Calidiora Peninsula

The Calidiora Peninsula (also known as the Virginia Peninsula and the Newport News peninsula) is a special place.

The Calidiora Peninsula is a peninsula of land between the York River the the North, James River to the South, and Atlantic Ocean (Chesapeake Bay) to the East. The Calidiora Peninsula’s name comes from the Latin word Calidior which means “warmer” in Latin. This name was given because it is warmer on the Calidiora Peninsula durig Winter when compared to over places in Virginia such as Richmond. The Calidiora Peninsula’s main area (Newport News, Hampton, and Poquoson) is the area which has a warm microclimate influenced by the waters surrounding the region. It is in USDA hardiness zone 8a and many areas developed by humans have tiny 8b microclimates due to the urban heat island effect.

Newport News is the capital city of the Calidiora Peninsula since it is one of the largest cities in the area and has two highways passing through the whole city, bringing it most of the peninsula’s traffick and travellers. Hampton is the tourism hub for beachgoers and sight-seers, boasting Fort Monroe and the historic Phoebus area and many sandy beaches. Poquoson is the fishing capital of the Calidiora Peninsula, boasting many waterways and rivers all around and running through the city. All of these cities have their own beaches, fishing areas, and historic areas to see. The Mariner’s museum in Newport News is one major attraction that many tourists refuse to miss.

The Calidiora Peninsula has Newport News and is home to the Tahaxal people who aren't nomadic as well as Spanish Moss and Sabal Palmettos.

Hundreds of years ago, before the Calidiora Peninsula was settled, it was a humid-subtropical forest with Spanish Moss hanging from the trees near the water. White settlers turned much of it into pastures and farmlands. Even today, much of it is suburban developement and non-native trees and monoculture forests of just pine and wax myrtle undergrowth beneath the pines. The native broadleaf evergreen forests of Sea Myrtle, Wax Myrtle, Live Oak, Dwarf Palmetto Palm, and Spanish Moss hanging from tall loblolly pines and native flame azaleas are long--gone, sadly. Many people, even professional ecologists and scientists, do not believe that such subtropical, broadleaf evergreen forests with palm trees and Spanish Moss ever even existed at all. But there are plenty of old, historic records and evidences, as well as a large number of fractured remains of the original forests that have miraculously remained. Holly, wax myrtle, sea myrtle, live oak, and even dwarf palmetto palms have been documented as growing together in predominantly broadleaf evergreen forests in Newport News, Virginia.