CHESAPEAKE BAY BASICS

Chesapeake as an Estuary An estuary is a semi-enclosed body of water that has a free connection with the sea and within which seawater is diluted from fresh water runoff from the land. .

Chesapeake as an Estuary Estuaries have more food for organisms, but the organisms usually have to deal with large temperature and salinity changes, high silt content and pollution.

What does that mean? This unique environment is home to many different plants and animals. In an estuary, salt water and fresh water mix.

4 Estuary Types Drowned River Valley Bar-Built Estuary Tectonic Estuary Fjords

Drowned River Valley This is the most common type of estuary. Forms during an ice age from glacier melt. The Chesapeake Bay is a drowned river valley. (12,000 – 18,000 years ago).

Bar-Built Estuaries Found where sand bars and barrier islands form.

Bar-Built Estuaries The shallow water behind these barrier islands forms low salinity estuaries.

Tectonic Estuaries These estuaries form where land sank or subsided.

Fjords! Fjords were created when retreating glaciers cut deep in the earth.

Fjords! Where in the United States might we find fjords?

Estuary Types

Facts About The Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States.

The bay is shallow. Can you guess its average depth? 106 ft. 56 ft 32 ft. 21 ft. 14ft. 9ft.

THE ANSWER! 21 feet is the correct answer. The deepest spot in the bay is 174 feet near Annapolis Md.

A watershed is the drainage area for the bay. Can you name the 6 states that make up the watershed of the Chesapeake Bay?

Virginia Maryland West Virginia Delaware New York Pennsylvania

Chesapeake Bay Watershed New York Pennsylvania Maryland Delaware West Virginia District of Columbia Virginia

Virginia’s Watersheds 3 Different Watersheds The Chesapeake Bay The Gulf of Mexico The North Carolina Sounds

The water from over 50 rivers empties into the Bay The water from over 50 rivers empties into the Bay. Can you name the 5 major rivers that flow into the bay?

From South to North James York Rappahannock Potomac Susquehanna

Other Facts The Susquehanna River provides about 50% of the fresh water coming into the Bay. The river empties an average of 19 million gallons of water per minute.