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is a city in Pasquotank and Camden counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 17,188 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pasquotank County and the principal city of the Elizabeth City Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Elizabeth City was founded as the town of Redding in 1793 on land acquired from Adam and Elizabeth Tooley. In 1794 the town was renamed Elizabeth, and in 1801 Elizabeth City. The name change has been variously attributed to honor either Queen Elizabeth I of England, who 200 years earlier spearheaded the colonization of the Carolina and Virginia coasts, or Elizabeth "Betsy" Tooley. Elizabeth City is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region, and is nicknamed the
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.6 square miles (24.8 km²), of which, 8.9 square miles (23.2 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) of it (6.49%) is water.
The city is located alongside the Pasquotank River, which connects to the Albemarle Sound and is part of the Intracoastal Waterway. Directly across the river lies Camden County. The city's semi-coastal geography has played an important role in its history -- Elizabeth City once hosted thriving oyster and timber industries. Elizabeth City is also the largest city in north-eastern North Carolina