Jamestowne Society Fall Meeting 2008 Presentation

Dr. Kent Mountford, noted author and researcher, presented information on how the Chesapeake Bay region likely appeared to the early English explorers who visited the region in 1607 and 1608. Dr. Mountford is co-author with Helen C. Rountree and Wayne E. Clark of "John Smith's Chesapeake Voyages 1607-1609," published by the University of Virginia Press in 2007, and is the author of "Closed Sea: From the Manasquan to the Mullica." He is Ecologist and Environmental Historian for the Cove Corporation in Lusby, Maryland.

The photos below are from the presentation given by Dr. Mountford, and illustrate the history of the Chesapeake Bay for the last several hundred years, and provide information on the early explorer, Captain John Smith, and on the native population. This is Page 2 of a multi-page presentation of photographs from the lecture.

Early sample of Tulip Poplar leaves from the region



	Fall 2008 Meeting Presentation Captain John Smith's Chesapeake Bay - Page 2
	by Dr. Kent Mountford Click here to visit Page 1 of the Presentation Click here to visit Page 3 of the Presentation Click here to visit Page 4 of the Presentation



	Dr. Kent Mountford, noted author and researcher, presented information on how the Chesapeake Bay region likely appeared to the early English explorers who visited the region in 1607 and 1608. Dr. Mountford is co-author with Helen C. Rountree and Wayne E. Clark of "John Smith's Chesapeake Voyages 1607-1609," published by the University of Virginia Press in 2007, and is the author of "Closed Sea: From the Manasquan to the Mullica." He is Ecologist and Environmental Historian for the Cove Corporation in Lusby, Maryland. The photos below are from the presentation given by Dr. Mountford, and illustrate the history of the Chesapeake Bay for the last several hundred years, and provide information on the early explorer, Captain John Smith, and on the native population. This is Page 2 of a multi-page presentation of photographs from the lecture. *Early sample of Tulip Poplar leaves from the region*

	*Oak timbers of large size were useful for shipbuilding*

	*Capt. John Smith noted seeing cypress trees eighteen feet in circumference*

	*Changes in the Bay region cannot be undone without reforestation in large numbers*

	*It is hard to imagine today the clarity of the waters seen by Smith*

	*Water was so clear that the bottom could be seen in all but the Bay's deepest channels*

	*Plankton were not as numerous*

	*Salt-Marsh Periwinkles still populate the region*

	*The destruction of wetlands has removed a valuable environmental filter*

	*Hunting has reduced some species and eliminated others*


	*CONTINUE ON TO PAGE 3 OF PRESENTATION PHOTOS*



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