1. What changed the Chesapeake Bay?
Use the clues to solve the mystery!

2. What do you think caused the changes in the Chesapeake Bay?
CLUE #1
What do you think caused the changes in the Chesapeake Bay?

3. CLUE #2
Billions of tons of ocean water were propelled into the air as high as 30 miles and evaporated. Millions of tons of debris and rocks were thrown into the atmosphere. The incident changed the landscape in the Virginia/Maryland area.

4. CLUE #3
The incident may have caused unusual erosion patterns, areas of salt water, earthquakes, and the land to sink.

5. CLUE #4
Scientists took core samples from the Bay and found the ages of the rock layers were mixed.

6. What changed the Chesapeake Bay
What changed the Chesapeake Bay? Record your claim on page 5 of your ISN. Then, talk with your neighbors about what you think happened. Be sure to use evidence from the clues in your discussion! The answer will be revealed next!

7. The changes to the Chesapeake Bay were caused by...
An asteroid or comet (bolide) traveling at about 70,000 miles/hour, splashed through several hundred feet of water and several thousand feet of mud and sediment. The impact caused tsunami waves as simulated in the video.
For millions of years the crater lay buried in the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding peninsulas, more than a thousand feet beneath sand, silt, and clay. Scientists discovered it in 1983.
This video shows the waves