Chessie (sea monster)

Over time, the figure developed into an environmental icon associated with the ecological health of the Chesapeake Bay, and continues to play a role in modern popular culture.

[3]In 1978, witnesses claimed to have seen Chessie near Southern Maryland's Calvert Cliffs State Park and in the Potomac River in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

[1] A sketch of an unknown sea creature, drawn by boater Trudy Guthrie, was published by the Evening Sun in September 1980.

While parked on the side of Arundel Beach Road directly next to the Magothy River "when the tide was really high",[10] a Maryland resident and his friend reportedly saw Chessie less than 5 feet (1.5 m) away from his car.

He described it a snake-like creature 25–30 feet (7.5–9 m) in length, without fins, topped with a slender football-shaped head, and black in color, although he could not distinguish between having scales or leathery skin.

[10] The witness first questioned himself if it was two separate animals traveling behind one another, but soon realized that it was one creature because of the pattern it created on the water surface.

Fish and Wildlife Service for its educational coloring book in 1986, Chessie: A Chesapeake Bay Story.

[17] Chessie was photographed in the Patapsco River in 2010 (unconfirmed) and again near the shore of Calvert County on July 12, 2011 (confirmed by U.S. Geological Survey biologists[18]).