Maryland, one of the Middle Atlantic states of the United States, ranks 42d among the states in area, 19th in population size, and is a leading state in population density. \TChesapeake Bay\t, the largest bay in the continental United States, almost severs the state, dividing the Eastern Shore--which is located on the \TDelmarva Peninsula\t (shared by Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia)--from the Western Shore. Maryland is irregularly shaped, with a maximum east-west extent of 320 km (199 mi) and a north-south extent that ranges from about 5 km (2 mi), near Hancock, to a maximum of 201 km (125 mi). The straight northern boundary with Pennsylvania is part of the \TMason-Dixon line\t, which was established in 1769; the southern and western boundary with Virginia and West Virginia follows the Potomac River except where the District of Columbia intervenes; Delaware lies to the east. One of the 13 original states, Maryland was named for Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I of England. The area was first colonized in 1634 and played a major role in the nation's early history and struggle for independence. During the Civil War, Maryland was divided on the issue of secession and was placed under military rule to keep it within the Union and protect the nation's capital. The state capital is \TAnnapolis\t, which lies within the metropolitan area of \TBaltimore\t, Maryland's largest city. LAND AND RESOURCES From east to west, Maryland cuts across the major physiographic divisions of the eastern United States--the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, and the Appalachian Mountains. The Coastal Plain occupies all of eastern Maryland, including both shores of the Chesapeake Bay. It is underlain by sedimentary rock, and elevations are less than 30 m (100 ft) on the Eastern Shore and less than 60 m (200 ft) on the more rolling Western Shore. Along the Atlantic coast a series of low, sandy barrier islands and vast stretches of swampy and tidal wetlands surround Chesapeake Bay. The Coastal Plain is bounded on the west by the \Tfall line\t, which extends roughly from the head of Chesapeake Bay southwestward through Baltimore to the boundary between Prince Georges and Montgomery counties in suburban Washington, D.C. West of the fall line is the \TPiedmont Plateau\t, which is part of the Appalachians and underlain mostly by igneous and metamorphic rocks. Elevations rise to 400 m (1,300 ft), and the rolling surface is well suited for agriculture except where cut by steep-sided valleys. The \TBlue Ridge Mountains\t begin west of Frederick and extend across the state as a prominent, forested ridge, with summits reaching about 520 m (1,700 ft). West of the Blue Ridge lies a broad plain known as the Great Valley, and farther west is a series of narrow parallel ridges and valleys known as the Ridge and Valley region. In far western Maryland rises the high edge of the \TAppalachian Mountains\t, where Backbone Mountain, Maryland's highest point, reaches 1,024 m (3,360 ft). Soils The best agricultural soils occur on the Piedmont and in well-drained areas of the Coastal Plain. Soils in the Great Valley and western areas are of poorer quality and used largely for dairying and livestock production and for fruit growing in some protected valleys. Drainage About 184 km (114 mi) of the 309-km-long (192-mi) Chesapeake Bay are within Maryland's borders. Widening from less than 5 km (3 mi) in the north to over 40 km (25 mi) in the south, the bay, together with such broad indentations as the lower Potomac and Patuxent river valleys, is part of the lower Susquehanna drainage system that was inundated when sea levels rose at the end of the Pleistocene Ice Age (about 10,000 years ago). The Susquehanna River now enters the northern end of the bay. Major rivers draining from the east are the Elk, Chester, Choptank, Nanticoke, and Pokomoke; draining from the west are the Patapsco, Patuxent, and Potomac, which are interrupted, respectively, by falls at Baltimore, Laurel, and Potomac (to the northwest of Washington, D.C.), where they cross the fall line. These and other falls on streams entering the Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore were important sites for early factories using water power for energy. Climate Climatic conditions vary more from east to west and with altitude than from north to south. The Coastal Plain has hot summers, mild winters, and a growing season usually longer than 200 days. Temperatures average above 1 deg C (34 deg F) in January, and more than 23 deg C (74 deg F) in July; annual precipitation is generally more than 1,070 mm (42 in), and snowfall is less than 510 mm (20 in). In the Piedmont temperatures average 1 deg C (34 deg F) in January and 24 deg C (76 deg F) in July; the growing season is 160 to 200 days, precipitation is less than 1,070 mm (42 in), and snowfall