The Chesapeake Bay’s calm surface hides a brutal geological secret: beneath its mouth lies a 56-mile-wide impact crater, and the land is sinking at twice the global rate. Known for its crab houses and sailboats, the bay is actually a drowned river valley, carved by glaciers and still flooded by a daily push-pull of fresh and salt water.
The Chesapeake Bay is often seen as a relaxed corner of the East Coast, known for its crab houses, sailboats, and wide, calm water. Beneath that surface, however, the bay is a dynamic and complex system shaped by geology, history, and ongoing environmental change. Its shoreline has drowned and re-emerged repeatedly, and many of its most familiar features are tied to hidden structures and events th…