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Chesapeake Bay

Estuary in Calvert Cliffs State Park, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Tar Bay Wildlife Management Area, Parkers Creek Wildlife Management Area, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Fishing Creek, MD

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The Chesapeake Bay ( CHESS-ə-peek) is an estuary in the U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia, lying inland from the Atlantic Ocean and surrounded to the west by the North American mainland and to the east by the Delmarva Peninsula. It is the largest estuary in North America. With its northern portion in Maryland and the southern part in Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay is a very important feature for the ecology and economy of those two states, as well as others. More than 150 major rivers and streams flow into the Bay's 64,299-square-mile (166,534 km2) drainage basin, which covers parts of six states (New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia) and all of Washington, D.C. The Bay is approximately 200 miles (320 km) long from its northern headwaters in the…

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