Some quick facts about the Chesapeake Bay:
The Chesapeake Bay and its watershed covers 64,000 miles across New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
The Bay itself (not including tributaries) stretches almost 189 miles.
The widest part of the bay is almost 30 miles wide, just south of the Potomac River in the Virginia part of the bay.
The Chesapeake is the largest estuary in the United States
The name comes from the Algonquain word "Chesepiooc"
Including it's tributaries, the average depth is 21 feet, with the deepest spot being 174 feet off of Kent Island.
The French Fleet defeated the Royal Navy in the Chesapeake in 1781 during the American Revolution
The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail is the United States' first historic trail with the entire route on water.
The Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater is near the mouth of the bay and was caused by an asteroid striking earth about 35 million years ago.
Over 3,500 species of fish, plants, and animals call the bay home.
32 species of fish live in the Bay year-round.
Between 70 and 90 percent of the Atlantic striped bass are born in the Chesapeake
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia connect the eastern and western shores of the Bay
Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon established a short lived settlement for Spain in the early 1500's.
Captain John Smith of England explored and charted the Bay between 1607 and 1609 and played a role in the founding of Jamestown.
Some types of boats characteristic to the bay are skipjacks, log canoes, the pungy, and the Chesapeake Bay Deadrise.
A dog breed was developed in the region, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever.
The bay is known for it's Blue Crabs, Striped Bass, Clams and Oysters.
Many battles of the Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, and The American Civil War were fought along the shores of the Bay and it's tributaries.
Smith Island, east of Point Lookout, is the only inhabited offshore island in Maryland.
Smith Island Cake, a 10 layer cake, is the official State Cake of Maryland.
The Bay is home to 3 surviving screwpile lighthouses, 2 are at museums and 1 (Thomas Point Shoal) is on it's original station.
The Chesapeake is home to the Point Lookout Lighthouse, said by many to be the most haunted lighthouse in America.
The bloody "Oyster Wars" took place on the waters of the Chesapeake in the years after the Civil War, eventually leading to Maryland forming the State Oyster Police.
The Chesapeake Bay has it's own sea monster, "Chessie"
