Northern Chesapeake Bay(CB1): head of Bay segment, excluding the Northeast River but including Swan Creek. CB1 adjoins CB2 at a boundary that extends from Sandy Point of Spesutie Island, on the west, to Turkey Point of Elk Neck, on the east, and that lies in theregion of maximum penetration of sea salts at the head of the Bay.
Northeast; Elk and Bohemia; and Sassafras rivers (ET1; ET2; ET3): upper eastern shore tributary segments adjoining mainstem Bay segments at their respective mouths. The northermost tributary, ET1, flows into CB1 east of Furnace Bay. The Bohemia River joins the Elk River and together comprise ET2 which flows into CB2 at Turkey Point. ET3 flowsinto CB2 further south at Grove Point.
Upper Chesapeake Bay and Upper Central Chesapeake Bay (CB2; CB3): upper mainstem Bay segments, excluding main tributaries. CB2 includes Romney and Still Pond creeks.The boundary of CB2 with CB3 extends from Robins Point on Gunpowder Neck, through Pooles Island, to south of Fairlee Creek. This boundary demarcates the southern limit of the turbidity maximum and also coincides with the long-term summer average for the 5 ppt salinity contour. CB3 includes Tavern and Swan creeks and the Haven, all east of SwanPoint. The boundary of CB3 with CB4 extends from Sandy Point, south of the MagothyRiver on the east, to Kent Island, below Love Point, and marks both the northern limit ofdeep water anoxia in Chesapeake Bay andthe 10 ppt salinity contour.
Bush; Gunpowder; Middle; Back; and Patapsco rivers (WT1; WT2; WT3; WT4;WT5): upper western shore tributaries segments adjoining mainstem Bay segments at their respective mouths. WT1 adjoins southwestern CB2 south of Abbey Point. WT2 includes Saltpeter and Dundee creeks and adjoins northwestern CB3 at Weir Point. WT3, WT4, andWT5 adjoin middle-western CB3. WT3 includes Seneca Creek which is connected toSaltpeter Creek. WT4 adjoins CB3 at a boundary extending from Cedar Point on the northshore to Swan Point on the south shore and does not include Hawk Cove, west of HartIsland. WT5 adjoins CB3 at the boundary extending from North Point on the north shore,to a point approximately midway between Cedar and Bodkin points on Bodkin Neck on the south shore, and includes Bodkin Creek.
Chester River (ET4): eastern shore tributary segment. ET4 adjoins southeastern CB3 at a boundary extending across the mouth from Kent Island, below Love Point, to Wickes Beach on the western side of Eastern Neck Island.
Magothy; Severn; South, Rhode, and West rivers (WT6; WT7; WT8): upper western shore tributary segments adjoining mainstem Bay segments at their respective mouths. WT6 adjoins southwestern CB3 near the boundary with CB4. WT7 includes Lake Ogleton and adjoins northwestern CB4 at a boundary extending from Greenbury Point on the north shore, to Tolly Point on the south shore. WT8 adjoins northwestern CB4 at a boundary extending from Marshy Point on the north shore of the mouth of the South River, to Felicity Cove on the south shore of the mouth of the West River.
Eastern Bay (EE1): eastern shore embayment segment, including Prospect Bay, and the Wye and Miles rivers. The boundary with CB4 extends from Kent Point, through Coaches Island, to Tilghman Island.
Middle Central Chesapeake Bay (CB4): main stem Bay segment, including Whitehall and Herring bays. CB4 extends in the North from Whitehall Bay, western shore, to Kent Island, eastern shore, and in the south from Cove Point, western shore, to Cattail Island, eastern shore. CB4 excludes major tributaries and embayments such as EEI and EE2, the Lower Choptank, which adjoin it on the east, and WT7 and WT8 which adjoin it on the west.
Lower Choptank River; Choptank River (EE2; ET5): eastern shore embayment segment and adjoining tributary segment. EE2 adjoins mainstem Bay segment CB4 at a boundary extending south from Tilghman Island, through James Island, to Oyster Cove at the north end of Taylor Island. EE2 includes Harris, Broad, and Islands creeks, and the Tred Avon River in the north, and Brannock Bay, Slaughter Creek, and the Little Choptank River in the south. The EE2 boundary with ET5 extends across the Choptank River from Castle Haven Point to Chlora Point.
