Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The bay is bordered inland by the states of

and

, and its mouth is framed by Cape Henlopen in Delaware and Cape May in New Jersey, on the Atlantic. Delaware Bay is bordered by six counties: Sussex, Kent, and New Castle in Delaware, and Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem in New Jersey. The Cape May–Lewes Ferry crosses Delaware Bay from North Cape May, New Jersey, to Lewes, Delaware. The bay's ports are managed by the Delaware River and Bay Authority. The shores of the bay are largely composed of salt marshes and mudflats, with only small communities inhabiting the shore of the lower bay. Several of the rivers hold protected status for their salt marsh wetlands bordering the bay, which serves as a breeding ground for many aquatic species, including horseshoe crabs. The bay is also a prime oystering ground. Delaware Bay was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on May 20, 1992. It was the first site classified in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.

Hydrology

Delaware Bay is the ria of the Delaware River, i.e. the drowned river valley that had been the river’s alluvial plain in periods of lower sea level during the

Quaternary glaciation The Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, is an alternating series of glacial period, glacial and interglacial, interglacial periods during the Quaternary period that began 2.58 Year#SI prefix multipliers, Ma (million ...

. While the Delaware River is by far the largest tributary of Delaware Bay, numerous smaller rivers and streams also drain to the bay. These include the Appoquinimink River, Leipsic River, Smyrna River, St. Jones River, Mispillion River, Broadkill River and Murderkill Rivers on the Delaware side, and the Salem River, Cohansey River, and Maurice Rivers on the New Jersey side.

Ecology

Delaware Bay ecosystem is a key stopover site for over 30 species of migrating shorebirds that migrate north come May. Many birds like red knots use this Bay area to fuel up their energy reserves on horseshoe crab eggs after the long journey. Delaware Bay hosts the largest population of horseshoe crabs in the world.

History

At the time of the arrival of the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

ans in the early 17th century, the area around the bay was inhabited by the Native American Lenape people. They called the Delaware River "Lenape Wihittuck", which means "the rapid stream of the Lenape". Delaware Bay was called "Poutaxat", which means "near the falls". Delaware Place Names

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

In 1523, Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón had received from Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor a grant for the land explored in 1521 by Francisco Gordillo and slave trader Captain Pedro de Quejo (de Quexo). Ayllón sent Quejo northward in 1525 and received reports of the coastline from as far north as Delaware Bay. That same year, De Ayllon and Captain Quejo called Delaware Bay by the name "Saint Christopher's Bay". In the 1600s, the bay was known as "Niew Port May" after Captain Cornelius May. Another recorded European visit to the bay was by Henry Hudson, who claimed it for the Dutch East India Company in 1609. The Dutch called the estuary "Godyns Bay", or "Godins Bay" after a director of the company, Samuel Godijn. As part of the New Netherland colony, the Dutch established several settlements (the most famous being Zwaanendael) on the shores of the bay and explored its coast extensively. The thin nature of the corporate colony's presence in the bay and along what was called the South River (now the Delaware) made it possible for Peter Minuit, the former director of New Netherland, to establish a competing Swedish sponsored settlement, New Sweden in 1638. The resulting dispute with the Dutch colonial authorities in New Amsterdam (New York City) was settled when Petrus Stuyvesant led a Dutch military force into the area in 1655. After the English took title to the New Netherland colony in 1667 at the Treaty of Breda the bay came into their possession and was renamed Delaware Bay, the name given it in 1610 by Samuel Argall, after the then new Governor of Virginia, Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. The Native American tribe living along the bay and river were later called the Delaware by the Europeans due to their location. The U.S. state also takes its name from the bay and the river. Conflicting crown grants were made to the

James, Duke of York James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

and

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

on the west bank of the bay and river. Settlement grew rapidly, leading

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, upriver on the Delaware, to become the largest city in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

in the 18th century. Penn viewed access to Delaware Bay as being so critical to Pennsylvania's survival that he engaged in an eighty-year long legal boundary dispute with the Calvert family to secure it. During the French and Indian War the dissemination of Joshua Fisher's original publication of the "Chart of Delaware Bay" was restricted by the authorities as its accuracy might advantage an enemy approach. In 1782 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, Continental Navy

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Joshua Barney fought with a British squadron within the bay. Barney's force of three sloops defeated a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

frigate, a sloop-of-war and a Loyalist privateer. The strategic importance of the bay was noticed by the Marquis de Lafayette during the

, who proposed the use of Pea Patch Island at the head of the bay for a defensive fortification to protect the important ports Philadelphia and New Castle, Delaware. Fort Delaware was later constructed on Pea Patch Island. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

it was used as a Union prison camp. In 1855, the United States government systematically undertook the formation of a channel wide from

to deep water in Delaware Bay. The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 provided for a channel wide from Philadelphia to the deep water of the bay. Other names for the bay have been "South Bay" and "Zuyt Baye".

Today

The bay is one of the most important navigational channels in the United States; it is the second busiest waterway after the Mississippi River. Its lower course forms part of the Intracoastal Waterway. The need for direct navigation around the two capes into the ocean is circumvented by the Cape May Canal and the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal at the north and south capes respectively. The upper bay is connected directly to the north end of Chesapeake Bay by the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The U.S Coast Guard sector for Delaware Bay was established in 2005, and has 570 active personnel, and 195 reservists.

References

External links

Delaware Riverkeeper NetworkDiscover Delaware Bay New Jersey
* * {{Authority control Bays of Delaware Bays of New Jersey Bay Estuaries of Delaware Estuaries of New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway Bodies of water of Cape May County, New Jersey Bodies of water of Cumberland County, New Jersey Bodies of water in New Castle County, Delaware Bodies of water in Kent County, Delaware Bodies of water of Salem County, New Jersey Bodies of water in Sussex County, Delaware Borders of Delaware Borders of New Jersey Ramsar sites in the United States Bays of Sussex County, Delaware