Delmarva Peninsula

peninsula, United States
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Delmarva Peninsula, portion of the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States, extending southward between the Chesapeake Bay (west) and the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, and Atlantic Ocean (east). Encompassing parts of the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia (hence its name), the peninsula is approximately 180 miles (290 km) long and up to 70 miles (110 km) wide. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel links Cape Charles, at the peninsula’s southern tip, to Norfolk, Va. The William Preston Lane, Jr., Memorial Bridge crosses Chesapeake Bay, linking the peninsula with Annapolis, Md., to the west, and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal cuts across its narrow isthmus in the north. Fishing, tourism, poultry raising, and market gardening are the main industries. The commercial centre is Salisbury, Md.