Lower Patuxent River; Middle Patuxent River; and Upper Patuxent River (LE1; RET1; TF1): segments comprising major western shore tributary. LE1, the lower sub-estuary portion, adjoins mainstem Bay segment CB5 at a boundary at the mouth extending from Fishing Point on the south shore, to Drum Point on the north shore. Upstream, RET1, the river-estuarine-transition portion, adjoins LE1 at the turbidity maximum, the boundary extending approximately from Trent Hall Point on the west shore to Sheridan Point on the east shore. Further upstream, TF1, the tidal-fresh portion, adjoins RET1 at a boundary extending approximately from Chalk Point on the west shore to Gods Grace Point on the east shore.
Nanticoke; Wicomico; Manokin; Big Annemessex; and Pocomoke rivers (ET6; ET7; ET8; ET9; ET10): eastern shore tributary segments adjoining Tangier Sound (EE3) at their respective mouths. The boundary of ET6 with EE3 extends from Sandy Island on the west shore, to Stump Point Marsh on the east shore. ET7 includes Ellis and Monie bays, and its boundary with EE3 extends from Stump Point Marsh to Long Point on the south shore. ET8 includes Laws Thorofare, and Fishing, Broad, Geanquakin, and St. Peters creeks, on the north shore, and Back, Wolftrap, Broad, Teague, and Mine creeks, on the south shore, and its boundary with EE3 extends from Claw Point on Little Deal Island in the north, to Hazard Point on Hazard Island in the south. ET9 includes Mine, Shirtpond, Flatland, Fords, and Crane coves, and Moon Bay, on the north shore, and Gales, Colbourn, Jones, Dougherty, and Acre creeks, and Joes Cove, on the south shore, and its boundary with EE3 extends from Pat Island on the north shore, to Flatcap Point on Janes Island on the south shore. ET10 includes a small part of eastern Pocomoke Sound, and its boundary with EE3 extends from Pig Point, at the eastern end of Robin Hood Bay on the south shore, to a point directly north on Marumsco Marsh, west, of Fair Island on the north shore.
Tangier Sound (EE3): generally, the area east ofBloodsworth, South Marsh, Smith, and Tangier islands, extending in the north from the head of the Honga River and Fishing Bay, south to Watt's Island and Big Marsh on the eastern shore. EE3 includes the Honga River; Fishing Bay; the Little Annemessex River; the Great Fox Islands; most of Pocomoke Sound; Messongo Creek; Beasley Bay; Halfmoon, Webb, and Savage islands; the northern parts of Big Marsh and Watt's Island; the eastern parts of Tangier, Smith, and South Marsh islands; most of Bloodsworth Island except for the western extremities; and the eastern shores of the Hooper Islands, Gunners Island, and Meekins Neck which form the western bank of the Honga River. EE3 adjoins CB5 at a boundary which extends in the north from Meekins Neck, south through, and roughy bisecting, a series of islands forming the western edge of the Tangier Sound. Specifically, the boundary of EE3 with CB5 extends from Meekins Neck, south through Gunners Island and the Hooper Islands, to Creek Point on Little Hooper Island, southeast to Okahanikan Cove on northern Bloodsworth Island, to Northeast Cove on southwest Bloodsworth Island, southeast to Johnson Cove on northern South Marsh Island, to Sheepshead Harbor on southern South Marsh Island, southeast to the northern tip of Smith Island, to the mouth of Tyler Creek on the southeastern end of Smith Island, directly south to Thorofare Island, and then Goose Island, south to the northen tip of Tangier Island, south to Mailboat Harbor on the southeast end of Tangier Island, east to the middle of Watt's Island and to the western most tip of Big Marsh.
Lower Potomac River; Middle Potomac River; and Upper Potomac River (LE2; RET2; TF2): middle western shore tributary segments. The lower sub-estuary, LE2, includes the St. Marys and Wicomico rivers, and Breton and St. Clements bays, on the north shore, and on the south shore, the Coan and Yeocomico rivers, the Lower Machodock, Nomini, Popes, Mattox, and Upper Machodoc creeks, and Currioman Bay. LE2 adjoins CB5, the main stem Bay, at the river mouth at a boundary extending from Point Lookout on the north shore, to Ginny Beach on the south shore. The river-estuarine-transition zone, RET2, includes the Port Tobacco River and Nanjemoy Creek on the north shore, and Aquia and Potomac creeks on the south shore. RET2 adjoins LE2, at a boundary extending from just above Lower Cedar Point on the north shore, to the mouth of Gambo Creek on the south shore. The tidal fresh zone, TF2, includes Mattawoman, Piscataway, and Broad creeks, and the Anacostia River on the east shore, and, on the west shore, Chopawamsic, Quantico, Powells, Neabsco, and Dogue creeks, Occoquan Bay, and Gunston Cove. TF2 adjoins RET2 at a boundary extending from Quantico on the west shore, to Moss Point on the east shore.
