Delaware Geography from NETSTATE (original) (raw)

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| Longitude / Latitude | Longitude: 75° 2' W to 75° 47' WLatitude: 38° 27' N to 39° 50' N | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Length x Width | Tiny Delaware, the second smallest state, is only 100 miles long and 30 miles wide. | | | Geographic CenterExplanation | Thegeographic center of Delaware is located in Kent County, 11 miles SW of Dover, the state capital.Longitude: 75° 30.7'WLatitude: 38° 58.8'N | | | Borders | Delaware is bordered in the north byPennsylvania and in the south and west by Maryland. To the northeast of Delaware, across the Delaware River and Delaware Bay lies New Jersey. On the east, Delaware is bordered by theAtlantic Ocean. | | | Total Area | Delaware covers 2,489 square miles. If it weren't forRhode Island, Delaware would be the smallest of the50 states. | | | Land Area | 1,955 square miles of Delaware are land areas. | | | Water Area | 535 square miles of Delaware are covered by water. | | | Highest Point | The highest point in Delaware is only 450 feet above sea level; in a mobile home park just west of Ebright Road. Ebright Road is in northern Delaware near the Pennsylvania border. | | | Lowest Point | The lowest point in Delaware is at the shore where Delaware meets the Atlantic Ocean; sea level. | | | Mean Elevation | The Mean Elevation of the state of Delaware is 60 feet above sea level. | | | Major Rivers | Delaware River,Mispillion River,Nanticoke River | | | Major Lakes | None | |

The Land
Delaware shares the Delmarva Peninsula with parts of Maryland and Virginia. Delaware's small size doesn't leave much room for major or varied land forms and most of the state lies on a low, flat coastal plain. In general, Delaware slopes down from a piedmont plateau in the north to a near sea level coastal plain in the east and south. Delaware is situated such that it is part of two major land regions; the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the Piedmont. Atlantic Coastal Plain: TheAtlantic Plain runs over 2,200 miles from Cape Cod along the eastern seaboard of the United States and around the Gulf of Mexico to the Mexico border. Except for a small area in the north, most of Delaware's land area is part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. This land is flat and not very high. It rarely reaches more than 80 feet above sea level. The southern boundary of Delaware is swampland; 30,000 acres of swamp! Piedmont: The Piedmont stretches from New Jersey south toAlabama. Crossing the northern edge of Delaware, the Piedmont is about 10 miles wide at its widest point within the state. The Piedmont is marked by rolling hills. The highest point in Delaware, located nearEbright Road, is located in the Piedmont region. ( Delaware Close-up )

The Land

Delaware shares the Delmarva Peninsula with parts of Maryland and Virginia. Delaware's small size doesn't leave much room for major or varied land forms and most of the state lies on a low, flat coastal plain. In general, Delaware slopes down from a piedmont plateau in the north to a near sea level coastal plain in the east and south. Delaware is situated such that it is part of two major land regions; the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the Piedmont. Atlantic Coastal Plain: TheAtlantic Plain runs over 2,200 miles from Cape Cod along the eastern seaboard of the United States and around the Gulf of Mexico to the Mexico border. Except for a small area in the north, most of Delaware's land area is part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. This land is flat and not very high. It rarely reaches more than 80 feet above sea level. The southern boundary of Delaware is swampland; 30,000 acres of swamp! Piedmont: The Piedmont stretches from New Jersey south toAlabama. Crossing the northern edge of Delaware, the Piedmont is about 10 miles wide at its widest point within the state. The Piedmont is marked by rolling hills. The highest point in Delaware, located nearEbright Road, is located in the Piedmont region. ( Delaware Close-up )

Climate (All temperatures Fahrenheit)
Highest Temperature	The highest temperature recorded in Delaware is 110°, Fahrenheit. This record high was recorded on July 21, 1930 at Millsboro.
Lowest Temperature	The lowest temperature marked in Delaware, -17°, was recorded on January 17, 1893, also at Millsboro.
Average Temperature	Monthly average temperatures range from a high of 85.6 degrees to a low of 23.2 degrees.
Climate	Average yearly precipitation for Delaware, from 1971 to 2000, is shown onthis chart from Oregon State University.