inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean, on the east coast of the United States, forming part of the New Jersey–Delaware state border. The bay extends southeastward for 52 miles (84 km) from the junction of the Delaware River with the Alloway Creek to the entrance (12 miles 【19 km】 wide) between Cape May, N.J., and Cape Henlopen, Del. Bordered mainly by marshy lowlands, the bay is an important link in the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It serves Philadelphia to the north by means of a channel in the Delaware River that is 32 feet (10 m) deep and 600 feet (180 m) wide.