Delmarva (also known as the Eastern Shore) is a peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, east of the capital Washington DC. It's made up of Delaware and parts of Maryland and Virginia. To the north, it is bordered by the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The name is a portmanteau of Delaware, Maryland and the abbreviation for Virginia, Va.

Regions

Delaware North-eastern and north-central Delmarva.

Maryland's Eastern Shore

Virginia's Eastern Shore

Cities

• 1 Wilmington - If counted as part of Delmarva, it is by far the peninsula's largest city.
• 2 Chestertown
• 3 Salisbury

Understand

Delmarva is often considered to begin at the C&D Canal, which serves as Delaware's internal Mason-Dixon Line, separating the Northern metropolis of Wilmington from the rest of the state. Delmarva was largely isolated from the rest of Maryland until the construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in 1952. As a result, values tend to be conservative and closely related to Virginia, as opposed to the western portion of Maryland, which is perceived by locals as more liberal. For this reason, many residents take offense being compared to Marylanders from across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Many, if not most, residents of the peninsula consider themselves Southerners (Wilmington aside). Delaware and Maryland were border states during the Civil War, while Virginia was seat of the Confederate government in Richmond. Some may jump to the conclusion that Shoremen are racist because they consider themselves Southerners and live in an isolated area. This is not true and is generally not true for any other Southern country area either.

Climate

You might be from Delaware if you once thought that you might have a White Christmas... and then it rained.

The weather in Delmarva varies greatly from season to season. Summers are almost always hot, very humid, and unpleasant. The air quality is accordingly poor. Winters can get bitterly cold and rainy, although it rarely snows heavily. Spring and fall are generally the nicest seasons, although snow storms can arrive in April, and heat waves can hit in late November. Delmarva weather is unpredictable, the only real way to prepare would be to carry an umbrella and pray for sunshine. Average monthly temperatures in Delaware range from a high of 85.6 degrees to a low of 23.2 degrees.