Bay Facts
The Bay is full of interesting facts and trivia related to its history, wildlife, geography and more.
Meaning of "Chesepiooc"
The word Chesepiooc is an Algonquian word referring to a village "at a big river." In 2005, Algonquian historian Blair Rudes helped dispel the widely-held belief that the name meant “great shellfish bay.”
Remnants of an ancient river
A few deep troughs run along much of the Bay’s length and are believed to be remnants of the ancient Susquehanna River.
Volunteering with environmental organizations
While one-third of watershed residents have volunteered their time or donated their money to a charitable organization, less than two in ten volunteers have done so for an environmental organization.
Largest 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 more18 trillion gallons
The Chesapeake Bay holds more than 18 trillion gallons of water.
200 miles long
The Bay itself is about 200 miles long, stretching from Havre de Grace, Maryland, to Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Where does the Bay get its water?
The Bay receives about half its water volume from the Atlantic Ocean in the form of saltwater. The other half (freshwater) drains into the Bay from the enormous 64,000-square-mile watershed.
51 billion gallons
Approximately 51 billion gallons of water flow into the Bay each day from its freshwater tributaries.
Learn more4,480 square miles of surface area
The surface area of the Bay and its tidal tributaries is approximately 4,480 square miles.
9.6 million acres of land
Approximately 9.6 million acres of land in the Bay watershed have been permanently protected from development by Bay Program partners.
Learn more100,000 smaller tributaries
The Chesapeake Bay watershed has 150 major rivers and streams, but contains more than 100,000 smaller tributaries.
18.5 million people
The Chesapeake Bay watershed is home to more than 18 and a half million people. Ten million of them live along or near the Bay’s shores. About 150,000 new people move into the Bay watershed each year.
Learn more1,300 access sites
There are more than 1,300 public access sites on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
Learn more34 degrees Fahrenheit
Water temperatures in the Bay fluctuate widely throughout the year, dropping as low as 34 degrees in winter.
500 million pounds of seafood
The Bay produces about 500 million pounds of seafood per year.
Replacing grass lawn with native plants
Twenty-six percent of watershed residents have replaced an area of their grass lawn with native plants. Native plants provide food and habitat to bees, birds and butterflies, and often don’t need to be watered or fertilized.
Learn more64,000 square miles
The area of the watershed is about 64,000 square miles.
Majority of striped bass spawn in the Bay
Seventy to ninety percent of all striped bass, known locally as rockfish, were spawned in the Bay.
Learn moreThe Bay's largest tributary
The Susquehanna River is the Bay’s largest tributary, and contributes about half of the Bay’s freshwater (about 19 million gallons per minute).
35.5 million years
The formation of the Chesapeake Bay happened 35.5 million years ago when a meteor collided with Earth, forming a massive crater.
Saltiest part of the Bay
Salinity is highest at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, where water from the Atlantic Ocean enters.
Six states and the District of Columbia
The Chesapeake Bay watershed stretches approximately 524 miles from Cooperstown, New York, to Norfolk, Virginia. It includes parts of six states—Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia—and the entire District of Columbia.
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 moreHow we can fix water pollution
Eighty-six percent of watershed residents believe if people work together, water pollution can be fixed.