By Phyllis Butler

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• The Chesapeake Bay

• By Phyllis Butler

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Navigation

• General facts
• History
• Fauna
• Flora
• Recreation
• Industry
• Shipping
• The Military
• Environment

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• General Facts

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The Chesapeake Bay

• A small part of the Universe
• A Big part of our Lives

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How Big Is the Chesapeake Bay?

• 180-200 miles North to South
• Shoreline is 4,600 miles long
• Average depth is 30 feet
• The Chesapeake bay is the nations largest estuary
• 80 water from Susquehanna, Potomac, James
  rivers
• The Chesapeake bay runs from Maryland to Virginia
• Bordering states are VA and MD
• Watershed is VA, MD, DE, PA, and WV
• Western shore has the largest rivers
• 498,000 acres of wetlands

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SALINITY

• Salinity is measured in parts per thousand 0/00
• This means how much salt (particles) there are in
  a thousand parts of water
• Varies from fresh in the North to salty in the
  South
• Salinity is greater at bottom due to gravity
• Euryhaline is an organism that is tolerant to
  salinity changes
• Has tides twice a month called Semi-diurnal

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WETLANDS

• Has 2,700 species of plants and animals
• 10 tons of organic matter is grown acre/year such
  as spartina , asters, hibiscus, and cordgrass
• Oyster bar communities are the base for many
  other organisms such are crabs, whelk, eels
• Half of blue crabs in nation live here
• Many juvenile marine organisms use wetlands as a
  nursery ground
• Includes essential nutrients, detritus, and
  minerals

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CHESAPEAKE BAY
Largest estuary in the U.S.
One of the most diverse estuaries
Highly valued for its sea life, waterfowl,
sport fishing rec boating
Stretches to the mouth of the Susquehanna
River

• Shipping artery for
• Norfolk Baltimore

Threatened by environmental degradation caused by
man induced pollution
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CHESAPEAKE BAY

• Average depth is 30 feet

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SEA LEVEL RISE

• At the end of the last glacial epoch, sea level
  rose relatively rapidly as continental glaciers
  melted.
• 10,000 years ago, the main channel of the ancient
  Susquehanna River valley was flooded and became a
  narrow estuary.

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• Submerged eroded Sharps Island, formerly at
  the mouth of the Choptank estuary, is recalled
  only by a prominent lighthouse erected in 1882
  and is now covered by 3- to 4-meter water depths.

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• Expanding wetlands are claiming low-lying
  communities on Smith Island Tangier Island.

• Extreme high tide at Hoopers Island, Eastern
  Shore (1998)

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• Chesapeake Bay History

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INDIANS

• IN 9000 B.C. THE NATIVE AMERICANS
• ARRIVE IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY
• THE NATIVE AMERICANS FISH IN THE BAY WITH SPEARS,
  TRAPS AND HOOKS
• THE SUSQUEHANNOCK OF THE IROQUOIS NATION LIVED
  NORTH OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY

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SETTLERS

• IN 1607, JOHN SMITH BEGIN HIS
• EXPLORATION OF THE BAY
• ALSO IN 1607 THE FIRST PERMAENT
• NEW WORLD ENGLISH SETTLEMENT
• ESTABLISHED IN JAMESTOWN
• IN 1835, THE CHESAPEAKE REGION FORESTS IS CLEARED
  FOR AGRICULTURE, TIMBER AND FUEL FOR HOMES AND
  INDUSTRY.

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AFRICAN AMERICANS

• IN 1619, AFRICANS WERE BROUGHT
• OVER BY THE DUTCH.
• FREDERICK DOUGLASS USED THE
• CHESAPEAKE BAY TO ESCAPE
• SLAVERY
• BETWEEN 1700 AND 1770, SLAVE POPULATION GREW IN
  THE CHESAPEAKE BAY REGION FROM 13,000 TO 250,000
• USING THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, AFRICAN AMERICANS
  CROSSED THE CHESAPEAKE BAY TO ESCAPE TO THE NORTH

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FAMOUS BATTLES

• DURING THE MID-1800S THE CHESAPEAKE BAY REGION
  WAS AT THE CENTER OF THE CIVIL WAR
• BATTLE OF BRANANBURGH (937)
• BATTLE OF HASTINGS AND STANFORD BRIGE (1066)
• BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL IN JUNE 17, 1775
• BATTLE OF PERRYVILLE ON OCTOBER 8, 1862

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1862 - Battle of Hampton Roads

• CSS Virginia
• Confederate
• (Ironclad warship)

• USS Monitor
• Union
• (Ironclad warship)

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• Fauna

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• Animal Life

• Loggerhead Sea Turtle

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Invertebrates

• The blue crab goes through many transformations
  in its 3 years.
• Jellyfish, horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, moon
  snails, and whelks are also common invertebrates
  in the bay.

