767
edits
Changes
no edit summary
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 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 Bay has an average depth of about 21 feet but most of the Bay is shallow. Shipping lanes make use of the deep channels in the bay and many of these are over 100 foot deep. <ref>http://www.chesapeakebay.net/about.htm</ref> The ports of Baltimore and Norfolk are just two of many important or historical ports found on the Bay.
The Chesapeake Bridge-Tunnel provides the only direct link between Virginia's Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads south. The Bridge-Tunnel traverses waters 25 to 100 foot deep bridging a distance of 17.6 miles from shore to shore over 23 miles of bridge, road and tunnels. <ref>http://www.cbbt.com/facts.html</ref>
Captain John Smith the English settler discovered the Chesapeake Bay while making his way to [[Jamestown]].<ref>