![[photo, Skipjack H. M. Krentz on Miles River, St. Michaels, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/37mun/stmichaels/images/1198-1-1009.jpg)
Bays |
Lighthouses |
Canals |
Port of Baltimore |
Creeks |
Rivers |
Lakes |
Waterfalls |
Skipjack H. M. Krentz on Miles River, St. Michaels, Maryland, February 2005. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Boat rack along St. Mary's River, St. Mary's City, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/25univ/stmarys/images/1198-1-3962.jpg)
Boat rack along St. Mary's River, St. Mary's City, Maryland, May 2009. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Sailboats at City Dock (State House dome in background), Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/26excom/images/i005004a.jpg)
Maryland is defined as much by its waterways as by the geographic boundaries of its land. Most important is the Chesapeake Bay around which land joins into the Eastern Shore and Western Shore of Maryland.
Sailboats at City Dock (State House dome in background), Annapolis, Maryland, June 2000. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Boats at Bayridge on the Chesapeake, Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/waterways/images/1198-1-07305b.jpg)
The extensive coastline that edges the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay is riddled with rivers, bays, and creeks that merge with other Bay tributaries. It is the fourth longest tidal coastline in the continental United States.
Boats at Bayridge on the Chesapeake, Annapolis, Maryland, August 2015. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/wildlife/birds/images/1198-1-08064b.jpg)
The waterways of Maryland are of particular concern to the Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays. In conjunction with local governments, the Commission seeks to protect the "critical areas" around the Chesapeake Bay, and the Atlantic coastal bays of Assawoman, Isle of Wight, Sinepuxent, Newport, and Chincoteague.
Male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Annapolis, Maryland, April 2017. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Dragon pedal boats, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/images/1198-1-4306.jpg)
Water quality standards for the Chesapeake Bay and other State waters are set and maintained by the Science Services Administration of the Department of the Environment.
Dragon pedal boats, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, November 2009. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)in pond, Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/01glance/wildlife/reptiles/images/1198-1-08102b.jpg)
Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) in pond, Annapolis, Maryland, April 2017. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
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