Roanoke, << ROH uh `nohk` >> (pop. 100,011; met. area pop. 315,251), is a city on the Roanoke River in Virginia. It lies between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains. Roanoke is a railroad center and the major retail, financial, and health care center for the western part of the state. It also serves as a convention center.
Manufacturers in the Roanoke Valley produce electronic equipment, fiber optics, furniture, night vision goggles, and robots. Schools in the Roanoke area include Hollins University, Radford University, Roanoke College, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The city has a symphony orchestra. The Virginia Museum of Transportation is in Roanoke.
Roanoke was originally the small pioneer settlement of Big Lick, named after a large salt marsh where deer fed. In 1882, the Norfolk and Western and the Shenandoah railroads made a junction at Big Lick. The town was renamed Roanoke the same year and became a city in 1884. The name Roanoke comes from the Indian word Rawenoke, meaning shell money.
Roanoke has a council-manager form of government. For the monthly weather, see Virginia (Climate) .
