Tidewater

The Tidewater region covers the low lying Atlantic coastal plain of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and North Carolina east of the fall line, including southeastern Virginia, eastern Maryland, the Eastern Shore, the Delmarva Peninsula, the Chesapeake Bay area, and parts of northeastern North Carolina. It takes its name from the effect of ocean tides on the region rivers, sounds, and shorelines, an influence that reaches well inland in many places. The region has a distinctive cultural history stretching back centuries, including local dialects of English that are gradually disappearing, along with notable ecological features such as receding shorelines and isolated island communities.