The Chesapeake Bay program, a group of public and private organizations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. government working to restore the Bay's resources and balance the needs of the ecosystem with the needs of the people who use it are the sponsors of a very large site, where you will find links to specific information about the state of the bay, to topics in bay history, to information about the animals and plants in the area, stresses on the bay and more.

Maryland Sea Grant, a research and education project of the University of Maryland and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, offers another comprehensive list of links to Chesapeake Bay information.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources keeps track of harmful algae, bay grasses, and much more. Their Eyes on the Bay section reports current water and habitat conditions from monitoring stations throughout the state.

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science has a comprehensive set of web links and resources for learning about the bay including excellent information about blue crabs and many other species.

The text of a book called Chesapeake Bay: Introduction to an Ecosystem has been put on line by the Chesapeake Bay Program, whose web site also includes information about a number of specific rivers and watersheds that feed the bay. The Anacostia River web site also has information about this DC area watershed.

POLITICAL ACTION

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has clear explanations about the state of the bay, and suggestions about what students and their families can do. Articles in the Chesapeake Notebook, listed on their News page, describe current issues. Their Save the Bay page has excellent explanations of issues around population growth in the land around the Bay.

SOCIAL HISTORY

The Maryland State Archives have digitized a fascinating collection of documents recording the first encounters between Native Americans and Europeans which includes texts, drawings, and engravings. Check out the map from 1666!

The Chesapeake Bay bridge tunnel runs its own web site including an interesting page on its history. The Maryland state government runs a web site for students which includes a page of pictures from the Chesapeake Bay bridge. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a page on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. On the web you can tour Chesapeake Bay lighthouses some of which are still working.

Did you know that skipjacks, sailboats like Captain Jack Russell's Dee of St. Mary's, can be national historic landmarks? The National Park Service has a long description and picture of the Kathryn which has received historic landmark designation. They also take care of Fort McHenry.

The Library of Congress has digitized many old books about the Chesapeake Bay in its collection The Capitol and the Bay. You can read what Captain John Smith wrote about the Potomac River and the Native American inhabitants and see historical photographs.

GEOLOGY, PALEONTOLOGY

The bay's geology can be investigated through the U.S. Geological Survey Chesapeake web pages which feature a more complicated explanation of the Chesapeake Bay bolide (the impact of something from outer space.)

Fossils from the ocean that once covered Calvert Cliffs have interested generations of paleontologists. A good page of information and links about Maryland Miocene Fossils has been provided by a Colorodo fossil hunter who explored this area many years ago.