Maryland
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- For other uses, see Maryland (disambiguation).
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| State nickname: Old Line State; Free State | |||||
| Other U.S. States | |||||
| Capital | Annapolis | ||||
| Largest city | Baltimore | ||||
| Governor | Robert L. Ehrlich | ||||
| Official languages | |||||
| Area (rank) | 32,160 km² (42th) | ||||
| - Land | 25,338 km² | ||||
| - Water (%) | 6,968 km² (21%) | ||||
| Population as of 2000 Census | |||||
| - Population (rank) | 5,296,486 (19th) | ||||
| - Density (rank) | 165 /km² (5th) | ||||
| Admittance into Union | |||||
| - Date (order) | Apr 28, 1788 (7th) | ||||
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | ||||
| Latitude | 37°53'N to 39°43'N | ||||
| Longitude | 75°4'W to 79°33'W | ||||
| Width : Length | 145 km : 400 km | ||||
| Elevation | |||||
| - Highest | 1,024 meters | ||||
| - Mean | 105 meters | ||||
| - Lowest | 0 meters | ||||
| ISO 3166-2 | US-MD | ||||
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Maryland is a state in the eastern mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Its U.S. postal abbreviation is MD. Its Associated Press abbreviation is Md.
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History
George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore applied to Charles I for a new royal charter for what was to become the Province of Maryland. George Calvert died in April 1632, but a charter for "Maryland Colony" (in Latin, "Terra Maria") was granted to his son, Cęcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, on June 20, 1632. The new colony was named in honour of Henrietta Maria, Queen Consort of Charles I.
The English colony of Maryland was founded by Lord Baltimore who on March 25, 1634 led the first settlers into this area which would soon become one of the few dominantly Catholic regions among the English colonies in America. Maryland was one of the key destinations of tens of thousands of British convicts, which carried on until independence. The Maryland Toleration Act was one of the first laws that explicitly tolerated varieties of religion (as long as it was Christian), and is sometimes seen as a precursor to the First Amendment.
Originally, based on an incorrect map, the royal charter granted Maryland the Potomac River and territory northward to the fortieth parallel. This was found to be a problem, because the northern boundary would put Philadelphia, the major city in Pennsylvania, within Maryland. The Calvert family, which controlled Maryland, and the Penn family, which controlled Pennsylvania, engaged two surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, to survey what became known as the Mason-Dixon line which would form the boundary between their two colonies.
St. Mary's City was the largest site of the original Maryland colony, and was the seat of state government until just before the beginning of the 18th century (when the government was moved to Annapolis). The government was moved at about the same time as the persecution of Maryland Catholics by Puritans from Virginia; during the persecutions, all of the original Catholic churches of southern Maryland were burned down. St Mary's City is now an archaelogical site, with a small tourist center.
Maryland was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. See: Annapolis Convention.
Despite popular support for the cause of the Confederate States of America, Maryland did not secede during the United States Civil War, in part due to precautions taken by the government in Washington, D.C.. Because of this it was not included under the Emancipation Proclamation. A constitutional convention was held during 1864 that culminated in the passage of a new state constitution on November 1 of that year. Article 24 of that document outlawed the practice of slavery. The right to vote was not, however, extended to non-white males until 1867.
Law & Government
Main article: Government of Maryland
As in all fifty states, the head of the executive branch of government is a Governor (see also List of Maryland Governors).
The legislative branch, the Maryland General Assembly, consists of a 47-member Senate and a 141-member House of Delegates. The legislature meets in the Maryland state house in the capital, Annapolis, in Anne Arundel County.
The state judiciary is headed by the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's supreme court.
Geography
See: List of Maryland counties, List of Maryland rivers
Maryland is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the west by West Virginia, on the east by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south, across the Potomac River, by Virginia. It shares a border near the center of the state along the Potomac with Washington, DC. Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state, and the counties east of the Bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore. A portion of extreme western Maryland in Garrett County is drained by the Youghiogheny River as part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The highest point in Maryland is Backbone Mountain, which is the southwest corner of Garrett County, right near the border with West Virginia near the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac.
- Physical formations
Economy
- Federal Agencies
- Census Bureau
- Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- National Archives (Lanham facility)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
- National Security Agency (NSA)
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)
- Social Security Administration (SSA)
Military facilities
- Aberdeen Proving Ground
- Andrews Air Force Base
- Bethesda Naval Medical Center
- Fort Meade
- Indian Head Naval Surface Weapons Center
- Patuxent River Naval Air Station
- Webster Field
Transit
Maryland's major Interstate Highways include I-95, which enters the northeast portion of the state, goes through Baltimore, and becomes the Capital Beltway to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. I-68 connects the western portions of the state to Frederick, and I-70 connects Frederick with Baltimore.
Maryland's main airport is Baltimore-Washington International Airport (formerly known as Friendship Airport). The Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. are also serviced by the other two airports in the region, Reagan National and Dulles International Airports, both in Virginia.
Amtrak Trains serve Baltimore along the Northeast Corridor. MARC trains, operated by the State's Transit Authority, connect nearby Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, and other towns.
Demographics
As of 2000, the state's population was 5,296,486. Most of these live in the central region of Maryland, in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The Eastern Shore is less populous and more rural, as are the counties of southern Maryland. The three counties of Western Maryland (Allegany, Garrett, and Washington) are mountainous and sparsely populated, resembling West Virginia more than they do the rest of Maryland.
Important cities and towns
- Annapolis – state capital.
- Baltimore – Most populous city; commercial and cultural hub.
- For a more exhaustive list, see List of cities in Maryland
Counties
Famous Marylanders
See List of people from Maryland
Education
Colleges and universities
Professional sports teams
Miscellaneous information
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External links
| Regions of Maryland | |
| Western | Southern | Eastern Shore | Baltimore-Washington Metro Area | Chesapeake | Delaware Valley | |
| Largest Cities | |
| Annapolis | Baltimore | Bowie | College Park | Columbia | Cumberland | Frederick | Gaithersburg | Greenbelt | Hagerstown | Rockville | Salisbury | Suitland | Takoma Park | Towson | Waldorf | Westminster | Wheaton | White Oak | Woodlawn | |
| Counties | |
| Allegany | Anne Arundel | Baltimore City | Baltimore County | Calvert | Caroline | Carroll | Cecil | Charles | Dorchester | Frederick | Garrett | Harford | Howard | Kent | Montgomery | Prince George's | Queen Anne's | St. Mary's | Somerset | Talbot | Washington | Wicomico | Worcester |
| Political divisions of the United States | | ||||||
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