Mouth of the Patuxent

You can check on the Nautical traffic coming into Solomons, from this view of the Patuxent River entering the Chesapeake Bay. Five major rivers add 90% of the freshwater to the bay; the Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, York and James. The other 10% comes from the minor tributaries, like the Patuxent, rainfall and runoff. The Patuxent is a small but important contributor to the 64,000 square miles of Chesapeake watershed. If you want to know what's lurking under the surface of the Patuxent, you can click over to our Underwater Camera. You can also find out about the chemistry of the river from our Water Data. The camera and water data instrument are both located on the CBL Research Pier.

CBL Research Pier

Juting out into the Patuxent River from Solomons is the CBL Research Pier. Many of the scientists at CBL use the pier for their research. There is also a flow through system running along the pier that brings river water into the laboratory for study in a controlled environment. The pier houses our underwater camera, water chemistry instrument, flow through system as well as various other research instruments and equipment.

Osprey Nest

Watch a family of Ospreys as they raise their chicks on the pier at the mouth of Solomons Harbor. Ospreys usually mate for life and this pair has been coming to the same piling for years. Ospreys lay eggs once a season in early spring. You can watch as the chicks age and soon learn to fly on their own before migrating south with the parents in the fall. The pair will come north again and start the cycle over again. Be sure to check back often to watch the progression.

R/V Rachel Carson

Named after the marine biologist and author of Silent Spring the R/V Rachel Carson is the flagship of the University. Launched in 2008 she is 81 feet long and designed especially for marine science deployments with a trio of powerful winches and a state of the art dynamic position system. You can watch her being fitted up for a deployment by scientists and crew, or watch her docking or setting out.

Gov Thomas Johnson Bridge

Connecting Solomons to St. Mary's county over the Patuxent River, the Gov Thomas Johnson Bridge is one of the life lines bringing to people to Solomons and CBL. You can check the traffic before you head over the bridge or check the sky for weather heading in. You can find more information on the weather from Solomons Live at Solomons Weather.