Indian River Bay is a body of water in Sussex County,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. It is part of Delaware's inland bay system, along with

Little Assawoman Bay Little Assawoman Bay is a body of water in Sussex County, Delaware. It is connected from Assawoman Bay to the south by a narrow canal known locally as "The Ditch," and is connected to Indian River Bay Indian River Bay is a body of water in Sus ...

and

Rehoboth Bay Rehoboth Bay is a body of water in Sussex County, Delaware. It is connected to the Broadkill River by the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal. It is part of Delaware's inland bay system, along with Little Assawoman Bay and Indian River Bay. Of Delaware's ...

. Fed by the Indian River at its western end, the bay is connected to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to the east via the

Indian River Inlet The Indian River is a river and estuary, approximately long, in Sussex County in southern Delaware in the United States. The river is named after a Native American reservation that was located on its upper reaches. The Indian River rises approx ...

. A natural waterway that shifted up and down a two-mile (3.2 km) stretch of the coast until 1928, the inlet was kept in its current location by

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

between 1928 and 1937, and in 1938 was fixed in place by the construction of

jetties A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

.Titus, M. Patricia, "Ball now in state’s court on IR Inlet Bridge," ''Coastal Point'', undated.
/ref> The Charles W. Cullen Bridge, commonly known as the

Indian River Inlet Bridge The Indian River Inlet Bridge (officially the Charles W. Cullen Bridge) is a cable-stayed bridge located in Sussex County, Delaware, in the United States. It carries four lanes of Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) over the Indian River Inlet between the ...

, spans the inlet. Indian River Bay is unique among Delaware's inland bays in that it is a

drowned river valley A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Definitions Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they c ...

, whereas Delaware's other bays are

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

built on

sand bar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It o ...

s.Delaware Inland Bays Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan
. Center for the Inland Bays, 1995. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.

Recreation

Boating, fishing, shellfishing, and crabbing are among the most common recreational uses of Indian River Bay. In addition, the bay is bordered by several protected environmental areas, including

Delaware Seashore State Park Delaware Seashore State Park is located near Dewey Beach, in Delaware, United States. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by Rehoboth Bay and Indian River Bay. The park covers . It is a major attraction for millions o ...

Holts Landing State Park Holts Landing State Park is a Delaware state park northwest of Bethany Beach, Sussex County, Delaware, USA. Prior to becoming a state park the land of Holts Landing State Park was the Holt family farm. The Holts sold the land to the state of ...

, and the Assawoman Wildlife Area.Discover Delaware's Inland Bays
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.

Pollution

Most pollution of the Indian River Bay is due to agricultural and

urban runoff Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain , storms and other precipit ...

. Two solutions have been proposed. The first requires cutting an inlet through

, which would involve building a bridge and jetty. The other is dredging and widening the

Assawoman Canal The Assawoman Canal is a canal in Sussex County, Delaware. The canal links the Indian River Bay to the north with the Little Assawoman Bay to the south. It is bordered by Bethany Beach and South Bethany to the east and Ocean View to the west. B ...

to improve the flow of tidal water to and from Indian River Bay and the Indian River Inlet.

References

Bays of Delaware Bays of Sussex County, Delaware {{Delaware-geo-stub