The Eastern Shore of Virginia occupies seventy miles of the Delmarva peninsula, which it shares with part of Maryland and the state of Delaware. Until the 1960s, the Eastern Shore had no fixed connection to the mainland of Virginia, and thus was socially and economically oriented more toward Maryland than to Virginia. However, the people there cherished their Virginia citizenship, and the completion of the 17.6-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (regarded as one of the engineering wonders of the modern world) gave the Eastern Shore the connection to the mainland that it had long sought. The Eastern Shore is predominantly agricultural, however the seafood industry is the most important feature of some communities. The Eastern Shore was one of the first places in Tidewater to be settled, and has numerous historic relics. The Eastern Shore is an outdoors country, where large areas remain virtually unused, resulting in controversy between developers and environmentalists who want to keep the wetlands and the national preserves protected by law.
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Eastern Shore
