Chesapeake Bay – NATURE’S BLESSINGS
One of the most eye alluring estuaries situated in the state of United States is Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay lies off the Atlantic Ocean and is majorly surrounded by Maryland and Virginia on both the sides. The drainage basin of the Chesapeake Bay covers up to 64,299 square miles covering the districts of California and six major states including Pennsylvania, New York , Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia in it. Almost around 150 rivers drain into the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay is almost 300 km long and stretches till the Atlantic Ocean covering it from the south. The bay is supposed to be spanned from two major areas. One is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge which connects and crosses the bay from Maryland to the Kent Island. Another is the Chesapeake Bay tunnel which connects the Virginia Beach located in Virginia to Cape Charles.
History states that the southern part of the Chesapeake Bay was the first one to be explored by a European explorer. It was only between the 1607 and 1609 that the Captain John Smith of England explored and mapped the various corners and parts of the Chesapeake Bay. During the 1640 and 1675, a huge number of southern English men along with their Irish and Scottish servants used to visit the bay on a large scale. In July 2006, the first ever all water National trails were created in the United States. The National Historic trail was named after Captain John Smith of England and it was known as the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic trail. Another historical event the Chesapeake Bay records is the war of the Chesapeake during the year 1781. The battle was won by the French defeating the Royal Navy of the revolutionary American war. In recent times the water of the bay is used by the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear power plant in order to cool the reactors. The bay is even famous for its Chesapeake Bay retriever.
The Chesapeake Bay encompasses several numbers of rivers in to it. Some of the famous rivers flowing directly into the bay from the north to the south include the Susquehanna River, Patapsco River, Chester River, Chop tank River, Patuxent River, Nanticoke River, Potomac River, Pocomoke River, York River and the James River. Chesapeake Bay enjoys a wide number of flora and fauna. Highly blessed with a huge number of species, the Chesapeake Bay consists of around 300 varied species of fishes in it. The Chesapeake Bay is also the home to various reptiles and mammals. Covered with water, the Chesapeake Bay can be seen highly embedded with flora both inside and outside the water. The natural beauty of the bay adds to the natural flora and fauna existing there. Various numbers of aquatic vegetation and food are available in the bay. Apart from the sea food the bay consists of rich fertility of wild rice, red maple trees, spartina grasses etc. The fishing industry thrives in large scale here due to the existence of the bay and is the common mode of earning.