is moderate, between 510 mm (20 in) and 760 mm (30 in). The mountainous west has severe winters, with temperatures generally below freezing and snowfall totaling between 1,020 mm (40 in) and 2,540 mm (100 in). Summers are cool, with the average temperature in July less than 21 deg C (70 deg F), and the growing season is less than 160 days. Vegetation and Animal Life Forests and woodlands cover more than 40% of the state, including most of the western mountains and much of southern Maryland between the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay. An oak-hickory hardwood forest dominates the Appalachian and Piedmont areas and is common on the Western Shore. The lower Eastern Shore has a Southern pine forest, with loblolly, pitch, and Virginia pines. Occasional bears and bobcats are seen in the mountains, and deer, foxes, opossums, and raccoons abound throughout the state. Chesapeake Bay is rich in oysters, clams, crabs, and other marine animals. The bay is also part of the Atlantic flyway and is visited by numerous migrating birds, wild geese, and ducks. Game birds in the western uplands include quail, wild turkey, and ruffed grouse. Resources Maryland's wealth depends more on its proximity to Washington, D.C., and excellent transportation links to other parts of the nation than on its limited natural resources. Coal reserves in the western mountains are estimated at more than 450 million metric tons (500 million U.S. tons), but production has declined since the early 20th century and is small compared with neighboring West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Natural gas occurs in two small fields in the west. The most important minerals are limestone, sand, and gravel, which are used in the building industry, and clays and shales, which are used in brickmaking. Extensive underground water resources are available in the sedimentary rocks underlying the Coastal Plain, but other regions must depend on surface water from rivers and reservoirs for municipal and industrial water supplies. PEOPLE Maryland had a resident population of 4,781,468 at the time of the 1990 census. The rate of increase from 1980 to 1990 was 13.4%, slightly more than the 9.8& growth rate for the nation as a whole. Large areas are sparsely populated, especially in the west, because most of the total population is concentrated in either the \TBaltimore\t or Washington metropolitan areas or in the belt located between the two cities in what is known as the Baltimore-Washington corridor. About 15% of the population resides within Baltimore's city limits. \TFrederick\t, \THagerstown\t, and \TSalisbury\t are important cities located outside of the Baltimore area. Blacks have lived in Maryland since the colonial period and now constitute about 25% of the total population and nearly 60% of the population of Baltimore. The principal groups included in the white majority are of British, German, Hispanic, Italian, Polish, and Russian descent. Asians, with a population growth rate of 117.4%, constitute the fastest-growing ethnic group, followed by Hispanics, with a growth rate of 93.2%. These groups, however, remain small, each comprising less than 3% of the total state population. The population is mostly Christian, but there is a significant Jewish community. Education In 1826 a state-wide education system was established, and in 1867 a separate school system for black students was begun. Black children continued to be educated separately until the 1954 Supreme Court decision ended school segregation. Schooling is mandatory for all children between the ages of 6 and 16, but significant regional variations in the level of education are discernible. Maryland has 47 institutes of higher education. For information on the public institutions of higher education, see \TMaryland, state universities and colleges of\t. The \TJohns Hopkins University\t in Baltimore is the state's most distinguished private institution; its affiliated institution, the Peabody Conservatory of Music, is nationally renowned. The \TUnited States Naval Academy\t is located in Annapolis. The Enoch Pratt Free Library, also in Baltimore, is considered one of the nation's finest municipal libraries. Cultural Institutions Most of Maryland's cultural institutions are concentrated in Baltimore. