A-4 



TABLE 1. - LAND USE IN CHESAPEAKE STUDY AREA 



Maryland 

 Use (percent) 



Virginia 



Delaware 



(percen 



it) 



(percent) 



60 





48 



23 





32 



2 





2.5 



6 





9 



- 





8.5 



Forest 68 



Agricultural Crops 23 



Pasture 6 



Urban/industrial 3 



Coastal marsh - 



The agricultural cropland of the tidewater counties covers an 

 area of 3670 square miles. The agricultural cropland of the Bay 

 region in Maryland is 23 percent, in Virginia 23 percent, and in 

 Delaware 32 percent. The value of agricultural crops and livestock 

 of this region is an estimated $500 million dollars. 



Figure 1 shows the agricultural crops of the Chesapeake Bay 

 region. These include mainly corn, soybeans, barley, potatoes, 

 tobacco, peanuts, hay, and tomatoes and other vegetables. The 

 eastern shore of Maryland is agriculturally suited for truck crops 

 because of its sandy productive soil, sufficient water, and long 

 growing period. The most important crops are soybeans, corn, wheat, 

 and vegetable crops. On the western shore of Maryland the major 

 crops are hay, corn, tobacco, wheat, and some soybeans, and vege- 

 tables. In the Virginia region, the main agricultural crops are 

 corn, soybeans, peanuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. In the 

 Delaware area the main crops are corn, soybeans, hay, barley, rye, 

 oats, and lima beans, and other vegetables. 



Extensive vegetation along the Chesapeake Bay shoreline includes 

 salt marshes and wetlands. This vegetation is estimated to be 8.5 

 percent of the land area in Delaware alone. Recent studies show the 

 wetlands comprise 152,000 acres in Virginia (Wass and Wright, 1969), 

 and 84,000 acres in Maryland (McHarg, 1972). Other sources indicate 

 that there are perhaps as much as 500,000 acres of wetlands in the 

 Bay area (USDI, 1970). These wetlands are of great importance to 

 wildlife and production of aquatic life. The main vegetation is 

 grass of various types, saltbush, cattail, and many other species of 

 plants. Salt grass is mowed in some of the regions and is valuable 

 for mulch and other uses (Jenkins, 1971). 



The climate of the Bay region is moderate with average annual 

 temperature varying a few degrees from the northern to the southern 

 end of the Bay. The average annual temperature is 55°F in the north, 



