Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay, inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, c.200 mi (320 km) long, from 3 to 30 mi (4.8–48 km) wide, and 3,237 sq mi (8,384 sq km), separating the Delmarva Peninsula from mainland Maryland. and Virginia. The drowned estuary of the Susquehanna River, formed in an ancient meteorite impact zone, the bay is fed by rivers including the Potomac, Rappahannock, Pocomoke, and James. It is entered from the Atlantic Ocean through a 12-mi-wide (19-km) gap between Capes Henry and Charles, Va.; the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel crosses its mouth, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge crosses the upper bay. Part of the Intracoastal Waterway, the bay is linked with the Delaware River and Bay by the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. Baltimore, Md., is the largest city and main port on the bay; the Norfolk–Hampton Roads region of Virginia is a key naval complex. The bay's famous fisheries (oysters, crabs, etc.) have declined as residential and commercial development around it have increased; various projects and interstate agreements seek to reverse this trend. A 35-million-year-old impact crater, c.50 mi (85 km) wide, underlies the lower bay. The English colonist John Smith explored and charted Chesapeake Bay in 1608.

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Chesapeake Bay

Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, eastern U.S. With its lower section in Virginia and its upper section in Maryland, it is 193 mi (311 km) long and 3–25 mi (5–40 km) wide and has an area of about 3,230 sq mi (8,365 sq km). It receives many rivers, including the Susquehanna, Patuxent, Potomac, and James. Jamestown, the area's first European settlement, was founded in 1607; a year later, Capt. John Smith explored and mapped the bay. The bay's waters had supported vast amounts of marine life, but by the 1970s development of the surrounding area led to alarming pollution of the bay; fishing dropped off sharply. Efforts have since been made to reverse the damage.

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Chesapeake Bay

the largest inlet of the Atlantic in the coast of the US: bordered by Maryland and Virginia

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Chesapeake Bay 

a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of the USA. Along with Delaware Bay, the Chesapeake Bay isolates the Delmarva Peninsula. The bay is 315 km long and 5–30 km wide. It reaches a depth of 27 m; the depth of the fairway is more than 11m. The shoreline is low, swampy, and heavily indented by the mouths of numerous rivers, including the Susquehanna, Potomac, James, and others, which form natural harbors. The tides are semidiurnal, measuring up to 1 m. The chief port on the Chesapeake Bay is Baltimore.