WATERWAYS
![[photo, Skipjack H. M. Krentz on Miles River, St. Michaels, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/37mun/stmichaels/images/1198-1-1009.jpg)
- Boating Waters
- Boating in Maryland
- Department of Natural Resources
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University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Skipjack H. M. Krentz on Miles River, St. Michaels, Maryland, February 2005. 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. 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.
Sailboats at City Dock (State House dome in background), Annapolis, Maryland, June 2000. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
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.
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