city, seat (1799) of Pasquotank county, northeastern North Carolina, U.S. It lies on the Pasquotank River (an embayment of Albemarle Sound) at the southern end of Dismal Swamp Canal on the Intracoastal Waterway. Settlers had established a presence on the river in the 1660s, and the area was the scene of Culpeper's Rebellion (1677–79). It was founded and incorporated as Redding in 1793 but was renamed Elizabethtown in 1794 and Elizabeth City in 1801, probably for Elizabeth, wife of Adam Tooley, the original landholder. Its excellent harbour was developed after the canal (completed 1828) stimulated trade with the West Indies. Union troops occupied the city (1862) during the American Civil War.

A port of entry, it ships local products and has lumberyards, shipyards, textile mills, and diversified industries. Elizabeth City State University, part of the University of North Carolina (North Carolina, University of) system, was founded in 1891, and the College of the Albemarle (1960) is also in the city. Nearby are U.S. Coast Guard installations, Kitty Hawk (near where the Wright brothers (Wright, Wilbur and Orville) made their first flight, in 1903), and the Outer Banks (a rendezvous for wildfowl hunting on the Atlantic Flyway and for fishing). The Rockfish Rodeo is an annual fall event. The Museum of the Albemarle, a branch of the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, has exhibits on regional history. Halls Creek, near Elizabeth City, was the site of the first General Assembly of Carolina (1665). The Great Dismal Swamp lies to the north. Pop. (1990) 14,292; (2000) 17,188.