The Chesapeake Bay
By: Your Students
Description of The Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is about 193 mile long and is 64,000 square miles. It is also 3 to 25 miles (5 to 40 kilometers) wide and deep and its deep enough to accommodate ocean going vessels. The low and fertile tide water region furnishes crops, fruits, potatoes, poultry, and fish to markets on the Eastern seaboard. This means its a great place to farm and go fishing!
History of Place
The colonial leader Captain. John Smith, who explored the bay in 1608, gave it the name Che-sep-ack, meaning "country on a great river." The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, completed in 1964, connects Cape Charles with Virginia Beach This deep canal, which was completed 1829, is part of the Intracoastal Waterway, a sheltered water route along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
Chesapeake Bay: events and trends
1. The Chesapeake Bay is one of the most important commericial fishing and sport fishing grounds of the United States for shellfish and finfish.
2. The eastern shore is noted for waterfowl hunting and muskrat trapping
3. The Chesapeake has been known to be called the seafood capital of the world.
importance to the community
Estuaries provide many different types of habitats, including shallow waters, marshes, wetlands, sandy beaches, mud flats, and oyster reefs.