Bay Facts
The Bay is full of interesting facts and trivia related to its history, wildlife, geography and more.
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.
500 million pounds of seafood
The Bay produces about 500 million pounds of seafood per year.
1,300 access sites
There are more than 1,300 public access sites on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
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.
What 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.
4,480 square miles of surface area
The surface area of the Bay and its tidal tributaries is approximately 4,480 square miles.
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 moreWhat 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.
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 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 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.
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.”
500,000 Canada geese
More than 500,000 Canada geese winter in and near the Bay.
Learn more70 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 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 more10,000 years old
The Chesapeake Bay was formed about 10,000 years ago when glaciers melted and flooded the Susquehanna River valley.
2 of 5 major ports
Two of the United States’ five major North Atlantic ports—Baltimore and Hampton Roads—are on the Bay.
Largest 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 more35 miles wide
The widest point of the Chesapeake Bay measures 35 miles, and is located near the mouth of the Potomac River.
84 degrees Fahrenheit
Water temperatures in the Bay fluctuate widely throughout the year, reaching as high as 84 degrees in summer.
6,282,718 acres of greenspace
There are 6,282,718 acres of accessible green space within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Filtering up to 50 gallons of water a day
At filter feeders, oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day.