Assateague Island National Seashore is a unit of the National Park Service system of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Located on the East Coast along the Atlantic Ocean in Maryland and Virginia, Assateague Island is the largest natural barrier island ecosystem in the Middle Atlantic states region that remains predominantly unaffected by human development. Located within a three-hour drive to the east and south of Richmond, Washington, Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia major metropolitan areas plus north of the several clustered smaller cities around Hampton Roads harbor of Virginia with Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. The National Seashore offers a setting in which to experience a dynamic barrier island and to pursue a multitude of recreational opportunities. The stated mission of the park is to preserve and protect “unique coastal resources and the natural ecosystem conditions and processes upon which they depend, provide high-quality resource-based recreational opportunities compatible with resource protection and educate the public as to the values and significance of the area”.
Assateague Island encompasses a 37-mile-long barrier island, adjacent marsh islands and waters in Maryland and Virginia, and the Assateague Island Visitor Center on the Maryland mainland. 41,346 acres of land and water are within the seashore’s boundaries. The island consists of three public areas; Assateague Island National Seashore (managed by the National Park Service), Assateague State Park (managed by the Maryland Park Service of the Department of Natural Resources) and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).
Geography
The park is located on a barrier island shaped by the stormy seas and gentle winds along the coast of the Delmarva Peninsula. The island is approximately long, yet never more than a mile wide. The park is divided into the Maryland District in the north and the Virginia District in the south. It is not possible to drive down the island from one district to the other. All automobile traffic must travel through the mainland to access one end of the island from the other.
The Maryland District of Assateague Island extends from the Ocean City Inlet to the Virginia state line. The Assateague Island National Seashore visitor center, campground, three nature trails, lifeguarded beach, and park headquarters and the smaller Assateague State Park sits within the borders of this district. The only access to the Maryland District is via the Verrazano Bridge on Maryland Route 611.
The Virginia District of Assateague Island extends from the Maryland state line south to the Chincoteague Inlet. This area of the island is designated as the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and is managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). However, the National Park Service operates with a recreational beach, lifeguarded area and visitor center within a one-mile parking and visitor use section. This collaboration between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service is defined in an agreement or Memorandum of Understanding.The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on the southern end of Assateague Island should not be confused with Chincoteague Island, the neighboring island to the west with a residential community on it. One must drive through Chincoteague Island in order to reach the Virginia District.
Geology and hydrology
Assateague Island is part of a chain of barrier islands that extend from Maine to Texas. The island is built from sand moving south via longshore drift building the island's length. The source of the sand is erosion and run-off from the Appalachian Mountains. The island is moving westward as a result of natural barrier processes during storms. Water washes over the island, sending beach sand backward toward the bay. This barrier island “rollover” is accelerated as the climate changes and the sea level rises. This condition is most pronounced at the northern end of the island, where Ocean City's jetties have stabilized the islands north of the Ocean City Inlet and have starved Assateague of new sand. As a result, Assateague's beach is shifted several hundred meters westwards compared to Ocean City's. The inlet was formed during the 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane, separating Fenwick and Assateague islands, and a jetty was immediately constructed to stabilize the inlet. After severe nor'easters in 1998, a sand replenishment program was undertaken to restore a sand supply to the north end of Assateague and to ensure a continuing supply.