Fun Facts and Figures


Fun and Quick Facts About the Chesapeake Bay

Size

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest of 130 estuaries in the United States.  An estuary is a body of water where fresh and salt water mix.

The Chesapeake Bay is about 200 miles long, stretching from Havre de Grace, Maryland, in the north to the mouth at Virginia Beach, Virginia.  48 major rivers feed it.  Altogether, the Bay has over 100 tributaries that drain into a 64,000-square-mile basin.

The Chesapeake’s width ranges from 3.4 miles near Aberdeen, Maryland, to 35 miles near the mouth of the Potomac River.

The surface area of the Bay and its tidal tributaries is 125 billion square feet, or around 4,480 square miles.

The Bay and its tidal tributaries have around 11,684 miles of shoreline—more than the entire US West Coast.

 

 

Age & Formation

Some people think that the Chesapeake Bay began taking shape 18,000 years ago, and assumed its present dimensions about 3,000 years ago.

There are two theories on how the Bay was created.  Some scientists believe the Bay was formed when an asteroid known as a bolide hit the earth forming a giant crater.  Other scientists believe giant glaciers that froze and melted over millions of years carved the Bay from the river basin of the Susquehanna River.

Depth

The Chesapeake Bay is surprisingly shallow.  Its average depth, including all tidal tributaries, is about 21 feet.  At its deepest point, southeast of Annapolis, Maryland, the Bay is 174 feet deep.  These troughs are believed to be remnants of the ancient Susquehanna River.

A person 6 feet tall could wade over 700,000 acres of the Bay without becoming completely submerged.

Volume

The Bay holds about 18 trillion gallons of water.  That amount of water would fill over fifty billion bathtubs to the brim.

Plants & Animals

The Bay supports more than 3,600 species of plants, fish and animals, including 348 species of finfish, 173 species of shellfish and over 2,700 plant species.

The Chesapeake is home to 29 species of waterfowl and is a major resting ground along the Atlantic Flyway. Every year, one million waterfowl winter in the Bay region.

The Bay produces about 500 million pounds of seafood per year.Male crab with blue claws  Callinectes sapidus

• Blue Crab

Blue crabs grow by molting or shedding their shell.

The scientific name for the blue crab is Callinectes Sapidus, which means “beautiful swimmer that is savory.”

Blue crabs will eat almost anything, including each other!  The older crabs often eat the younger ones.

 

Chesapeake oyster

• Oysters

Oysters help to purify the Bay by feeding on sediments, nutrients, and algae, which can harm it.  A single adult oyster can filter up to 60 gallons of water a day.  Oysters were once so plentiful they could filter the entire volume of Bay water in a few days.  This process now takes over a year.

It takes five years to raise an adult oyster.  Oysters change their sex during their lives, starting as males and usually ending as females.

 

•  Underwater Bay Grasschesapeake bay grasses

There are many different types of underwater grass in the Bay.  They are also known as SAV, or Submerged Aquatic Vegetation.

Bay grasses provide food and shelter for waterfowl, fish, and shellfish.

Bay grasses produce oxygen that helps keep the Bay waters healthy.

Bay grasses absorb the algae-forming nutrients that threaten the Bay.

• Shad

Shad are anadromous, which means they spend most of their life at sea and only enter fresh water to spawn.

The oldest shad on record lived to be eleven years old.Hickory shad

A female shad releases over 100,000 eggs into the water to be fertilized by several males.

Dams, built for hydroelectric power and other purposes, have prevented Shad from reaching their breeding and spawning habitat, causing them to become very scarce in the Bay.

Recreational & Commercial

Two of the five major North Atlantic ports in the United States—Baltimore and Hampton Roads—are on the Bay.

The Chesapeake is a commercial and recreational resource for the more than 16 million people who live in its watershed.

Saving the Bay

There are many things you can do to help save the Bay.

Carpool

Cars cause pollution, which falls or drains into the Bay. Carpools help reduce the number of cars on the road.  Fewer cars mean less pollution.

Plant a Tree

Trees help to clean the soil by absorbing harmful nutrients.  Trees also help prevent erosion, keeping harmful sediments and nutrients out of the Bay.

Product Choice

Many products you use to clean your home contain chemicals that can harm the Bay.  When used outside, they can wash off lawns and streets.  They can flow into storm drains and end up in the Bay.  When they are thrown away, they can end up in land fills.  After time, they can seep into the groundwater and are washed into the Bay.

Look for cleaning products that are non-toxic.  These products use special chemicals that are not harmful to the Bay.

 

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