Adventuring in the Chesapeake Bay Area: The Sierra Club Travel Guide to the Tidewater Country of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., from ... Capes (Sierra Club Adventure Travel Guides)

Derived From the Algonkin Indian word "Chesepiook" -- the "great shellfish bay" -- the Chesapeake Bay is one of the richest estuaries in the world. It is also the largest bay in the United States, a beautiful natural area that offers scores of rivers and coves, picturesque fishing villages and small boat harbors, hundreds of miles of canoeable rivers, and a wide variety of outdoor activities.The historical significance of the Chesapeake Bay area is also legendary. This is the country of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. Here are some of the best-known historic towns in America, including Jamestown -- where the first permanent English colony was established in 1607, and Yorktown -- site of the last battle of the Revolutionary War.