Bay Facts
The Bay is full of interesting facts and trivia related to its history, wildlife, geography and more.
64,000 square miles
The area of the watershed is about 64,000 square miles.
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.
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 moreLongest free flowing river in the Bay watershed
The 195-mile-long Rappahannock River is the longest free flowing river in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
34 degrees Fahrenheit
Water temperatures in the Bay fluctuate widely throughout the year, dropping as low as 34 degrees in winter.
1,800 local governments
There are nearly 1,800 local governments in the Bay watershed, including towns, cities, counties and townships.
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 more35 miles wide
The widest point of the Chesapeake Bay measures 35 miles, and is located near the mouth of the Potomac River.
100,000 smaller tributaries
The Chesapeake Bay watershed has 150 major rivers and streams, but contains more than 100,000 smaller tributaries.
What is brackish water?
Most of the water in the Bay, including in the middle portion of the Bay and its tidal rivers, is brackish–a mixture of salty and fresh, with a salinity level of greater than 0.5 ppt but less than 25 ppt.
70 acres of forest lost each day
Forests cover 55% of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Between 1990 and 2005, the watershed lost an estimated 100 acres of forest land each day. While this rate fell in 2006 to an estimated 70 acres per day, this rate is still unsustainable.
Learn more3 years long
Blue crabs have a rapid growth rate and short life span. Few blue crabs live longer than three years.
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.
First recorded European to enter the Bay
In 1524, Italian Captain Giovanni da Verrazano became the first recorded European to enter the Chesapeake Bay.
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.
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 more10 U.S. presidents
There have been 10 U.S. presidents from the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Woodrow Wilson, James Buchanan and Joe Biden.
Filtering drinking water
Forests and trees help filter and protect the drinking water of 75% of watershed residents.
Learn more3,600 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 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.
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.
18 trillion gallons
The Chesapeake Bay holds more than 18 trillion gallons of water.
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.”
4,480 square miles of surface area
The surface area of the Bay and its tidal tributaries is approximately 4,480 square miles.