SPECTACULAR SUNRISE OVER SMITH_ISLAND

Sunrise, over Smith Island in the Chesapeake bay, is as spectacular as any of the very best. The Island is situated about 10 miles west of Crisfield, Md directly across the Tangier Sound part of the Chesapeake Bay. Smith island comprises three communities, Ewell, Tylerton and Rhodes Point, which all sit on the Maryland part of the island. 

Currently, the Virginia portion of the island is uninhabited. It once contained many homes of early settlers. The island is shrinking and has been shrinking in size for centuries. This is because of a combination of its low lying position and storm erosion. Over the last 150 years, Smith Island has lost as much as 3,300 acres (13 km2) of wetlands, directly as a consequence of erosion and post-glacial subsidence into the Chesapeake Bay.

To prevent the island from being lost entirely to erosion, restoration efforts are ongoing and will continue for the next 50 years. The restoration is about recovering 1,900 acres (8 km2) of submerged aquatic vegetation and about 240 acres (1 km2) of wetlands.