Bay Facts
The Bay is full of interesting facts and trivia related to its history, wildlife, geography and more.
Avoiding toxic pesticides
Forty-six percent of watershed residents never use toxic pesticides in or around their homes. You can evaluate a pesticide’s toxicity to judge the risk in using it, or make your own non-toxic pesticide with garlic, vinegar, cooking oil and other common household items.
How we can fix water pollution
Eighty-six percent of watershed residents believe if people work together, water pollution can be fixed.
First recorded European to enter the Bay
In 1524, Italian Captain Giovanni da Verrazano became the first recorded European to enter the Chesapeake Bay.
Scooping the poop
Half of pet owners always pick up after their pet, but one-third of pet owners seldom or never do so. Pet waste contains bacteria that can harm human health and contaminate the water we use for drinking, swimming and fishing.
1,300 access sites
There are more than 1,300 public access sites on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
Learn moreGetting oxygen underwater
Just like those on land, animals in the Chesapeake Bay need oxygen to survive. Oxygen is present underwater in dissolved form, and in order to thrive, animals like blue crabs need dissolved oxygen concentrations of three milligrams per liter.
Learn more1.6 billion pounds of blue crabs
Since 1990, commercial watermen have harvested more than 1.6 billion pounds of blue crabs from the Bay. Data show commercial harvest has experienced a steady decline, and in 2014 hit the lowest level recorded in 25 years: 35 million pounds.
Learn moreLargest estuary in the United States
The Chesapeake Bay is an estuary: a body of water where fresh and salt water mix. It is the largest of more than 100 estuaries in the United States and third largest in the world.
Learn more11,684 miles of shoreline
The Bay and its tidal tributaries have 11,684 miles of shoreline—more than the entire U.S. west coast.
Can we do more?
Seventy percent of watershed residents want to do more to help make their local creeks, rivers and lakes healthier.
Learn moreLargest land-to-water ratio in the world
The Chesapeake Bay’s land-to-water ratio is 14:1: the largest of any coastal water body in the world. This is why our actions on land have such a big impact on the Bay’s health.
29 species of waterfowl
The Chesapeake region is home to at least 29 species of waterfowl.
Learn moreThe Chesapeake Bay's first inhabitants
The first inhabitants of the Chesapeake Bay region are referred to as Paleo-Indians. They came more than 10,000 years ago from other parts of North America, drawn in by the abundance of wildlife and waterways.
Learn more284,000 acres of tidal wetlands
Approximately 284,000 acres of tidal wetlands grow the Chesapeake Bay region. Wetlands provide critical habitat for fish, birds, crabs and many other species.
Learn moreWhat is brackish water?
Most of the water in the Bay, including in the middle portion of the Bay and its tidal rivers, is brackish–a mixture of salty and fresh, with a salinity level of greater than 0.5 ppt but less than 25 ppt.
What is a shallop?
Captain John Smith and his men sailed the Chesapeake Bay in a modest wooden boat called a shallop–an open wooden workboat such as a barge, dory, or rowboat that was small enough to row but also had one or two sails.
Nearly 50 thousand miles of rivers, streams and creeks in one watershed
The Susquehanna River watershed includes nearly 50 thousand miles of rivers, streams and creeks.
Three geologic regions
The Chesapeake Bay watershed contains three distinct geologic regions: the Atlantic coastal plain, the Piedmont plateau and the Appalachian province.
What is a watershed?
A watershed is an area of land that drains into a particular river, lake, bay or other body of water.
Learn more64,000 square miles
The area of the watershed is about 64,000 square miles.
Filtering drinking water
Forests and trees help filter and protect the drinking water of 75% of watershed residents.
Learn moreLongest free flowing river in the Bay watershed
The 195-mile-long Rappahannock River is the longest free flowing river in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
174 feet deep
The deepest part of the Bay, located southeast of Annapolis near Bloody Point, is called “The Hole” and is 174 feet deep.
200 miles long
The Bay itself is about 200 miles long, stretching from Havre de Grace, Maryland, to Virginia Beach, Virginia.