The Flag of Delaware
Delaware ( DEL -ə-wair ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States . It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey to its northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state's name derives from the adjacent Delaware Bay , which in turn was named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr , an English nobleman and the Colony of Virginia 's first colonial-era governor.
Delaware occupies the northeastern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula , and some islands and territory within the Delaware River . It is the 2nd smallest and 6th least populous state, but also the 6th most densely populated . 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; from north to south, the three counties are: New Castle County , Kent County , and Sussex County . The southern two counties, Kent and Sussex counties, historically have been predominantly agrarian economies. New Castle is more urbanized and is considered part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan statistical area that surrounds and includes Philadelphia , the nation's sixth most populous city . Delaware is considered part of the Southern United States by the U.S. Census Bureau , but the state's geography, culture, and history are a hybrid of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the country.
Before Delaware coastline was explored and developed by Europeans in the 16th century, the state was inhabited by several Native American tribes, including the Lenape in the north and Nanticoke in the south. The state was first colonized by Dutch traders at Zwaanendael , near present-day Lewes, Delaware , in 1631. Delaware was one of the Thirteen Colonies that participated in the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War , in which the American Continental Army , led by George Washington , defeated the British , ended British colonization and established the United States as a sovereign and independent nation. On December 7, 1787, Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States , earning it the nickname "The First State". (Full article... )
The following are images from various Delaware-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Seaford (from
Delaware )
Image 2 Fort Delaware , painted circa 1870 by
Seth Eastman . (from
History of Delaware )
Image 3 Dover (from
Delaware )
Image 4 The Blackbird Pond on the
Blackbird State Forest Meadows Tract in
New Castle County, Delaware (from
Delaware )
Image 5 A two-shilling, six-pence banknote issued by Delaware in 1777 (from
Delaware )
Image 7 Picking Peaches in Delaware , an illustration in an 1878 issue of
Harper's Weekly (from
Delaware )
Image 8 Rehoboth Beach , a popular vacation spot during the summer months (from
Delaware )
Image 9 Picking Peaches in Delaware , an illustration in an 1878 issue of
Harper's Weekly (from
Delaware )
Image 10 Map of Delaware (from
Delaware )
Image 12 Map of Delaware (from
Delaware )
Image 13 A field north of Fox Den Road along the Lenape Trail in
Middle Run Valley Natural Area (from
Delaware )
Image 14 Joe Biden , the 46th president of the United States and a
U.S. senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009 (from
Delaware )
Image 18 Dover (from
Delaware )
Image 23 The Köppen climate classification for Delaware (from
Delaware )
Image 24 Newark (from
Delaware )
Image 26 Fort Delaware State Park on
Pea Patch Island , a popular spot during the spring and summer; a ferry takes visitors to the fort from nearby
Delaware City . (from
Delaware )
Image 27 The population density map for Delaware (from
Delaware )
Image 28 Delaware's
license plate design, introduced in 1959, is the longest-running one in U.S. history. (from
Delaware )
Image 30 Fort Delaware State Park on
Pea Patch Island , a popular spot during the spring and summer; a ferry takes visitors to the fort from nearby
Delaware City . (from
Delaware )
Image 31 Delaware was named for
Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr , an English merchant and governor of the
Colony of Virginia from 1610 to 1618. (from
History of Delaware )
Image 32 Seaford (from
Delaware )
Image 33 Rehoboth Beach , a popular vacation spot during the summer months (from
Delaware )
Image 34 A two-shilling, six-pence banknote issued by Delaware in 1777 (from
Delaware )
Image 36 Ethnic origins in Delaware (from
Delaware )
Image 38 A field north of Fox Den Road along the Lenape Trail in
Middle Run Valley Natural Area (from
Delaware )
Image 39 Joe Biden , the 46th president of the United States and a
U.S. senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009 (from
Delaware )
Image 40 The Blackbird Pond on the
Blackbird State Forest Meadows Tract in
New Castle County, Delaware (from
Delaware )
Image 43 The population density map for Delaware (from
Delaware )
Image 45 Ethnic origins in Delaware (from
Delaware )
Image 47 The Köppen climate classification for Delaware (from
Delaware )
Image 48 Nautical chart of the
Dutch colony Zwaanendael and Godyn's Bay (
Delaware Bay ), 1639 (from
History of Delaware )
Image 50 Delaware's
license plate design, introduced in 1959, is the longest-running one in U.S. history. (from
Delaware )
Image 51 Newark (from
Delaware )
... that the 2024 inductees to the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame include a man with Down syndrome who has lifted 425 pounds (193 kg), an "average gymnast" turned Olympics judge, a "preeminent sportswriter" , the state's "greatest high hurdler" , the "inventor" of the modern sports mascot, a record-setting 10-year-old , a champion gymnast , an Olympic field hockey player , and a pro baseball player in five countries?
... that Delaware weekly newspaper The Faulkland Quiz was founded, edited and published by an 18-year-old?
... that the only purpose of the Delaware Straight-Out Truth Teller was to promote a political candidate?
... that Paul Chadick performed so well in the Delaware River Basketball League that a sportswriter said it would "benefit the league if he retired"?
... that Dave Frederick has been referred to as the "Sussex County humorist-teacher-writer-radio-host-philosopher dude"?
... that Delaware politician Armwell Long was said to have once outranked his close friend, George Washington ? (See discussions regarding this hook at Talk:Armwell Long .)
Entries here consist of Good articles , which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
Delaware Route 17 (
DE 17 ) is a two-lane undivided
state highway located in
Sussex County ,
Delaware . The route runs in a northeast-southwest direction between
DE 54 in
Selbyville and
DE 26 west of
Millville , crossing
DE 20 in
Roxana . It is called Bethany Road within Selbyville and Roxana Road for the remainder of its length. The route passes through rural areas of southeastern Sussex County. DE 17 serves to connect Selbyville with the
Bethany Beach area. The route was built as a state highway in the 1920s and received the DE 17 designation by 1938. (
Full article... )
List of selected roadway articles
Largest cities or towns in Delaware 2018 United States Census Bureau Estimate
Rank
Name
County
Municipal pop.
Wilmington Dover
1
Wilmington
New Castle
70,635
Newark Middletown
2
Dover
Kent
38,079
3
Newark
New Castle
33,673
4
Middletown
New Castle
22,582
5
Smyrna
New Castle/Kent
11,580
6
Milford
Kent/Sussex
11,353
7
Seaford
Sussex
7,861
8
Georgetown
Sussex
7,427
9
Elsmere
New Castle
5,981
10
New Castle
New Castle
5,529
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