Wye River (Maryland)

For other rivers named "Wye", see River Wye (disambiguation).

The Wye River is a branch of the Chesapeake Bay, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It was named by the Lloyd family, Edward Lloyd (delegate), and Edward Lloyd (Governor of Maryland) after the River Wye in Wales.

It falls within Queen Anne's County and Talbot County, and joins the Miles River near its mouth to the Eastern Bay. The river is very popular with recreational boaters because of its many secluded ancorages, fishing, crabbing, natural beauty and proximity to the tourist attractions of St. Michaels, Maryland.

Like many rivers on the Chesapeake Bay, the Wye is largely tidal.

The river's most notable feature is the 2,800 acre Wye Island, most of which is part of the Wye Island Natural Resources Management Area, managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources State Forest and Park Service. William Paca, the third governor of Maryland and a signatory to the Declaration of Independence, once owned the island.

The nearby Aspen Institute Wye River Conference Centers (sections of which were formerly known as the "Wye River plantation") hosted the 1998 Mideast Peace talks attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and hosted by US President Bill Clinton.

Main article: Wye River Memorandum

Elián González and his father stayed there briefly in 2000.^[1]

Water quality is threatened by development.^[2]