Great Fox Island
37°53′45″N 75°54′6″W / 37.89583°N 75.90167°W
Great Fox Island, also simply Fox Island, is an island in the Chesapeake Bay. The island has been gradually declining in size in recent decades owing to a combination of rising sea levels and erosion.
Geography
[edit]As of 2019, Great Fox Island was 34 acres (0.14 km2) in size, down from 400 acres (1.6 km2) in 1773. This has been attributed to a combination of erosion and sea level rise due to climate change.[1] The island is located in the Chesapeake Bay in Accomack County, Virginia, slightly south of the state line with Maryland.[2] A large hunting lodge was built on the island in 1929.[3]
Educational programs
[edit]From 1976 to 2019, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation conducted overnight educational programs on the island for schoolchildren. Approximately 18,000 children participated in these programs over the course of the program.[3] The Foundation abandoned the island in October 2019, citing danger to students from a decrease in protective sea grass and the waterlogging of several hiking trails on the island.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Great Fox is Disappearing". NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ Fenston, Jacob (November 13, 2019). "Rising Waters Are Swallowing A Chesapeake Education Center, Forcing It To Close". WAMU. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ a b Horton, Tom (December 5, 2019). "Chesapeake Bay's Fox Island: Right where it should, and shouldn't, have been". Delmarva Now. Retrieved August 24, 2023.