The Delmarva Peninsula is a large peninsula A peninsula is a piece of land that is surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus.[citation needed] In many Germanic languages, peninsulas are called "half-islands". A peninsula can also be a headland (head), cape, island promontory, bill, point, or spit. Note that a point is generally considered a tapering piece of on the East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the "Eastern Seaboard", refers to the easternmost coastal states in the central and northern United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. In a geographical sense, the term Eastern Seaboard is widely used; in popular usage, the term "East Coast" is of the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, occupied by Delaware Delaware is located in the northeastern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula and is the second smallest state in area . Estimates in 2007 rank the population of Delaware as 45th in the nation, but 6th in population density, with more than 60% of the population in New Castle County. Delaware is divided into three counties. From north to south, these and portions of Maryland Maryland is a major center for life sciences research and development. With more than 350 biotechnology companies located there, Maryland is the third-largest nexus in this field in the United States and Virginia The area's history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony. Land from displaced Native American tribes and slave labor each played a significant role in the colony's early politics and plantation economy. Virginia. The peninsula is almost 180 by 60 miles (300 by 100 km), and is bordered by the Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers 64,299 square miles (166,534 km2) in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. More than 150 on the west, and the Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States. The Delaware was explored by Adriaen Block as part of the New Netherlands Colony, and was named the South River to mark the southernmost reach of that colony, Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is 782 square miles in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware. It was the first site classified in the Western, and Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres , it covers approximately twenty percent of the Earth's surface and about twenty-six percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the " on the east.

The northern isthmus An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side. Of note, the Isthmus of Corinth connects the peninsula of Peloponnese with the rest of the Greek peninsula, the Isthmus of Panama connects the continents of North and South America (the Americas), and the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt connects of the peninsula is transected by the sea-level Chesapeake and Delaware Canal The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a 14-mile (23-km) long, 450-foot (137-m) wide and 40-foot (11-m) deep ship canal that cuts across the states of Maryland and Delaware, in the United States. It connects the waters of the Delaware River with those of the Chesapeake Bay (the emptying point of the Susquehanna River) and the Port of Baltimore. The, so the peninsula could be considered to be an island. Several bridges cross the canal Smaller transportation canals can carry barges or narrowboats, while ship canals allow seagoing ships to travel to an inland port , or from one sea or ocean to another (e.g.: Caledonian Canal, Panama Canal), and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is a major dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the state's rural Eastern Shore region with the more urban Western Shore. The original span opened in 1952 and at the time, with a length of 4.3 miles (7 km), was the world's longest continuous over-water steel structure and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a 23-mile (37-km) long fixed link that connects the Delmarva Peninsula with southeastern Virginia in the United States. It crosses the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and connects the independent city of Virginia Beach, Virginia to Cape Charles in Northampton County along with the rest of the eastern shore of join the peninsula to mainland Mainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders". As a result of the usually larger area of mainland, there are significantly more mainlanders than islanders, and mainlander culture and politics sometimes threaten to Maryland and Virginia, respectively. Another point of access is Lewes, Delaware Lewes is an incorporated city in Sussex County, Delaware, United States, on the Delmarva Peninsula. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,116. It is part of the Seaford, Delaware, Micropolitan Statistical Area, reachable by ferry The Cape May – Lewes Ferry is a ferry system that traverses a 17-mile crossing of the Delaware Bay to connect Cape May, New Jersey with Lewes, Delaware. The ferry doubles as a section of U.S. Route 9 from Cape May Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. It has a population of 4,034 year-round residents . In the summer, Cape May's population swells to over 40,000, New Jersey The area was inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, with historical tribes such as the Lenape along the coast. In the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Swedes made the first European settlements. The English later seized control of the region, naming it the Province of New Jersey. It was granted as a colony to Sir George.

Dover The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware River coastal plain. It was named by William Penn, Delaware's capital city, is the peninsula's largest city by population but the main commercial area is Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury is a city in southeastern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland and the largest city in Maryland's Eastern Shore region. The city's population was 23,743 at the 2000 census. Salisbury is the principal city of the Salisbury, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the Salisbury-Ocean, near its center. Including all offshore islands (the largest of which is Kent Island in Maryland), the total land area south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is 5,454 sq mi (14,127 km²). At the 2000 census The Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census. This was the twenty-second federal census and was at the time the largest the total population was 681,030, giving an average population density of 124.86 persons/sq mi (48.2 persons/km²).

Roughly south of Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Wilmington was named by, is the fall line A fall line is a geomorphologic unconformity (e.g., monoclinal faulting and/or flexing) between an upland region of continental bedrock and an alluvial coastal plain.[citation needed] A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls. Many times a fall line will recede upstream as the river, a geographic borderland where the Piedmont Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division. The province consists of the Piedmont Upland and region transitions into the coastal plain The Atlantic coastal plain is a relatively flat landform extending 2,200 miles from the New York Bight southward to a Georgia/Florida section of the Eastern Continental Divide, which demarcates the plain from the ACF River Basin in the Gulf Coastal Plain to the west. The coastal plain is bordered on the west by the Piedmont plateau and to the east, a flat and sandy area with very few or no hills.

