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The Chesapeake is an important geographic feature in [[Maryland]] and [[Virginia]]. The Chesapeake Bay is one of the major estuaries of the eastern seaboard of the United States. The bay, its rivers and wetlands are part of a complex system which provides sanctuary, food and habitat for complex and intertwined groups of species. Many types of fish begin their life here or migrate through these waters. Shellfish such as crabs, clams and oysters are abundant. Grasses, plankton and other plant life help support the web of life found here. <ref>http://www.chesapeakebay.net/about.htm</ref>
The Chesapeake Bay is an important geographic feature in [[Maryland]] and [[Virginia]]. The Bay watershed drains 64,000 square miles of land. Aproximately 200 miles long and between 4 to 30 miles wide, the Chesapeake Bay is one of the major estuaries of the eastern seaboard of the United States. <ref>http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/education/faq/ques1.html</ref> The bay, its rivers and wetlands are part of a complex system which provides sanctuary, food and habitat for complex and intertwined groups of species. Many types of fish begin their life here or migrate through these waters. Shellfish such as crabs, clams and oysters are abundant. Grasses, plankton and other plant life help support the web of life found here. <ref>http://www.chesapeakebay.net/about.htm</ref> Because the Bay is so important to fishing industries and transportation, there are many efforts to regulate and improve the waters of the Chesapeake.
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It is about 200 miles long. At the Bay Bridge near Annapolis, it is only 4 miles across, but it is 30 miles across at the widest point near the mouth of the Potomac River. To give some idea of the size, the Bay watershed is about 5 times bigger than state of Maryland and 30 times larger than Delaware, yet it is only one-fourth the size of Texas!
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