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 moreCaptain John Smith visits the Bay
In 1608, Captain John Smith set off on the first of two voyages where he charted the land and waterways, and later drew an elaborate and remarkably accurate map of the Chesapeake Bay.
Learn more12 major rivers
Major rivers emptying into the Bay include the James, York, Rappahannock, Potomac, Patuxent, Patapsco and Susquehanna from the west and the Pocomoke, Wicomico, Nanticoke, Choptank and Chester from the east.
How we can fix water pollution
Eighty-six percent of watershed residents believe if people work together, water pollution can be fixed.
Chesapeake National Recreation Area
Legislation proposed by Maryland’s Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative John Sarbanes to incorporate the bay into the nation’s park system.
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.
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 moreFirst estuary targeted for restoration
The Chesapeake Bay was the first estuary in the nation to be targeted for restoration as an integrated watershed and ecosystem.
Learn moreFormally recognized tribes in Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia has formally recognized 11 tribes. Among them, the Pamunkey tribe was the first Virginia tribe to be recognized by the federal government.
Learn more21 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.
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.
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.
84 degrees Fahrenheit
Water temperatures in the Bay fluctuate widely throughout the year, reaching as high as 84 degrees in summer.
Longest 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.
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.
500,000 Canada geese
More than 500,000 Canada geese winter in and near the Bay.
Learn moreSaltiest part of the Bay
Salinity is highest at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, where water from the Atlantic Ocean enters.
200 miles long
The Bay itself is about 200 miles long, stretching from Havre de Grace, Maryland, to Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Bald eagle recovery in the Chesapeake
In the 1970’s, there were as few as 60 breeding pairs of bald eagles in the entire Bay region. Today, as much as 3,000 breeding pairs of bald eagles can be found.
Learn moreOne 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.
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.
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.