While only two states, Maryland and Virginia, border Chesapeake Bay, the bay's watershed extends much further. Chesapeake Bay, the largest and once the most productive estuary in the United States, and the third largest in the world, is an integral part of our natural and national history. Home to more than 18 million people and 3,600 species of plants and animals, the Chesapeake Bay watershed is truly an extraordinary place. The Bay watershed, which spans six states and the District of Columbia, never ceases to amaze with its rich history, its vital importance economic and its amazing beauty.
Below is just a sampling of some of the impressive facts and numbers about our wonderful watershed. Do you want more? Discover 10 things you didn't know about Chesapeake Bay. Visit our map portal to view a variety of interactive maps about the bay, its geography, land cover and local watershed. The State of the Bay report makes it clear that the bay needs our support now more than ever.
Your gift helps the Chesapeake Bay Foundation maintain our momentum toward a restored bay, rivers and streams for today and for future generations. Founded in 1967, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is the largest independent conservation organization dedicated solely to saving the bay. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501 (c) (of the Internal Revenue Code). Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
Chesapeake Bay, the largest cove on the Atlantic coastal plain of the eastern United States. Created by the submersion of the lower reaches of the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, it is 193 miles (311 km) long and 3 to 25 miles (5 to 40 km) wide. The southern part of the bay borders Virginia and the northern part is bordered by Maryland. Its entrance from the Atlantic is flanked by Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south.
In addition to the Susquehanna, the major rivers that flow into the bay include the James, the York, the Rappahannock, the Potomac and the Patuxent from the west and the Wicomico, the Nanticoke, the Choptank and the Chester from the east. Most of the bay's irregular eastern coastline is low and swampy, while the straighter western coast is formed, at great distances, by cliffs. The Chesapeake Bay watershed covers more than 64,000 square miles and encompasses parts of six states: Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the entire District of Columbia. More than 18 million people live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Starting in 1978, numerous expeditions were launched in the hope of successfully discovering what was left of the Chesapeake Bay flotilla. Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are also home to species that people don't harvest for food, such as the endangered Atlantic sturgeon. There are also more than 6.2 million acres of accessible green space within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The European colonists who populated Chesapeake Bay in the late 17th and early 18th centuries brought with them industrial agricultural techniques.
Chesapeake Bay is an estuary in the North Atlantic, which extends between the Delmarva Peninsula to the east and the North American mainland to the west. And Chesapeake Bay can expect an additional 1.3 to 5.2 foot sea level rise over the next century. The Chesapeake Bay Flotilla, which was built with shallow barges and ships to counter British naval attacks during the War of 1812. NOAA also leads the Chesapeake Bay Program educational task force, which provides its expertise and coordination to develop policies that support environmental literacy throughout the watershed. I planned to spend my days sailing, eating as many blue Chesapeake Bay crabs as possible and studying a little about the inhabitants of the East Coast.
In the 1970s, Chesapeake Bay was discovered to contain one of the first identified marine dead zones on the planet, where the waters were so depleted of oxygen that they could not support life, causing the massive death of fish. It is highly invasive and has the potential to flourish in the low-salinity tidal waters of Chesapeake Bay. At the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, in St. Response to a benthic species (Crassostrea virginica Gmelin) that feeds in suspension for three centuries in Chesapeake Bay, more information can be found about the bay, including its history and its effect on regional culture.