Lower Central Chesapeake Bay (CB5): a mid-mainstem segment extending in the north from Cove point, on the western shore, across the Bay to Cattail Island, and south to Windmill Point on the western shore, then northeast to the southern end of Tangier Island. CB5 includes Jerome Creek, above the mouth of the Potomac River, and below the mouth, the Wicomico and Great Wicomico rivers, and Fleets Bay. CB5 adjoins CB4 in the north, CB6 and CB7 in the south, LE1 and LE2 on the west, and EE3 on the east.
Lower Rappahannock River; Middle Rappahannock River; Upper Rappahannock River (LE3; RET3; TF3): lower western shore tributary segments, also including the Piankatank River entering the Bay immediately below the mouth of the Rappahannock River. The lower sub-estuary, LE3, adjoins the mainstem Bay at a boundary at the mouth extending from Fleets Island in the north, to Gwynn Island at the southern edge of the mouth of the Piankatank River. LE3 includes both the entire PiankatankandCorrotoman rivers, the latter a tributary of the Rappahannock. The river-estuarine-transition zone, RET3, adjoins LE3 at a boundary extending on the north shore from Morattico, to McKans Bay on the south shore. The tidal fresh zone, TF3, adjoins RET3 at a boundary extending from Mulberry Point on the north shore, to Jenkins Landing on the south shore.
Western Lower Chesapeake Bay (CB6): a lower mainstem segment whose eastern boundary bisects the lower Bay and adjoins CB7. The western boundary extends in the North from Windmill Point, at the north shore of the mouth of the Rappahannock River, across the
Western Lower Chesapeake Bay (CB6) (continued): mouths of Mobjack Bay and the York, Poquoson, and Back rivers (segment WE4), to Northend Point at the south shore of the mouth of the Back River. The northern boundary adjoins CB5. The southern boundary adjoins CB8. CB6 includes Milford Haven, Winter Harbor, and Horn Harbor.
Eastern Lower Chesapeake Bay (CB7): a lower mainstem segment whose western boundary bisects the lower Bay and adjoins CB6. The eastern boundary extends in the north from Big Marsh, south to the middle of the mouth of the Bay. The northern boundary adjoins EE3. The southern boundary adjoins CB8. CB7 includes several tributary creeks and Cherrystone Inlet.
Mobjack Bay (WE4): western shore embayment segment. WE4 adjoins southeastern CB6 at a boundary extending in the north from New Point Comfort, to Northend Point, on the south shore of the mouth of the Back River. WE4 includes the East, North, Ware, Severn, Poquoson, and Back rivers, the Guinea Marshes, Goodwin Island, and the mouth of the York River, to a boundary line extending from approximately west of Allens Island, on the north shore, to west of Thorofare by Goodwin Island, on the south shore.
Lower York River; Middle York River; Upper York River(LE4; RET4; TF4): lower western shore tributary segments. The lower sub-estuary, LE4, adjoins WE4 at a boundary extending from approximately west of Allens Island, on the north shore, to west of Thorofare by Goodwin Island, on the south shore. The river-estuarine-transition zone, RET4, adjoins LE4 at a boundary extending from Purtan Island, on the north shore, to a point on the south shore just below Taskinas Creek. The tidal fresh zone, TF4, adjoins RET4 at points just upstream of the mouths of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers, two tributaries that join to form the York River.
Lower James River; Middle James River; Upper James River (LE5; RET5; TF5): western shore tributary segments comprising the southernmost major river entering the Bay. The sub-estuary, LE5, adjoins the mainstem Bay at the mouth, at a boundary extending from Old Point Comfort, on the north shore, to Willoughby Bay on the south shore. LE5 includes the Elizabeth and Nanesmond rivers. The river-estuarine-transition zone, RET5, adjoins LE5 at a boundary extending from approximately east of Jamestown Island, on the north shore, to Chippokes Plantation State Park, on the south shore. RET5 includes the Chickahominy River. The tidal fresh zone, TF5, adjoins RET5, at a boundary extending from approximately west of Sunken Meadow Creek on the south shore, to an unnamed point on the north shore directly across the river.
Mouth of the Chesapeake Bay (CB8): the southernmost mainstem segment, including Broad and Lynnhaven bays and Little Creek. CB8 adjoins the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Bay at a boundary extending from Cape Henry, on the south shore, to a point approximately midway across the mouth, at the boundary with CB7. CB8 adjoins CB6 and CB7 in the north, and LE5 in the west.