Description

The Chesapeake Bay: The surface area of the Chesapeake Bay and its major tributaries cover ,4,479 square miles and is the largest estuary in North America. The Chesapeake Bay Watershed includes an area of 64,299 square miles. An estuary is a partially enclosed area where the fresh water from rivers mixes with tidal salt water. The Chesapeake Bay was formed over 10,000 years ago when melting glacial ice caused sea levels to rise in the Atlantic Ocean. The rising waters of the Atlantic Ocean backed up into the Susquehanna River Valley, creating a new bay. The bay that was created by the flooding of the Susquehanna was known as Chesepiooc, meaning "Great Shellfish Bay," by the Algonquin Indians who were living around the bay when the first European settlers arrived.

Tags: boating, boats, boat, camping, Annapolis, Baltimore, Cambridge, Cape Charles, Chesapeake Beach, Chesapeake City, Chestertown, Crisfield, Deale, Deal Island, Easton, Hampton, Havre de Grace, Irvington, Kent Island, Norfolk, North East, Onancock, Oxford, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Reedville, Rock Hall, Smith Island, Solomons Island, St. Mary’s Co., St. Michaels, Tangier Island, Tilghman Island, Urbanna, Virginia Beach