Filters:
Showing 24 of 82

4-30 mile width

The Bay’s width ranges from four miles near Aberdeen, Maryland, to 30 miles near cape Charles, Virginia.

Filtering up to 50 gallons of water a day

At filter feeders, oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day.

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.

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 more

34 degrees Fahrenheit

Water temperatures in the Bay fluctuate widely throughout the year, dropping as low as 34 degrees in winter.

64,000 square miles

The area of the watershed is about 64,000 square miles.

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.

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.

12 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.

Filtering drinking water

Forests and trees help filter and protect the drinking water of 75% of watershed residents.

Learn more

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 more

84 degrees Fahrenheit

Water temperatures in the Bay fluctuate widely throughout the year, reaching as high as 84 degrees in summer.

85% of airborne nitrogen

Healthy forests can capture more than 85% of the nitrogen that falls onto them from the air.

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 more

More 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.

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.

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.

Three geologic regions

The Chesapeake Bay watershed contains three distinct geologic regions: the Atlantic coastal plain, the Piedmont plateau and the Appalachian province.

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.

1.6 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 more

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.

2 of 5 major ports

Two of the United States’ five major North Atlantic ports—Baltimore and Hampton Roads—are on the 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.

51 billion gallons

Approximately 51 billion gallons of water flow into the Bay each day from its freshwater tributaries.

Learn more