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The official website of the State of Delaware. Find information about state government, programs, and services. The First State is located in the Northeast U.S.
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Delaware's most populous city is Wilmington, and the state's capital is Dover, the 2nd most populous city in Delaware. The state is divided into three counties, the fewest number of counties of any of the 50 U.S. states; [b] from north to south, the three counties are: New Castle County, Kent County, and Sussex County.
Feb 16, 2023 · Learn about the geography, history, and culture of Delaware, the second smallest state in the US. Find maps of its counties, cities, rivers, and borders.
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Delaware, constituent state of the United States of America. The first of the original 13 states to ratify the federal Constitution, it occupies a small niche in the Boston–Washington, D.C., urban corridor along the Middle Atlantic seaboard. It ranks 49th among the 50 U.S. states in terms of total area and is one of the most densely populated. The state is organized into three counties—from north to south, New Castle, Kent, and Sussex—all established by 1682. Its population, like its industry, is concentrated in the north, around Wilmington, where the major coastal highways and railways pass through from Pennsylvania and New Jersey on the north and east into Maryland on the south and west. The rest of the state comprises the northeastern corner of the Delmarva Peninsula, which Delaware shares with Maryland and Virginia (hence its name). Most state government operations are located in Dover, the capital.
Historically, geographically, and economically, Delaware has had close ties with Pennsylvania, particularly the city of Philadelphia, where the Delaware River and other transportation arteries direct its commerce. The stability and conservatism that were once characteristics of Delaware, especially in the southern areas that lie adjacent to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, long maintained a grip on political life vastly out of proportion to their proponents’ numbers.
Delaware, located mainly within the Atlantic Coastal Plain, is second only to Florida for having the lowest average elevation. A long sand beach forms the state’s oceanfront, stretching from the border with Maryland, at Fenwick Island, north to Cape Henlopen, at the mouth of Delaware Bay. Only one major break, Indian River Inlet, occurs along the 23-mile (37-km) length of the beach. Much of the beach is a low bar between the ocean and a series of lagoons or shallow bays, but at Bethany Beach, near the southern boundary, and again at Rehoboth Beach, near the northern end, the mainland reaches directly to the ocean.
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Much of the shoreline of Delaware Bay is marshy. The mouths of tributaries such as the Murderkill, the Mispillion, and the St. Jones are so shallow that only fishing boats find safe harbours north of Lewes. Farther north, on the banks of the Delaware River, spots of high, dry land appear, as at Port Penn, New Castle, and Edgemoor. The state’s main port, at Wilmington, is located at the confluence of the Delaware River and the Christina, one of its tributaries.
Most of Delaware is drained by streams that run eastward to the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean, but the Nanticoke River and its tributaries in southwestern Delaware flow into Chesapeake Bay. So does the Pocomoke River, which drains the Cypress Swamp, or so-called “Burnt Swamp,” in the extreme south of Delaware, athwart the Maryland line.
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Discover what makes the First State unique. View interesting Delaware facts and symbols and learn about their origins and meaning.
Whether it’s in the softness of a countryside vineyard or being whisked away to a sun-splashed beach oasis, you can find experiences that spark a renewed sense of adventure and the moments we’ve been waiting for that bring us closer together. Learn More.
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The Government of Delaware encompasses the administrative structure of the US state of Delaware as established by its 1897 constitution. Analogously to the US federal government, it is composed of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
