Thursday, September 09, 2010
 
 
FUN FACTS
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Chesapeake Bay Fun Facts:

 

The famous Civil War battle of the two ironclad ships, Monitor and Merrimack (also known as the CSS Virginia) took place in the Chesapeake Bay on March 9, 1862

 

The Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel opened on April 15, 1964, and was considered “One of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World.” It spans over 17 miles of water.

 

 

The first humans lived in the Bay region as early as 18,000 years ago!

 

 

 

The first commercial steamboat chugged up the Bay in 1813.

 

 

Some well-known pirates that stalked the Bay waters: the infamous Blackbeard, William Kidd, and Stede Bonnet.

 

Rappahannock River Fun Facts:

 

 

 

From end to end, the Rappahannock River is over 180 miles long.

 

 

 

Over 70,000 people depend upon the river for drinking water.

 

 

 

The tidal Rappahannock has more pairs of nesting bald eagles than any other river in the state.

 

 

 

The nameRappahannock derives from an Algonquian word meaning “river of the ebb and flow.”

 

The earliest printed record of gold found in Virginia was by Thomas Jefferson in 1782. A 4-pound rock was found a few miles below the falls of the Rappahannock River.

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