Population—2,343,001 in 1950; ranked 24th among the states. Esti-
mated population, 2,895,500 in 1957.

Area—In square miles; land, 9,887; inland water, 690; Chesapeake
Bay, 1,726; total, 12,303. Ranks 41st among the states.

Physiography—Divided into three provinces with progressively
higher altitudes from east to west; Coastal Plain province extends
from Atlantic Ocean to Fall Line; Piedmont, or "Foothill," prov-
ince from Fall Line to crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains; Ap-
palachian province from crest of Blue Ridge Mountains to western
boundary of State. Mean elevation, 350 feet; minimum elevation,
sea level; maximum elevation, 3,340 feet on Backbone Mountain.

Chesapeake Bay—185 miles long with 115 miles in Maryland and 70
miles in Virginia. Varies in width from 3 to 30 miles. Navigable
for ocean-going ships and has two outlets to the Atlantic Ocean,
one through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, one through
the mouth of the Bay between the Virginia capes.

Chief Rivers—Navigable to cruisers and other pleasure craft; Po-
tomac, Patuxent, Severn, Magothy, Patapsco, Gunpowder, Bush.
Northeast, Elk, Sassafras, Chester, Miles, Tred Avon, Choptank,
Nanticoke, Wicomico and Pocomoke.

Water Frontage—15 of the 23 counties border on tidal water. Length
of the tidal shore line, including the shore of islands, 1,045 miles,

Forest Area—2,920,000 acres, or about 46 percent of the land sur-
face. Nearly 162 million board feet of lumber cut in 1954. Total
value of forest products $9,783,000 in 1954. Ten State forests and
one State forest nursery cover 118,978 acres.

State Parks—Fifteen State parks containing 13,535 acres include
ocean beaches, Chesapeake Bay shore, dense forests, and high moun-
tains. Parks provide cabins, campsites, fishing, swimming, boat-
ing, hiking, and mountain climbing.

Manufactures, 1954—Number of establishments, 3,253; total em-
ployees, 253,144; total payroll, $987,559,000; value added by man-
ufactures, $1,888,585,000. Most important manufactures: primary
metals and metal fabrications, transportation equipment, aircraft,
food, chemicals, and wearing apparel.

Agriculture, 1954—Number of farms: 32,500 covering 61.6 percent
of land area. Total farm products sold: $195,072,119. Most valu-
able farm products: dairy products, $55,818,000; poultry and
poultry products, $42,830,597; tobacco, $15,319,145; corn, $12,378,-
912; vegetables, $10,838,366; wheat, $10,279,326; soybeans, $6,-
069,204; fruits, $5,011,422.

Seafood Production, 1954—- Fish, 17,582,000 pounds, value $1,441,000;
crabs, 20,182,000 pounds, value $986,000; oysters, 3,736,579 U. S.
bushels, value $9,019,500; surf clams, 112,166 U. S. bushels, value
$168,300; soft clams, 20,917 U. S. bushels, value $155,525; hard
clams, 13,600 U. S. bushels, value $53,700.

Mineral Production, 1953—Sand and gravel, 7,379,511 short tons,
value $8,919,088; lime and cement, value $7,470,611; crushed and
broken stone, 2,823,152 short tons, value $6,343,500; coal, 530,590

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