Streams and Rivers
Thousands of streams feed larger tributaries which eventually drain into the Chesapeake Bay.
Within the Bay watershed, five major rivers—the Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, York and James—provide almost 90 percent of the fresh water to the Bay. These and other rivers, along with the hundreds of thousands of creeks and streams that feed them, provide necessary habitat for many aquatic species. The streams and rivers that flow into the Bay are also called tributaries.
How are streams and rivers an important habitat?
The Bay watershed's streams and rivers are home to a diverse population of fish, invertebrates, amphibians and other types of wildlife.
- The Bay's anadromous fish species—such as shad and sturgeon—spend their adult lives in the open Bay or ocean, but must spawn in freshwater tributaries. Semi-anadromous fish like white perch live in tidal tributaries but also need fresh water to spawn.
- Resident freshwater fish species include catfish and sunfish.
- Freshwater tributaries support thriving and varied benthic communities that include bacteria, worms, crustacean and insect larvae.
- Frogs, turtles and salamanders also inhabit freshwater tributaries during some part of their lives.
- In spring, hatching aquatic insects are an important food source for fish, birds and amphibians.
- Aquatic plants in freshwater tributaries include algae and mosses, as well as many species of underwater bay grasses.