Bay Facts
The Bay is full of interesting facts and trivia related to its history, wildlife, geography and more.
200 miles long
The Bay itself is about 200 miles long, stretching from Havre de Grace, Maryland, to Virginia Beach, Virginia.
6,282,718 acres of greenspace
There are 6,282,718 acres of accessible green space within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
29 species of waterfowl
The Chesapeake region is home to at least 29 species of waterfowl.
Learn moreReducing 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 moreFiltering up to 50 gallons of water a day
At filter feeders, oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day.
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.
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 more2 of 5 major ports
Two of the United States’ five major North Atlantic ports—Baltimore and Hampton Roads—are on the Bay.
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.
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 more34 degrees Fahrenheit
Water temperatures in the Bay fluctuate widely throughout the year, dropping as low as 34 degrees in winter.
One million waterfowl
Nearly one million waterfowl winter on the Bay–approximately one-third of the Atlantic coast’s migratory population. The birds stop to feed and rest on the Bay during their annual migration along the Atlantic Migratory Bird Flyway.
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.
1983
The Chesapeake Bay Program was organized in 1983 to help lead and direct restoration in the Chesapeake Bay.
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 more35.5 million years
The formation of the Chesapeake Bay happened 35.5 million years ago when a meteor collided with Earth, forming a massive crater.
Three geologic regions
The Chesapeake Bay watershed contains three distinct geologic regions: the Atlantic coastal plain, the Piedmont plateau and the Appalachian province.
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.
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.
80% of the Bay's freshwater
Collectively, the Chesapeake’s three largest rivers—the Susquehanna, Potomac and James Rivers—provide more than 80% of the fresh water to the Bay.
The Powhatan tribes
There were many different tribes in the region before Europeans arrived, but the dominant group were Algonquian speakers known collectively as the Powhatan tribes.
1,800 local governments
There are nearly 1,800 local governments in the Bay watershed, including towns, cities, counties and townships.
The 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 more12 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.