It was heavily forested right down to the water. Whereas many areas along coastal North America had been cleared by the native peoples for agricultural purposes, the future Baltimore Harbor was not. "We passed many shallow creeks, but the first we found navigable for a ship, we called Patapsco…." That does not mean that Smith ignored it in that summer of 1608! This is an elongated watershed, north to south, covering large portions of six states and all of the District of Columbia.Īs good as Smith’s map was for its day, especially since marine chronometers for measuring longitude were still over 150 years away, the future Baltimore Harbor is not distinct. Yet, on the other hand, rain that falls just 25 miles from Havre de Grace in the northeast corner of Maryland, drains into the Delaware River/Bay. (300 miles from Havre de Grace at the head of the Bay’s watershed) wends its way via the Susquehanna through the entire state of Pennsylvania and empties into the Chesapeake Bay. It is quite interesting to note that rain that falls in Cooperstown, N.Y. The rain that fell on the land for 64,299 square miles around the Chesapeake Bay ended up in the Chesapeake Bay. There were no 10,000 lakes of Minnesota, in fact Maryland does not have a single natural lake. The Chesapeake estuary (the drowned river valley of the Susquehanna), was fed by fresh water from every direction. When one looks at the map, the most striking image is the dendritic pattern of rivers. ![]() ![]() So many things are instantly recognizable the Virginia capes, the Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers and various Native American settlements which retain their ancient names. ![]() For most of the next century it would be Smith’s map that would be the gold standard for boats plying the Bay. Four hundred years ago, Captain John Smith took a 30-foot long open sailing vessel and explored the Chesapeake Bay, making very astute observations along the way and creating a map that would be recognizable to modern mariners.
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