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The Delaware Bay is a bay leading into the Atlantic Ocean from the Delaware River. It lies along the coast of the United States of America along the shores of the states of New Jersey and Delaware. The Capes Henlopen and May are at the entrance to the bay and are referred to as the Delaware Capes by some. Several waterways run into the Delaware Bay from New Jersey and Delaware. From the New Jersey side some of them are; the Christina River, the Appoquinimink River, the Leipsic River, the Smyrna River and the St. Jones River. From the Delaware side some of them are; the Salem River, the Cohansey River and the Maurice River. Most of the basin area of the bay are salt marshes and under a protected status.
The land surrounding the bay area was originally owned by the Lenape Indians, but was taken from them by the Europeans in the early 1600s. The Bay has been claimed by the Duth, Swedish and British during its history. Because of its strategic location it was settled rather quickly by colonists and was instrumental in the growth of the New England area all the way south to Pennsylvania. The importance of the bay dates back to the late 1800s when the government of the United States of America built a large channel reaching from the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the Delaware Bay making it as it today one of the busiest waterways in the country. |
