Chesapeake Bay
The
Chesapeake Bay is the largest
estuary in the United States. It lies off the
Atlantic Ocean surrounded by
Virginia and
Maryland. The Chesapeake Bay's
watershed, covers 64,000 square miles, in the
District of Columbia and parts of six states:
New York,
Pennsylvania,
Delaware,
Maryland,
Virginia, and
West Virginia. More than 150 rivers and streams drain into the Bay. The Bay itself is about 189 miles long, from the
Susquehanna River in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the south. (Geologically, the Bay is the
drowned valley of the Susquehanna, meaning that was where the river flowed when sea level was lower.) At its narrowest point, near
Annapolis, Maryland, it is only 4 miles wide and is spanned by the
Bay Bridge. Near its mouth, it is spanned by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
The word Chesepiooc is an Algonquin word meaning "Great Shellfish Bay".
Cheaspeake Bay was the site of the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 during which the French fleet defeated the Royal Navy allowing the United States to become independent.
The largest rivers flowing into the Bay are:
The Bay was once known for its great seafood production, especially crabs, clams, and
oysters. Today, however, the body of water is less productive than it used to be, perhaps because of agricultural development (and runoff) on the Eastern Shore and urbanization, particularly on its western shore. Yet it still yields more
fish and
shellfish than any other estuary in the
United States.
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