Chesapeake Bay

Largest of the inlets on the Atlantic coast of the USA, bordered by eastern Maryland and eastern Virginia. Chesapeake Bay extends southwards from Havre de Grace in northeast Maryland, and enters the Atlantic between Cape Charles and Cape Henry in Virginia; it is about 320 km/200 mi in length and 6-64 km/4-40 mi in width. There are several deep-water ports located on the bay: Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Baltimore.

Among the rivers that flow into the bay are the James, York, Potomac, Rappahannock, Patuxent, and Susquehanna. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal links the bay to the Delaware River and the Wilmington-Philadelphia port area. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (1964) connects both Virginia shores; farther north the Chesapeake Bay Bridge links the west Maryland shore near Annapolis to Kent Island. Pollution greatly diminished the once plentiful supply of shellfish in the bay, but a revival overseen by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (founded in 1967) resulted in cleaner water.