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Amphibians
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Reptiles

• Turtles are the only reptiles with hard carapaces
  that do not have teeth.
• The two most common turtles found in the
  Chesapeake bay are the diamondback terrapin and
  the snapping turtle.
• The loggerhead turtle is found in the lower part
  of the Chesapeake bay.
• Both the Green Sea Turtle and the Kemps Ridley
  Turtle are found off of our coast.

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• Skink

• Snapping Turtle

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Fish
Killifish
Mummichog
Sheepshead Minnow

• Breeding waters for many fish species. Parent
  fish spawn in the bay to protect their offspring
  from larger predators

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RESIDENT BIRDS

• Resident birds are mainly found on the Western
  shore of the Chesapeake Bay in urban and suburban
  areas.
• Canada geese is one type of Resident bird.
• Their migration route takes them along the
  eastern shore of Hudson bay James bay across
  central New York.

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MIGRATORY BIRDS

• OSPREY

• Great Blue Heron

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BIRD REFUGES

• Refuge provides habitat for migrating and
  wintering waterfowl.
• During the fall and winter months,
• Snow and Canada geese, tundra swans, and many
  duck species are abundant.
• Migrating songbirds and shorebirds arrive at the
  Refuge each spring.

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GEESE
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Mammals

• Deer ,raccoons, fox, squirrels, rabbits, and
  opossum are the most plentiful mammal residents
  of the Chesapeake Bay area.
• Noted aquatic mammals living here are otters,
  dolphins, porpoises, and whales.

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• Flora

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Algae

• Phytoplankton grow in the photic zone or the
  depth to which sunlight penetrates the water.
• They undergo algae blooms or rapid population
  growth caused by excess nutrients.
• Major groups of phytoplankton are Diatoms, Green
  algae, Dinoflagellates.
• They are used as indicators for environmental
  conditions within the bay.

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Algae
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Bald Cypress

• Grow to be 100 to 120 feet tall and 6 feet in
  diameter.
• Usually abundant in muck, clay or fine sand where
  its very high amount of water.

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Bald Cypress
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Loblolly Pine

• This rapidly-growing tree thrives in the maritime
  forest, at the bays edge.
• It prefers the Bay's relatively long, hot and
  humid summers.
• The trees provide important nesting habitat for
  bald eagles and osprey.
• Loblolly pines are frequently used for soil
  stabilization in areas that are subject to severe
  erosion .

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Loblolly Pine
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American Holly

• American Holly is used as a popular holiday
  decoration.
• Bluebirds, and songbirds use holly for shelter
  and raising their young.
• Native Americans used the wood and berries for
  bartering and decorating.

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American Holly
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Bay Grasses

• In the shallow waters of the bay, many underwater
  grasses thrive.
• These grasses are also known as submerged aquatic
  vegetation, or SAV, that grow completely
  underwater.
• SAV have additional support that causes easier
  exchange of gasses.

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Bay Grasses

• SAV play an important role in bay ecology by
  performing many functions.
• Some of these include providing food and habitat,
  filtering sediment, producing oxygen, and
  protecting the shoreline from erosion.
• They also remove excess nutrients from the water
  which prevents overgrowth of algae.

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Bay Grasses
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Bay Grasses
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• Recreation

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Fishing on the Bay

• The Chesapeake bay is home to 295 species of fish
  which only comprises 10 of bay life. Only 32
  fish are yearly residents.
• The favorite Chesapeake bay fish species include
  rockfish, bluefish, drum, speckled trout,
  flounder, spot, and croaker. 

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Sailing on the Bay

• The recreational use of the Bay bring millions
  of dollars to the local economy annually

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Surfing

• Dont you wish we had waves like this locally.
• Average wave height at Virginia Beach, VA is
  about 3 feet.

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HUNTING

• The Chesapeake bay is the famous hunting ground.
• Market and waterfowl hunting is a thing of the
  past.

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• Industry

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• Most biologically productive estuary in North
  America.
• More seafood is harvested from Chesapeake Bay
  than any of the other 840 U.S. estuaries.
• Blue crab harvest is gt 1/2 of U.S. total harvest.

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Businesses

• Tourism is a major factor in the businesses
  around the Chesapeake Bay.
• Restaurants, hotels, bait shops, water sport
  rentals, and marinas are most commonly found on
  the Bay.
• Businesses for the Bay is a voluntary team of
  enterprises within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
• More and more businesses are forming in order to
  prevent pollution.

