The Disappearing Islands of the Chesapeake

By William B. Cronin

Book Overview

Scientists estimate that, until 1900, the water level of the Chesapeake Bay rose at the rate of three feet every thousand years. Alarmingly enough, the bay rose by one foot in the twentieth century alone, and for evidence of this dramatic change one need only observe the effects of rising water on the islands of the Chesapeake Bay, which slowly are slipping from sight.

A retired oceanographer who first conducted research on the bay in the 1950s, William B. Cronin here supplies a survey of the changing fortunes of these forty-odd islands, from Garrett in the north to Gwynn and James islands to the south. Cronin's historical and scientific tour outlines their erosion, their loss of marshland, and the rich if changing human experience they have supported for generations. He draws on imagery that includes the work of celebrated local photographer A. Aubrey Bodine, colonial and state records, newspaper pieces, and his own personal and professional experience.

Historic nautical charts, compared to current data from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, leave no doubt of the crisis many of the islands face. On one, Holland, rising water in the late 1910s forced townspeople to move their houses by barge to the mainland. On another, Barren, a sizable hunting lodge housed guests as late as the 1970s but by 1985 had become a wreck beneath the water. An appendix documents the many small islands that have dropped entirely from view since the seventeenth century.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801874351
• ISBN13: 9780801874352
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.8" x 11.4"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A book to keep or a book to give

I was so delighted with this book, which was a purchase for my library's collection, that I bought another copy for myself! Living on the Chesapeake Bay myself, I am always on the hunt for great books for my personal library. When folks come for a visit, it's nice to have books for them to peruse. This book is a remarkable and timeless work of art as well as a wealth of knowledge! There are, sadly, too many places on the Bay that are gone forever, and many that are almost gone, due to time, tide and weather. This book gives the reader a wonderful history of each island, as well as magnificent photographs, and even GPS locations for each. If you're a Chesapeake Bay boater, you've gotta have this! If you know someone who is, or just someone who enjoys stories of our wonderful treasure of the Chesapeake, this makes a wonderful gift!

The Disappearing Islands of the Chesapeake

Arrived plastic wrapped in perfect condition in a timely manner.