport

However, Richmond is rather far to the northwest from the rest of Tidewater. In addtion, Metroplex residents requiring non-stop lights to Europe still fly out of Washington Dulles International Airport .

THE METROPLEX

In general, the Metroplex covers much of Southestern Virginia and the region around Chesapeake Bay, especially the eight cities listed under. Many of the cities touch one another and it is difficult to distribuish between them as one drives through. The area is one of the 50 most populous metropolitan areas of the USA.

The top 10 Jobs in the Tidewater/Hampton Roads Metroplex include the industries of Information Technology (IT) in a number of fields that span health and medical segments, Healthcare, Bioengineering, and Insurance. Environmental preotection technicians are also in high demand.

1. Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts
2. Veterinary Techs
3. Personal and Home Health Aides
4. Biomedical Engineers
5. Insurance Sales Agents and Insurance Underwriters
6. Computer Software Systems Engineers,
7. Physician, Medical, and Dental Assistants
8. Database Administrators
9. Network and Computer Systems Administrators
10. Environmental Protection Technicians

The Metroplex hosts this list of companies and agencies that are among Virginia's Top 100 Largest Employers. The list contains the name of the organization and the city within the Metroplex where you can find it.

• Northrop Grumman Newport News, Newport News
• University of Virginia Health Systems, multiple sites
• National Aeronautics and Space, Hampton
• College Of William and Mary, Williamsburg
• Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg
• Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Norfolk
• US Navy Department, Production Dept, Portsmouth
• Bon Secours Maryview Med Center, Portsmouth
• Landmark Inc., Norfolk
• Old Dominion University, Norfolk
• Maryview Behavioral Medicine, Portsmouth
• Anheuser-Busch Inc., Williamsburg
• West Telemarketing, Hampton
• Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock, Norfolk
• Chesapeake General Hospital, Chesapeake

In addition to the above list of Metroplex's 15 largest employers, the City of Virginia Beach's Top 10 Largest Employers include:

• American Systems Engineering
• Amerigroup
• Manpower
• Geico Direct
• Gold Key Resorts
• Stihl
• Virginian-Pilot Production Plant
• Christian Broadcasting Network
• Lillian Vernon Corporation
• MILCOM Systems