Hampton Roads, Virginia is known by most enthusiastic and heavy tourists as a great vacation attraction for the whole family. The associated water area has a broad channel through which the tributary waters of the James River, Nansemond River, and Elizabeth River pass through large natural areas to empty into the Chesapeake Bay and continue into the Atlantic Ocean with over 26 miles total of associated beaches. The Chesapeake Bay ecosystem supports the many complex relationships that exist with organisms and inhabitants among the very vast living resources of the Bay watershed region, comprising more than 3,600 species in total, including 348 fish, 173 shells and 2,700 varieties of plants. The wide range of all-inclusive environments, low-lying land and wetlands, the more than 200 miles of open water ranging from saltwater to freshwater with heavily trafficked waterways and the full air are all part of the environment that creates such a unique ecosystem teeming with life. The region has the largest fresh groundwater aquifers in the Commonwealth of Virginia. While receiving about half its volume of water from the Atlantic Ocean, the other half flows into the bay from a massive 64,000 square mile watershed, which includes parts of the state of New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, as well as the entire district. from Colombia. The associated neighboring land area is more often referred to as the Tidewater and is geographically divided into 2 smaller regions: the eastern portion of the Virginia Peninsula (known locally as "the Peninsula") and South Hampton Roads (known locally as from “the south side”). (Glick, Staudt and Nunley, 2008). The Chesapeake Bay is the geological result of the last ice age ... middle of paper ...... is it lost to hunters, fishermen and outdoor enthusiasts? Chesapeake Bay and global warming. Nwf.org. Retrieved December 2, 2011 from http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/Reports/Archive/2007/Chesapeake-Bay-and-Global-Warming.aspxGlick, P., Staudt, A ., & Nunley, B. (2008). Sea level rise and coastal habitats of the Chesapeake Bay: a summary. Nwf.org. Retrieved December 2, 2011 from http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/Reports/Archive/2008/Sea-Level-Rise-Chesapeake-Bay.aspxLearmonth, G., Smith, D , Sherman, W., White, M. and Plank, J. (2011). A practical approach to the complex problem of environmental sustainability: The UVa Bay Game. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 16(1), 2011, article 4. Retrieved December 2, 2011 from http://www.innovation.cc/scholarly style/learmonth_sustain_inviroment_v16i1a4.pdf