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Opera Company are both highly rated nationally. Art museums in Baltimore are the Peale Museum, located in the nation's oldest museum building, founded in 1814; the Baltimore Museum of Art; and the Walters Art Gallery. Historical Sites and Recreation Nationally maintained places of historic interest include the Civil War Antietam National Battlefield site, near Sharpsburg; \TFort McHenry\t National Monument, in Baltimore harbor, the defense of which during the War of 1812 inspired Francis Scott \Tkey\t to write "The Star-Spangled Banner"; Hampton, an elegant Georgian mansion begun in 1783 in Towson; and the Chesapeake and Ohio National Historical Park, where the old canal is now converted to recreational use. Other historical sites include the restored waterfront of downtown Annapolis; St. Mary's City, the restored early colonial capital; Sotterly Plantation, a manor house begun in 1730; Fort Washington Park; the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, where the original flag commemorated in the national anthem was sewn by Mary Pickersgill; the U.S.S. \TConstellation\t, in Baltimore harbor; and Chestertown, a port of the Revolutionary era. Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont includes within its borders the \TCamp David\t presidential retreat. The Appalachian Trail crosses the state, and state parks and state forests provide additional hiking and camping facilities. Ocean City, a popular summer resort on the Atlantic Ocean with high-rise apartments and motels, has grown rapidly since the 1960s. The Chesapeake Bay area offers superior pleasure boating, and excellent duck hunting is available along its coastal wetlands. Maryland has professional baseball, soccer, and hockey teams. Major horse-racing tracks are at Pimlico, home of the Preakness, in Baltimore, and in Laurel. Communications Maryland has 14 newspapers with a combined circulation of 702,800 (1988) copies and numerous radio and television stations. The Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas dominate radio and television broadcasting within the state. Other towns with commercial television stations are Hagerstown and Salisbury. The most influential newspaper in the state is the Baltimore Sun. Hagerstown, Salisbury, Annapolis, and Frederick also maintain daily newspapers and local radio stations. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY Maryland's colonial economy was based primarily on the cultivation and export of tobacco. After the Revolution, ship-building developed, and Baltimore quickly grew to rival Boston, New York, and Philadelphia as a port and commercial center. In the 19th century, port activities increased with the opening of the \TChesapeake and Delaware canal\t (1829) and expansion of the port's trading area westward to include the coalfields and developing farmlands of the Middle West and Mississippi Valley. Today, Maryland's economy is based mainly on service industries. Growth factors include proximity to the nation's capital and location within the much-traveled and industrialized Eastern Seaboard transportation corridor linking Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. Manufacturing Manufacturing is the principal economic activity of Maryland, with Baltimore the principal center of all manufacturing activities. Other important industrial areas are found in Baltimore, Montgomery, and Prince George counties. Historically, metalworking has been a chief industry in hte state and remains important. The Sparrows Point plant of Bethlehem Steel is one of the largest steel mills in the nation. Large steel-using industries include auto assembly, production of electrical tools, rocket manufacture, and shipbuilding. Other manufacturing activities include textiles and such port-related operations as spice processing, sugar refining, and flour milling. Agriculture Maryland ranks only 33d among the states in agricultural income (1988), but farming continues to be an important activity on the Eastern Shore and in the nonmetropolitan counties between Baltimore and Cumberland. The Eastern Shore is one of the country's leading producers of broiler chickens, and corn and soybeans are also widely cultivated. Southern Maryland still produces tobacco that has good burning qualities, and much is exported to Europe. Mixed dairy and crop farming is important on the Piedmont. Apples and peaches are a speciality in the valleys of western Maryland. Fishing and Forestry The principal commercial fishing area is the Chesapeake Bay, where an abundance of oyster, clam, and crab are found. In the late 1980s shellfish accounted for the great majority of the volume and value of the fishing catch. Also of commercial importance are various types of finfish. The forestry industry is small; lumber, pulpwood, furniture veneers, and Christmas trees are the principal products. Mining Mining occurs throughout the state. Stone is the most valuable mineral produced and is quarried in Allegany, Baltimore, Cecil, Howard, and Montgomery counties. Coal, Maryland's only fossil-fuel resource, is mined in Allegany and Garrett counties. Sand and gravel are found statewide. Transportation Located within the Eastern Seaboard transportation corridor, Maryland is well provided with high-speed connections to New York City, Boston, and Washington, D.C. Major north-south and east-west highways focus on Baltimore. Rail transportation is provided by Amtrak, and the