CHESAPEAKE BAY

[color photograph, Skipjacks]

Boating Waters

Main Basin

Water Frontage

Watershed




Skipjacks. Photo by Chuck Prahl.

In North America, the Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary, a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with a free connection to the open sea. It was created more than 10,000 years ago when glaciers melted and flooded the Susquehanna River Valley. Today, fresh water from land drainage measurably dilutes seawater within the Bay. The Bay watershed provides rich habitat for an abundance of life. In addition to resident species of fish and wildlife, the Bay supports large winter populations of migratory waterfowl and provides spawning, nursery and feeding grounds for ocean fish. This diversity results in 2,700 different species of plants and animals living in the Bay area. The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science conducts research on the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.

Native Americans living along its shores gave the Bay an Algonquin name. Chesepiook, meaning "great shellfish bay," was used to signify the abundance of Bay crabs, oysters, and clams. The Bay was the site of the first English settlement in Maryland and later saw the Civil War confrontation between the iron-clad Confederate Merrimac and the Union's Monitor in 1862. Generations of watermen have made their living harvesting the bounty of the Bay, while recreational fishing, hunting, and boating attract millions of people each year and contribute significantly to Maryland's economy. Major annual seafood harvests include millions of bushels of crabs, oysters, clams, and eels.

For ocean-going ships, the Bay is navigable with two outlets to the Atlantic Ocean: north through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in Cecil County, and south through the mouth of the Bay between the Virginia capes.

Three Maryland agencies bear particular responsibility for Bay matters. The Department of Agriculture directs Chesapeake Bay Agricultural Programs. The Department of the Environment works on behalf of the Bay through its Technical and Regulatory Services Administration. The Department of Natural Resources supports the work of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission and oversees the Regional Chesapeake Bay Program and Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Programs.

Information about the Bay, including its history and effect on regional culture, may be found at the Chesapeake Bay Information Center, maintained by the Department of Natural Resources, and at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

WATER FRONTAGE

Sixteen of Maryland's 23 counties and Baltimore City border on tidal water.

WATERSHED

The rivers, creeks, and streams which flow into the Bay, the land surrounding them, and the Bay itself make up the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Main tributaries - Susquehanna River, Potomac River, James River - contribute 80% of the Bay's fresh water. Total tributaries: 419. Watershed area: 64,000 square miles in parts of six states-Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, West Virginia-and the District of Columbia. Watershed population was 16.4 million in 1990, up from 11 million in 1960.


MAIN BASIN

AREA

Maryland 1,726 square miles
Virginia 1,511 square miles

LENGTH

195 miles

WIDTH

(widest near Cape Charles, Virginia) 30 miles
(narrowest at Annapolis) 4 miles

SHORELINE

 4,600 miles

DEPTH
average 25 feet
greatest (southeast of Annapolis) 174 feet

TIDAL RANGE
at Annapolis 1 foot
at head 2 feet
at mouth 3 feet

VOLUME

 18 trillion gallons

SURFACE SALINITY
(parts per thousand)
at mouth 30 ppt
midway to head 15 ppt
above fall line 00 ppt
surface to bottom 2-3 ppt

Chesapeake Bay Commission
Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission
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