Origin of the name

Delmarva is a portmanteau A portmanteau (pronounced /pɔrtmænˈtoʊ/ , plural: portmanteaus or portmanteaux) or portmanteau word is used to mean a blend of two (or more) words or morphemes and their meanings into one new word. In linguistics, a portmanteau is defined as a single morph which represents two or more morphemes word formed from the names of the states that occupy it: Delaware Delaware is located in the northeastern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula and is the second smallest state in area . Estimates in 2007 rank the population of Delaware as 45th in the nation, but 6th in population density, with more than 60% of the population in New Castle County. Delaware is divided into three counties. From north to south, these, Maryland Maryland is a major center for life sciences research and development. With more than 350 biotechnology companies located there, Maryland is the third-largest nexus in this field in the United States, and Virginia The area's history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony. Land from displaced Native American tribes and slave labor each played a significant role in the colony's early politics and plantation economy. Virginia (abbreviated VA). The earliest uses of the term appear to have been commercial—for example, the Delmarva Heat, Light, and Refrigerating Corp. of Chincoteague, Virginia Chincoteague is a town on Chincoteague Island in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,317 at the 2000 census. The town is perhaps best known for the Chincoteague Ponies, although these are not actually on the island of Chincoteague but on nearby Assateague Island. These ponies and the annual Pony Penning Day are the, was in existence by 1913^[1]—but general use of the term did not occur until the 1920s.^[2]

Political divisions

The border between Maryland and Delaware consists of the east-west Transpeninsular Line The Transpeninsular Line is a surveyed line, the eastern half of which forms the north-south border between Delaware and Maryland. The border turns roughly north from the midpoint of the line towards the Twelve-Mile Circle, which forms much of the remainder of the Delaware border and the perpendicular north-south By Western convention, the bottom side of a map is south; the southern direction has azimuth or bearing of 180° portion of the Mason-Dixon line The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (then part of Virginia). In popular extending up to the Twelve-Mile Circle, which forms Delaware's border with Pennsylvania Pennsylvania has 51 miles of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km) of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. The border between Maryland and Virginia on the peninsula is a surveyed Surveying or land surveying is the technique and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the surface of the Earth, and they are often used to establish land maps and boundaries for ownership or governmental purposes line from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pocomoke River, and then it follows the river to the Chesapeake Bay.

All three counties in Delaware—New Castle New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2000 its population was 500,265. The county seat is Wilmington. The center of population of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of Townsend. It is the most affluent of the three counties in the state of Delaware, Kent Kent County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is coextensive with the Dover, Delaware, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000 the population was 126,697. The county seat is Dover, the state capital. It is named for Kent, an English county, and Sussex Sussex County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2000 the population was 156,638. The county seat is Georgetown. In 2008, the population of the county was estimated to be 188,036, an increase of 20%. The Seaford Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Sussex County—are located on the peninsula (though upper New Castle county only in part). Of the 23 counties A county is a land area of local government within a country. A county may have cities and towns within its area. Originally, in continental Europe, a county was the land under the jurisdiction of a count (conte, comte, conde, Graf) in Maryland, nine are on the Eastern Shore The Eastern Shore of Maryland is composed of the American state's nine counties that are east of the Chesapeake Bay. They are Caroline County, Cecil County, Dorchester County, Kent County, Queen Anne's County, Somerset County, Talbot County, Wicomico County, Worcester County: Kent Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, on its Eastern Shore. It was named for the county of Kent in England. Its county seat is Chestertown. In 2000, the county population was 19,197. It is the least populous of Maryland's 23 counties, Queen Anne's Queen Anne's County is a county located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland, Talbot Talbot County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is bordered by Queen Anne's County to the north, Caroline County to the east, Dorchester County to the south, and the Chesapeake Bay to the west. As of 2000, the population was 33,812. It was named for Grace, Lady Talbot, the wife of Sir Robert Talbot, an Irish statesman, and the, Caroline Caroline County is a wholly rural county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by Queen Anne's County to the north, Talbot County to the west, Dorchester County to the south, Kent County, Delaware, to the east, and Sussex County, Delaware, to the southeast. As of 2000, the population was 29,772. Its county seat, Dorchester Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware, to the east, and the Chesapeake Bay to the west. Dorchester County uses the slogan,, Wicomico, Somerset Somerset County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Maryland, located on the state's Eastern Shore. It was named for Mary, Lady Somerset, the wife of Sir John Somerset and daughter of Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour. She was the sister of Anne Calvert, Baroness Baltimore, née Anne Arundell, the wife of Cæcilius Calvert,, and Worcester Worcester County is the easternmost county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county contains the entire length of the state's Atlantic coast line. It is home to the popular vacation resort area of Ocean City. It was named for an Earl of Worcester. Its county seat is Snow Hill. It is included in the Ocean Pines, Maryland, Micropolitan, as well as a portion of Cecil County Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of the Delaware Valley. It was named for Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore , who was the first Proprietary Governor of the colony of Maryland from 1632 until his death in 1675. The county seat is Elkton. The newspaper of record is the Cecil Whig. As of 2000, the. Two Virginia counties are on the peninsula: Accomack and Northampton.

