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Delaware

  • Places
  • Grades 3-4
  • 279 words
  • Also written for younger readers

Quick facts

Capital
Dover
Largest city
Wilmington
Nickname
The First State
Motto
"Liberty and Independence"
Abbreviation
DE
Became a state
December 7, 1787 (the 1st state)
Area
2,489 sq mi (6,446 km²)
Population (2020)
1,059,952

Facts from Wikipedia’s “Delaware” page (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Delaware () is a state in the United States. It is sometimes called the First State because it was the first colony to accept the new constitution in 1787. Its capital is Dover and its biggest city is Wilmington. It is the 2nd smallest state in the United States. Delaware is divided into three counties.

The Dutch first settled Delaware. The Swedish then took over in the mid-1600s.

Geography

Delaware is 96 miles (150 km) long and ranges from 9 miles to 35 miles (56 km) across, totaling 1,954 square miles (5,061 km²), making it the 2nd-smallest state in the United States after Rhode Island. Delaware is bounded to the north by Pennsylvania; to the east by the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean; and to the west and south by Maryland.

Topography

Delaware is on a flat plain, with the lowest mean elevation of any state in the nation. Its highest elevation, located at Ebright Azimuth, near Concord High School, is less than 450 feet above sea level.

Environment

The transitional climate of Delaware supports a wide variety of vegetation. In the northern third of the state are found Northeastern coastal forests and mixed Oak forests typical of the northeastern United States. In the southern two-thirds of the state are found Middle Atlantic coastal forests. Trap Pond State Park, along with areas in other parts of Sussex County, for example, support the northernmost stands of bald cypress trees in North America.

Environmental management

Delaware provides government subsidy support for the clean-up of property “lightly contaminated” by hazardous waste. The money for this cleanup comes from a tax on wholesale petroleum sales.

Sister cities and states

Delaware’s sister state in Japan is Miyagi Prefecture.

Written for younger readers

Delaware, in simpler words

This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.

From Wikijunior: North America

Delaware is a state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Delaware was one of the 13 original states participating in the American Revolution and on December 7, 1787, became the first to ratify the Constitution of the United States. Delaware is located in the eastern section of the Delmarva Peninsula, between Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay, and is the second smallest state after Rhode Island. The capital of Delaware is Dover and its largest city is Wilmington.

The Dutch first established the Zwaneenendael Colony in 1631, although it was soon wiped out by local Native American tribes. The Swedes and Finns later established New Sweden, which survived until 1655 when the Dutch returned to conquer the region. Delaware Colony was established in 1664 after the English seized New Amsterdam (now New York City) from the Dutch. Delaware Colony was originally governed by New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, until Pennsylvania allowed the colony to govern itself in 1704. Delaware was one of the 13 colonies participating in the American Revolution, and on December 7, 1878, became the first state to ratify the Constitution, making it the first colony to officially become a state.

Delaware has a total area of 1,954 square miles (5,060 km 2 ). It is the second-smallest state after Rhode Island. It is bordered to the north by Pennsylvania, to the east by the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west and south by Maryland. The state of Delaware, along with the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland and two counties of Virginia, form the Delmarva Peninsula.

In 2020, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of Delaware was 989,948. English is the most-spoken language (91%), followed by (in order) Spanish (5%), French (0.7%), and Chinese and German (0.5%).

In 2010, 68.9% of people in Delaware were White/Caucasian, 21.4% were Black, 3.2% were Asian, and 0.5% were Native American.

  • The state’s official nickname is The First State. Other unofficial nicknames include The Diamond State, The Blue Hen State, and Small Wonder
  • The state motto is “Liberty and Independence”
  • The state colors are colonial blue and buff
  • The state fruit is the strawberry
  • The state dessert is peach pie
  • The state song is “Our Delaware”
  • The state bird is the Delaware Blue Hen
  • The state tree is the American holly
  • The state flower is the peach blossom
  • The state bug is the lady bug
  • The state mineral is sillimanite
  • The state fish is the weakfish
  • The state beverage is milk
  • The state herb is sweet goldenrod
  • The state fossil is belenmite
  • The state butterfly is the eastern tiger swallowtail
  • The state soil is Greenwich loam
  • The state star is the Delaware Diamond
  • The state animals are the grey fox and horseshoe crab
  • The state macro invertebrate is the stonefly
  • The state tall ship is the Kalmar Nyckel

Where this page comes from

The article above is adapted from “Delaware” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.

Both sources are published under CC BY-SA 4.0, so this page is published under the same licence. You may share and adapt it, including commercially, as long as you credit the original and keep the same licence.

Worksheets, answer keys and printable layouts elsewhere on K5Print are our own work and are not covered by this licence.