Everything about Delaware Bay totally explained
Delaware Bay is a large
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 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 Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.
The pair of
Delaware Capes that denote the outermost boundary of the Bay with the Atlantic are
Cape Henlopen and
Cape May. The
Cape May-Lewes Ferry crosses the Delaware Bay from
Cape May, New Jersey to
Lewes, Delaware. Management of ports along the bay is the responsibility of the
Delaware River and Bay Authority.
The shores of the bay are largely composed of
salt marshes and mud flats, with only small communities inhabiting the shore of the lower bay. Besides the Delaware, it's fed by numerous smaller streams. The rivers on the Delaware side include (from north to south): the
Christina River, the
Appoquinimink River, the
Leipsic River, the
Smyrna River, the
St. Jones River, and the
Murderkill River. Rivers on the New Jersey side include the
Salem River,
Cohansey River, and the
Maurice River. Several of the rivers hold protected status for the unique salt marsh
wetlands along the shore of the bay. The bay serves as a breeding ground for many aquatic species, including
horseshoe crabs. The bay is also a prime
oystering ground.
History
At the time of the arrival of the
Europeans in the 17th century, the area around the bay was inhabited by the
Lenape. The Indian name for the bay was Poutaxat. The river they called Lenape Wihittuck, which means "the rapid stream of the Lenape". The first recorded European visit to the bay was by
Henry Hudson in 1609. The bay, the river, and the Indian tribe were all renamed after
Lord Delaware (Thomas West, 3rd (or 12th) Baron De La Warr), an Englishman who led the contingent which reinforced the
Jamestown settlement in 1610. In the middle 17th century, an area of the bay was claimed by the
Dutch as part of the
New Netherland colony. It was also settled by the
Swedish, as part of the
New Sweden colony, resulting in conflicts with the Dutch, who eventually took control of the area. After the
British took control of the area, the area of the present day states of Delaware and Pennsylvania was granted to
William Penn, who also controlled the area of
West Jersey on the north side of the river. The area was quickly settled, leading to the growth of
Philadelphia upriver on the Delaware as the largest city in
North America in the 18th century.
The strategic importance of the bay was noticed by the
Marquis de Lafayette during the
American Revolutionary War, 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 it was used as a
Union prison camp.
In 1885, the United States government systematically undertook the formation of a channel wide from
Philadelphia to deep water in Delaware Bay. The
River and Harbor Act of 1899 provided for a channel wide from Philadelphia to the deep water of the bay. The bay today is one of the most important navigational channels in the United States, and is the second busiest waterway in the United States 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 also connected directly to the north end of
Chesapeake Bay by the
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Delaware Bay'.
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