historically important Baltimore and Ohio railroad provides commuter service between Baltimore and Washington. A mass-transit subway line opened in Baltimore in 1983. The Chesapeake and Delaware canal, part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, provides direct water access to Delaware Bay and harbors farther north. Baltimore is one of America's busiest ports. Closer to midwestern markets than either the New York or Philadelphia ports, it is one of the larger ports for container shipments and a leading port for foreign-made automobiles. Cargoes are balanced between raw materials such as grain, coal, and petroleum and manufactured goods such as machinery. The Baltimore-Washington International Airport is the major air terminal in the state. Energy Maryland is linked with the power grid of the eastern United States and derives its energy from petroleum, coal, natural gas, nuclear power, and hydro-power sources. Nearly all of the generating capacity is privately owned, and more than half of the state's electricity is produced by coal-fired plants. Maryland's two nuclear-power plant units produce about 30% of the state's net generation of electricity. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Maryland's constitution was adopted in 1867 and is now much amended; earlier constitutions were adopted in 1776, 1851, and 1864. The 1867 constitution provides for a bicameral General Assembly with a 43-member Senate and a 142-member House of Delegates. Members of the assembly are elected to 4-year terms and meet in annual 90-day sessions. The chief executive is the governor, who is popularly elected for a 4-year term and is limited to 2 consecutive terms. Counties provide basic services such as road construction, schools, and police and are the principal form of local government. Most of the 23 counties are headed by from 3 to 8 elected commissioners. Maryland sends to the U.S. Congress 2 senators and 8 representatives. It has 10 electoral votes in national presidential elections. Long considered a Democratic stronghold, Maryland can no longer be counted on to vote for Democratic candidates in state and national elections. Demographic and social factors affecting the vote are the large numbers of blacks in the state; the first- and second-generation ethnic groups; the fast-growing, wealthy, and well-educated suburban population spilling over into Maryland from Washington, D.C.; and the traditionally conservative elements in the Eastern Shore and southern Maryland. HISTORY Giovanni da \TVerrazano\t is thought to have visited the Atlantic coast near Chincoteague Bay in 1524. In 1526, Spanish explorers sailed into Chesapeake Bay and called it Santa Maria, a name that appears on a 1556 map. In 1608, Captain John \TSmith\t of Virginia became the first authenticated European visitor. In late 1631, William Clairborne established a fur-trading post, which is regarded as the first permanent European settlement, on Kent Island (opposite Annapolis). At the time of early European settlement, the principal Indian groups were three Algonquian tribes--the Piscataway on the Western Shore, who left the area in 1697; and the Nanticoke and Pocomoke-Assateague on the Eastern Shore, who migrated westward in the 1740s. The Susquehannock also inhabited the area, but in 1675 they were carried into captivity by the Iroquois Nations. In 1632, King Charles I of England granted George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (see \TCalvert\t family), settlement rights to lands between the 40th parallel and the south bank of the Potomac. Calvert died before the papers were complete, and the charter passed to his son Cecilius (Cecil) Calvert, 2d Baron Baltimore. In November 1633, 200 colonists set sail from England in the Ark and the Dove, which landed on Mar. 24, 1634, at Saint Clement (now Blakistone) Island at the mouth of the Potomac. They purchased the Indian village of Yaocomico, which they renamed St. Mary's (now St. Mary's City) and used for 60 years as the capital and center of the colony. Lord Baltimore, a Roman Catholic, sought religious freedom for the colony, and in 1649 the Colonial Assembly passed the Act Concerning Religion, the first statute in the colonies to provide freedom of worship for all Christians. From 1692 to 1715, Maryland was a crown colony, ruled by royal governors. During this period the Church of England was the official religion, and in 1694 the capital moved to Annapolis. The Baltimores regained control in 1715. At first the colony had a diversified agriculture, but by the end of the 17th century tobacco was the staple crop. In the Revolutionary period, Maryland was one of the first colonies to repudiate the \TStamp Act\t (1765). Early in the colonial resistance to British rule, Marylanders had their own "tea party," in 1774 in Chestertown when the tea-carrying ship Peggy Stewart was burned in