Maryland General Information
GENERAL
Abbreviated as MD on ABBREVIATIONFINDER.ORG, Maryland is a US state on the Atlantic coast, part of the Capital Region, with about 5.4 million residents on 25,316 km². Its capital since 1694 is Annapolis.
Nickname
Old Line State; Free State
Capital
Annapolis
Biggest town
Baltimore
Area
Rank (within the US): 42nd out of 50 states
Total: 32,160 km²
Land: 25,338 km²
Water (%): -6,968 km² (21%)
Residents
Rank (within the US): 19th out of 50 states
Total (2000): 5,296,486
Density: 165 / km²
State membership
Place: 7th
Since: April 28, 1788
GEOGRAPHY
Time zone: Eastern: UTC -5 / -4
Latitude: 37 ° 53’N to 39 ° 43’N
Longitude 75 ° 4’W to 79 ° 33’W
Width: 145 km
Length: 400 km
Highest position: 1,024 m
Average location: 105 m
Lowest position: 0 m
Maryland is in the middle of the east coast. The Chesapeake Bay, which cuts deep into the country, is home to important ports such as Baltimore and Annapolis, which is the seat of the US Naval Academy. For a long time the bay was one of the most productive fishing grounds in the world, but overfishing and water pollution have made the legendary oyster beds almost completely gone. In this relatively small state, the extremes are close to each other: here the metropolis of Baltimore, there the remote hills of the Appalachian Mountains and tranquil fishing villages on the coast.
POPULATION
There are 5,296,486 residents in Maryland.
HISTORY
Lord Baltimore, who received a cultivation license for the land in 1632, named the area after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England. On March 25, 1634, the first settlers settled in the area. Maryland was the only Catholic among the otherwise strictly Protestant British colonies in North America. The Maryland Tolerance Act was one of the first laws to explicitly tolerate other (Christian) denominations and is therefore considered to be the forerunner of the 1st Amendment. The famous Mason-Dixon Line, also the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland, was drawn there in the 1760s to settle disputes between the Penn and Calvert families. Originally the royal charter – due to an incorrect map – granted Maryland the Potomac River and the territory north of the 40th parallel, which would have made Philadelphia, the largest city in Pennsylvania, Maryland. The ruling families of Maryland and Pennsylvania, Calvert and Penn, commissioned the surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to measure a new valid boundary. The line later named after them has also become the traditional and often cited demarcation between the so-called northern and southern states. Calvert and Penn, the surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon with measuring a new valid limit. The line later named after them has also become the traditional and often cited demarcation between the so-called northern and southern states. Calvert and Penn, the surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon with measuring a new valid limit. The line later named after them has also become the traditional and often cited demarcation between the so-called northern and southern states.
In 1788, Maryland was one of the first 13 colonies to break away from the motherland. The American capital Washington DC was established in a district that was separated from Maryland for this purpose. Maryland became a theater of war in the War of 1812 when the British unsuccessfully sought new access to the colonies. British troops failed in the destruction of the shipyard and the capture of the city of Baltimore due to persistent resistance from a port fortification. The fierce battle inspired the eyewitness Francis Scott Key to write The Star-Spangled Banner, which became the text of the American national anthem. During the Civil War, Maryland remained largely neutral. When it became clear that the arrangements made by the North would not break away from the Union, Maryland was not included in the proclamation of emancipation. Remarkably, slavery still prevailed here for years after the end of the civil war.
POLITICS
Robert L. Ehrlich is currently governor (Republican, until January 2007). Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (Democrats, until Jan. 2005) and her colleague Paul S. Sarbanes (Democrats, until Jan. 2007) represent Maryland’s interests in Washington.
ECONOMY
Agricultural Sector: Seafood, Fish, Poultry and Eggs, Dairy Products, Cattle, Soybeans and Grains. Industry: electrical goods, food industry, chemical products, printing and publishing, mechanical engineering, coal, tourism. Gross National Product per capita: US $ 35,279
CITIES
Baltimore, 651,154 Frederick, 52,767 Gaithersburg, 52,613 Bowie, 50,269 Rockville, 47,388 Hagerstown, 36,687 Annapolis, 35,838 College Park, 24,657 Salisbury, Maryland, 23,743 Cumberland, Maryland, 21,518
PERSONALITIES
Baltimoretrupial (Icterus galbula) Spiro Theodore Agnew, Vice President, Baltimore John Wilkes Booth, actor, Lincoln assassin, Harford County James M. Cain, writer, Annapolis Philip Glass, composer, Baltimore Billie Holiday, jazz and blues singer, Baltimore Johns Hopkins, financial tycoon, Anne Arundel Cty Francis Scott Key, attorney, poet, Carroll Cty Barry Levinson, director and producer, Baltimore Thurgood Marshall, lawyer, Baltimore Babe Ruth, baseball player, Baltimore Upton Sinclair, writer, Baltimore Leon Uris, writer, Baltimore John Waters, director, Baltimore Frank Zappa, singer and producer, Baltimore List of Maryland Governors
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
Sunset, Blackwater in Maryland Chesapeake Bay with all its advantages for sailing, fishing and other water sports, Baltimore Blackwater nature reserve “Preakness Stakes”, famous horse racing in Baltimore, Antietam National Battlefield (memorial of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War), Frederick St. Michels – picturesque port city, Ocean City, 10 miles long Atlantic beach and fairground, especially crowded during the spring break, Assateaque Island National Seashore – nature reserve with pristine beaches and marshland, Fort Meade (seat of the NSA secret service), Annapolis (capital and port city, naval academy)
OTHERS
Maryland Tolerance Record Document
State flag: This includes the arms of the Calvert and Crossland families. The state’s founding father, the second Lord Baltimore, was actually called Cecil Calvert. The black and gold coat of arms belongs to the Calvert family. The red and white insignia represent the Crossland family.
State motto: “Fatti maschii parole femine”, meaning = strong heroic deeds, gentle statements.
Hymn: “Maryland, My Maryland.” The melody of the hymn comes from the German Christmas song “O Tannenbaum”.
State bird: Baltimore trupial (Icterus galbula)
Maryland Counties and County Seats
According to Countryaah, there are a total of 23 counties in the state of Maryland.
- Allegany County (County Seat: Cumberland)
- Anne Arundel County (County Seat: Annapolis)
- Baltimore County (County Seat: Towson)
- Calvert County (County Seat: Prince Frederick)
- Caroline County (County Seat: Denton)
- Carroll County (County Seat: Westminster)
- Cecil County (County Seat: Elkton)
- Charles County (County Seat: La Plata)
- Dorchester County (County Seat: Cambridge)
- Frederick County (County Seat: Frederick)
- Garrett County (County Seat: Oakland)
- Harford County (County Seat: Bel Air)
- Howard County (County Seat: Ellicott City)
- Kent County (County Seat: Chestertown)
- Montgomery County (County Seat: Rockville)
- Prince George’s County (County Seat: Upper Marlboro)
- Queen Anne’s County (County Seat: Centreville)
- Somerset County (County Seat: Princess Anne)
- St. Mary’s County (County Seat: Leonardtown)
- Talbot County (County Seat: Easton)
- Washington County (County Seat: Hagerstown)
- Wicomico County (County Seat: Salisbury)
- Worcester County (County Seat: Snow Hill)