The following is a list of some of the notable cities and towns in the peninsular region.

• Dover, Delaware, is the state capital.
• Lewes, Delaware, is the site of the first European colonization in Delaware, nicknamed "the first town in the first state," and is a port city for the Cape May-Lewes ferry.
• Ocean City, Maryland, is a popular beach and resort town.
• Crisfield, Maryland, is a notable source of seafood.
• Salisbury, Maryland, is the county seat of Wicomico County and the lower peninsula's only urbanized area.
• Delmar, Maryland, part of the Salisbury Urbanized Area, lies across from its twin (Delmar, Delaware) on the Transpeninsular Line, separated by the Maryland-Delaware border.
• Chincoteague, Virginia, is noted for its wild ponies and its beaches, administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service through Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.
• Princess Anne, Maryland, is the county seat of Somerset County.

At various times in its history, residents of the peninsula have proposed that its Maryland and Virginia portions secede from their respective states, merging with Delaware to create a new state named Delmarva.

History

American Indian peoples

Some studies have shown that Native Americans inhabited the peninsula since about 8000–10000 BC, since the last Ice Age. Agriculture among the Natives was not introduced until about several thousand years later. Before Agriculture, they were Hunter-Gatherers. The natives of Delmarva remained semi-nomadic, their travels revolving around the seasons, their settlements relocated as natural conditions dictated. They set up villages—actually just a scattered group of thatch houses and cultivated gardens—where conditions favored farming. In the spring they planted crops, which the women and children tended while the men hunted and fished. In the fall they harvested crops, storing food in baskets or underground pits. During the harsh winter, whole communities would move to hunting areas, seeking the deer, rabbit and other game that kept them alive until the spring fishing season. When the farmland around their villages became less productive—crop rotation was not practiced—the native people would abandon the site and move to another location.^[3] The primary Indians of the peninsula prior to the arrival of Europeans were the Assateague, including the Assateague, Transquakin, Choptico, Moteawaughkin, Quequashkecaquick, Hatsawap, Wachetak, Marauqhquaick, and Manaskson. They were all under the guidance of the Chief of the Assateague. They ranged from Cape Charles, Virginia to the Indian River inlet in Delaware. The Assateague made a number of treaties with the colony of Maryland, but the land was gradually taken for the use of the colonists, and the native peoples of the peninsula assimilated into other Algonquian tribes as far north as Ontario.

Colonization

The land that is currently Delaware was first colonized by the Dutch West India Company in 1631 as Zwaanendael. That colony lasted one year before a dispute with local Indians led to its destruction. In 1638, New Sweden was established which colonized the northern part of the state, together with the Delaware Valley. Eventually, the Dutch, who had maintained that their claim to Delaware arose from the colony of 1631, recaptured Delaware and incorporated the colony into the Colony of New Netherland.

However, shortly thereafter Delaware came under British control in 1664. James I of England had granted Virginia 400 miles of Atlantic coast centered on Cape Comfort, extending west to the Pacific Ocean to a company of colonists in a series of charters from 1606 to 1611. This included a piece of the peninsula. The land was transferred from the Duke of York to William Penn in 1682 and was governed with Pennsylvania. The exact border was determined by the Chancery Court in 1735. In 1776, the counties of Kent, New Castle, and Sussex declared their independence from Pennsylvania and entered the United States as the State of Delaware.

In the 1632 Charter of Maryland, King Charles I of England granted "all that Part of the Peninsula, or Chersonese, lying in the Parts of America, between the Ocean on the East and the Bay of Chesapeake on the West, divided from the Residue thereof by a Right Line drawn from the Promontory, or Head-Land, called Watkin's Point, situate upon the Bay aforesaid, near the river Wigloo, on the West, unto the main Ocean on the East; and between that Boundary on the South, unto that Part of the Bay of Delaware on the North, which lieth under the Fortieth Degree of North Latitude from the Equinoctial, where New England is terminated" to Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore as the colony of Maryland. This would have included all of present-day Delaware; however, a clause in the charter granted only that part of the peninsula that had not already been colonized by Europeans by 1632. Over a century later, it was decided in the case of Penn v. Lord Baltimore that because the Dutch had colonized Zwaanendael in 1631, that portion of Maryland's charter granting Delaware to Maryland was void.

Economy

The peninsula was the premier location for truck farming of vegetables during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Though it has been largely eclipsed by California's production, the area still produces significant quantities of tomatoes, green beans, corn, soy beans—Queen Anne's County is the largest producer of soy beans in Maryland—and other popular vegetables.

The Eastern Shore is also known for its poultry farms, the most well-known of which is Perdue Farms, founded in Salisbury, Maryland. The Delaware is a rare breed of chicken created on the peninsula.

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