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Bay-side Businesses
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Factories

• Smithfield Factories is one of the largest
  industries responsible for the pollution of the
  Chesapeake Bay.
• In August 1997, a federal judge in Virginia fined
  the Smithfield pig processing plant 12.6 million
  for the plant's chronic dumping of slaughterhouse
  wastes into the Pagan River, a tributary of the
  James River and Chesapeake Bay.

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F a c t o r i e s

• Pollution

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• Shipping

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Early Chesapeake Bay Shipping

• Steamboat (1813)

Colonial American fighting ships

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Commercial Shipping

• Container ships leave and enter ports in Hampton,
  
• Portsmouth, Newport News and Norfolk daily.
• Hampton Roads ranks 2nd in U.S. for metric tons
• of exports.

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Fishing Boats

• Fishing and the harvesting of marine crustaceans
  is a major source of food and revenue for the
  local economy

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Oysters
The Chesapeake Bay harvests an annual
production of millions of bushels of oysters,
crabs, clams, eels, striped bass, and flounder
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Blue Crab
Growing commercial, industrial, recreational,
and urban activities continue to threaten the
Chesapeake Bay and its living resources.
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• The Military

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CONSTANT WEATHER SURVEILLANCE
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Home Port for the US Navy

• The headquarters for the US Atlantic fleet is at
  Naval Station Norfolk, VA

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Home Port for the US Navy

• Thousand of military personnel call Hampton Roads
  on the Chesapeake Bay their Home Port
• The military increases the economy of Hampton
  Roads by Billions of dollars each year.

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Hover Craft

• Hover Craft are extensively used in Europe,
  but are not widely used by the US military.

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US Coast Guard

• The US Coast Guard protects our coastal and
  inland waters from smugglers and drug dealers

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AVIATION FORECASTING

• 11,5698 Aviation Weather Briefs

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Military Bases

• Naval Amphibious Base (Little Creek) is the major
  operating base for the US Atlantic Fleet, and the
  largest of its kind in the world.
• Fort Story is where the Cape Henry lighthouse is
  and where settlers first landed.
• Langley Air Force Base is the oldest Air force
  base that has remained continuously active.
• Oceana Naval Air Station was carved out of
  swampland and has grown 16 times larger.
• Dam Neck Base is directly on the beach and has
  the most military beach access.

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Proud Stripes and Stars

• Military Bases

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• The Environment

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Keep the beaches clean!
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Waste From Factories

• ToXiC DuMp!!!

• Meat
• Processing

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POLLUTION

• The biggest problem is nutrient pollution.
• Nutrient pollution is caused by excess nutrients,
  nitrogen and phosphorus. SAVs are destroyed.
• Toxic chemicals, air pollution, sedimentation,
  and the over-harvesting of living resources can
  pollute.

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Massive Fish Kills

• Toxic chemicals are the chemical poisons that
  harm plants, animals, fish and humans.

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RESTORATION

• The Chesapeake Bay Program is a partnership that
  is working to restore as well as protect the Bay
  and resources.
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chesapeake Alliance,
  and the Virginia Aquarium are dedicated to
  preserving the Bay.

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WATER QUALITY ACTS

• IN THE 20TH CENTURY, THE CHESAPEAKE BAYS WATER
  QUALITY STARTED DECLINING and oysters were dying.
• IN THE 1970S, CONGRESS PASSED THE CLEAN AIR ACT
  AND THE CLEAN WATER ACT
• CITIZENS FORMED WATERSHED GROUPS AND OFFICIALS
  BANNED PESTICIDES AND TOXIC CHEMICALS
• IN 1983, THE BAY RESTORATION ACT REPLACED
• THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AGREEMENT

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• ADDITIONAL FACTS

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SAV
SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION
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SAV
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CAROLINA PARAKEET

• EXTINCT

• SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM

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PASSENGER PIGEON
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MARTHA

• THE LAST PASSENGER PIGEON

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AMERICAN BALD EAGLE
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MOTHER WITH JUVENILES
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OSPREY
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OSPREY FEEDING
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SHEEPSHEAD
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SHEEPSHEAD
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AMERICAN SHAD
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AMERICAN SHAD
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AMERICAN SHAD
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TERMS TO REMEMBER

• SOUND
• BAY
• ECOLOGY
• NUTRIENTS
• TURBIDITY
• BRACKISH
• NON-POINT SOURCE
• POLLUTION
• SAV

BAY HARVEST VALUE JAMES RIVER CHOPTANK
RIVER POTOMIC RIVER SUSQUEHANNA
RIVER RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER PROTECTIVE LAWS
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• The End

• Created By Phyllis Butler

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