Annapolis harbor. On July 3, 1776, the state disavowed its allegiance to the king, and 4 months later was the first of the former colonies to adopt a state constitution. Marylanders were active in both Continental Congresses and in the signing of the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolutionary War, Maryland troops distinguished themselves in battles outside the state, but no fighting took place in the state. In 1788, Maryland became the 7th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and in 1791 it ceded to the nation 174 sq km (67 sq mi) along the Potomac for construction of the District of Columbia. Maryland's early years of statehood were spent in developing the state's resources. Shipping and trade expanded, and families abandoning the worn-out tobacco farms of the Eastern Shore and southern Maryland migrated westward into the Piedmont. Baltimore, incorporated in 1797, grew rapidly as a port, shipbuilding, and industrial center, attaining a population of 26,500 (more than Boston) in 1800 and 169,000 in 1850. New transportation facilities integrated the growing trade of lands west of the Appalachians into the region. Among the more important routes were the \TNational Road\t (1818); the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (1829) across the Delmarva Peninsula; the \TChesapeake and Ohio canal\t along the Potomac River to Cumberland and the coalfields of western Maryland; and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the first U.S. passenger railroad, begun in 1828. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Maryland had almost equal numbers of slaves and free blacks, and the state was sharply divided in its sympathies to North and South. However, when neighboring Virginia seceded, Maryland's presence within the Union became vital to the defense of Washington, D.C., and President Lincoln was forced to prevent secession by imposing military rule. Fierce battles fought on Maryland soil included the battles of South Mountain and \TAntietam\t (both in 1862) and Monocacy (1864). After the Civil War, manufacturing expanded rapidly, except during the 12-year depression following the Panic of 1873, and eventually emerged as the mainstay of the economy. Thousands of Greek, German, Italian, Russian, Polish, and other immigrants, together with blacks migrating from rural counties, flocked to take jobs in Baltimore's textile and other factories. From 1870 to 1895 transportation interests, led by Arthur P. Gorman and I. Freeman Rasin, dominated state politics and kept Democrats in power. In 1895 the Gorman-Rasin machine was overthrown, but Democrats continued to dominate state politics and have since lost the governorship to Republicans only five times. In 1904, Baltimore was devastated by fire but recovered to grow rapidly as World Wars I and II increased demand for the city's industrial products. More recently, Washington-related research and other industries have increased the state's prosperity. Race relations in Maryland were severely strained by the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision to end segregation, and widespread rioting occurred in the 1960s, mostly in Baltimore. Spiro T. \TAgnew\t, Maryland's fifth Republican governor since 1895 (1967-69), was elected U.S. vice-president in 1968 and 1972. In 1973, however, he resigned the office during an investigation of charges of graft while he was a Maryland official. Governor Marvin Mandel, Agnew's Democratic successor, was indicted on similar charges in 1975, but a mistrial resulted. Reindicted, he was convicted in 1978 on charges of mail fraud and racketeering and sentenced to jail. Forced by Maryland law to resign, his duties were taken over by Acting Governor Blair Lee III. In January 1979, Mandel's conviction was overturned on appeal, and he reassumed office for the 45 hours of his term remaining before newly elected Governor Harry R. Hughes was sworn in. Robert A. Harper Bibliography: Arnold, Joseph L., Maryland: Old Line to New Prosperity (1985); Barker, Charles A., Background of the Revolution in Maryland (1940; repr. 1967); Bode, Carl, Maryland (1978); Bodine, A. A., The Face of Maryland, 3d ed. (1970); Carey, G. G., Maryland Folklore and Folklife (1970); Chapelle, Suzanne E., et al., Maryland: A History of Its People (1986); Dilisio, James E., Maryland: A Geography (1983); Federal Writers' Project, Maryland: A New Guide to the Old Line State (1976); Ives, J. Moss, The Ark and the Dove: The Beginning of Civil and Religious Liberties in America (1936; repr. 1969); Kaminkow, Marion J., Maryland, A to Z (1985); Land, Aubrey, C., Colonial Maryland: A History (1981); Mason, F. Van Wyck, The Maryland Colony (1969); Radoff, M. L., ed., The Old Line State, 3 vols. (1957; repr. 1971); Rollo, Vera F., Maryland's Government (1985); Walsh, Richard, and Fox, William L., eds., Maryland: A History (1983).