Bay Facts
The Bay is full of interesting facts and trivia related to its history, wildlife, geography and more.
Reducing runoff
Fourteen percent of watershed residents use rain barrels to collect rainwater from their downspouts and keep runoff out of rivers and streams. While water collected in rain barrels is not safe to drink, it can be used to water plants or wash cars.
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 moreMore than 200 historic shipwrecks
Mallows Bay is the final resting place for more than 200 historic shipwrecks dating back to the Revolutionary War. Commonly referred to as the “Ghost Fleet” of Mallows Bay, it is the largest collection of shipwrecks in the Western Hemisphere.
The 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).
12 species of shark
There are twelve known species of shark that have been sighted in the Chesapeake Bay, with only five considered a common occurrence—smooth dogfish, sand tiger shark, sandbar shark, spiny dogfish, and bull shark.
21 feet deep
The Bay is surprisingly shallow. Its average depth, including all tidal tributaries, is about 21 feet. A person who is six feet tall could wade through more than 700,000 acres of the Bay and never get his or her hat wet.
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 moreFiltering up to 50 gallons of water a day
At filter feeders, oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day.
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.
Formally recognized tribes in Maryland
The State of Maryland has formally recognized three tribes: the Piscataway Indian Nation, Piscataway Conoy Tribe and the Accohannock Indian Tribe.
Learn moreMeaning 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.”
18 trillion gallons
The Chesapeake Bay holds more than 18 trillion gallons of water.
Longest river fully within Maryland
The 110-mile-long Patuxent River is the longest river to flow exclusively within the borders of Maryland.
200 invasive species
There are as many as 200 invasive species present in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that are causing some serious issues in an already-stressed ecosystem. Some examples include blue catfish, snakehead, zebra mussel, purple loosestrife, and nutria.
12 miles wide
The mouth of the Chesapeake Bay is about 12 miles wide between its northern point near Cape Charles, Virginia, and its southern point close to Cape Henry, Virginia.
11,684 miles of shoreline
The Bay and its tidal tributaries have 11,684 miles of shoreline—more than the entire U.S. west coast.
3,600 species of plants and animals
The Bay supports more than 3,600 species of plants and animals, including 348 species of finfish, 173 species of shellfish, over 2,700 plant species and more than 16 species of underwater grasses.
Learn moreWhat 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.
1,800 sunken vessels
More than 1,800 vessels have met their end in Bay waters, lying broken and battered on the Bay's floor.
Saltiest part of the Bay
Salinity is highest at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, where water from the Atlantic Ocean enters.
Litter bugs
Nine in ten watershed residents never toss food wrappers, cups or cigarette butts on the ground. Almost eight in ten watershed residents pick up litter when they see it.
4,863 feet above sea level
At 4,863 feet above sea level, Spruce Knob is the highest point in the Chesapeake watershed.
How we can fix water pollution
Eighty-six percent of watershed residents believe if people work together, water pollution can be fixed.
34 degrees Fahrenheit
Water temperatures in the Bay fluctuate widely throughout the year, dropping as low as 34 degrees in winter.