The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that Maryland shares with Delaware and Virginia.

The region is politically more conservative than the rest of the state, generally returning more votes for Republicans than Democrats in statewide and national elections.

Developed in the colonial and federal period for agriculture, the Eastern Shore has remained a relatively rural region.

Because of its coastal and low-lying geography, the region is vulnerable to extreme weather events, including hurricanes and larger environmental issues like climate change and rising sea levels.

The Eastern Shore of Maryland comprises Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester counties.

This line ran northeast from Watkins Point in the Chesapeake through the James L. Horsey Farm and beyond to the Atlantic, but was ultimately never observed due to poor marking.

The geology of Delmarva is an inseparable part of the Eastern Shore, which has few rocky outcrops south of Kent County.

While it was a shallow canal with locks after its construction in 1829, it was deepened in the early 20th century to sea level, and physically separates the Delmarva Peninsula from the rest of the United States.

It was surveyed as a compromise solution to a century-long wrangle over colonial territory between the Penn and Calvert families of England.

If the Chesapeake Bay/Delaware Bay watershed divide had been taken as the borderline, the state of Delaware would be about half its current size.

In 1631, he sailed north up the Chesapeake Bay from its south and west side to the area known today as Kent Island.

The inlet was cut not by waves sweeping inland, but by 4 or 5 days' worth of freshwater runoff from the coastal creeks running seaward.

Maryland's Eastern Shore was served by branch lines running generally southwest from the main route.

Queen Anne's, Caroline, Wicomico, and Worcester counties have voted Republican at every election subsequent to Lyndon Johnson's landslide.

Gilchrest held the seat until 2008, when State Senator Andy Harris defeated him in the Republican primary.

Harris narrowly lost the subsequent general election to Democrat Frank Kratovil, Queen Anne's County state's attorney.

At the southern end of the town, a recreational boardwalk spans over thirty blocks, containing carnival rides and games, restaurants, bars, arcades, and clothing boutiques.

Tourists visit St. Michaels on a neck surrounded by water; the colonial former port of Oxford; Chestertown; and isolated Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay.

At the southern end of the Chesapeake coast of Maryland, the town of Crisfield is home to a fishing, crabbing, and seafood processing industry.

Because of its low-lying geography and sandy soil, the region is particularly vulnerable to sea level rise and salt water intrusion.

[23] The Eastern Shore's economy depends on the larger fisheries and farming, both of which are sensitive to climate change.