CHESAPEAKE BAY BASICS

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CHESAPEAKE BAY BASICS
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Chesapeake as an Estuary

• An estuary is a semi-enclosed body of water that
  has a free connection with the sea and within
  which seawater is diluted from fresh water runoff
  from the land.

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Chesapeake as an Estuary

• Estuaries have more food for organisms, but the
  organisms usually have to deal with large
  temperature and salinity changes, high silt
  content and pollution.

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What does that mean?

• This unique environment is home to many different
  plants and animals.
• In an estuary, salt water and fresh water mix.

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4 Estuary Types

• Drowned River Valley
• Bar-Built Estuary
• Tectonic Estuary
• Fjords

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Drowned River Valley

• This is the most common type of estuary.
• Forms during an ice age from glacier melt.
• The Chesapeake Bay is a drowned river valley.
  (12,000 18,000 years ago).

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Bar-Built Estuaries

• Found where sand bars and barrier islands form.

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Bar-Built Estuaries

• The shallow water behind these barrier islands
  forms low salinity estuaries.

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Tectonic Estuaries

• These estuaries form where land sank or subsided.

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Fjords!

• Fjords were created when retreating glaciers cut
  deep in the earth.

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Fjords!

• Where in the United States might we find fjords?
• Alaska!

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Estuary Types
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Facts About The Chesapeake Bay
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The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the
United States.
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The bay is shallow. Can you guess its average
depth?

• 106 ft.
• 56 ft
• 32 ft.
• 21 ft.
• 14ft.
• 9ft.

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THE ANSWER!

• 21 feet is the correct answer.
• The deepest spot in the bay is 174 feet near
  Annapolis Md.

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A watershed is the drainage area for the bay.

• 3 Different Watersheds for Virginia waters
• The Chesapeake Bay
• The Gulf of Mexico
• The North Carolina Sounds

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The Chesapeake Bay Watershed

• Can you name the 6 states that make up the
  watershed of the Chesapeake Bay?

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• Virginia
• Maryland
• West Virginia
• Delaware
• New York
• Pennsylvania

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Chesapeake Bay WatershedStates
New York
Pennsylvania
Maryland
Delaware
West Virginia
District of Columbia
Virginia
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The water from over 50 rivers empties into the
Bay. Can you name the 5 major rivers that flow
into the bay?
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• From South to North
• James
• York
• Rappahannock
• Potomac
• Susquehanna

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Other Facts

• The Susquehanna River provides about 50 of the
  fresh water coming into the Bay.
• The river empties an average of 19 million
  gallons of water per minute.

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