State Capital. Annapolis

Population. 3,922,399 in 1970 census; ranked
18th among the states.

Estimated Population. July 1, 1978, 4,143,000;
1980 projected, 4,373,476.

Government. The governor, elected by popular
vote for a four-year term, is the chief executive of
the State. Most State agencies are encompassed
within one of the twelve cabinet-level executive
departments. Maryland's bicameral Legislature
consists of a 47-member Senate and a 141-mem-
ber House of Delegates. Forty of the 47 Senators
and 125 of the 141 Delegates are Democrats.
Three senators and twenty-five delegates are
women, and six senators and thirteen delegates
are black. The Legislature meets each year on the
second Wednesday in January for 90 days to en-
act laws. The Maryland Judiciary consists of four
courts: the Court of Appeals, the Court of Special
Appeals, the Circuit Court, and the District
Court. Local government is provided by Mary-
land's 23 counties and Baltimore City, 150 mu-
nicipal corporations, and 253 special districts,
giving Maryland a total of 426 "governmental
units" and a rank of 41st among the 50 states in
terms of the fewest number of local governments.

Area. In square miles: land, 9,874; inland water,
703; Chesapeake Bay, 1,726; total, 12,303. Ranks
42nd among the states.

Statehood. April 28, 1788, the seventh state.

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 base of the Catoctin
Mountains; Appalachian province from base of
Catoctin Mountains to western boundary of
State. Mean elevation, 350 feet; maximum eleva-
tion, 3,360 feet on Backbone Mountain.

Distances. Longest east-west, 198.6 miles—Fair-
fax Stone to Delaware Line; north-south, 125.5
miles—Pennsylvania line to Virginia line at Smith
Point on south-shore mouth of the Potomac Riv-
er; shortest north-south, 1.9 miles—Pennsylvania
line to south bank of Potomac River near Han-
cock; farthest points northwest comer to south-
east corner at Atlantic Ocean, 254.7 miles.

Location. Highway distance from Central Mary-
land (in miles): Boston, 392; Chicago, 668; New

Maryland at a Glance/3

York, 196; Philadelphia, 96; Pittsburgh, 218;
Richmond, 143; Washington, D.C., 37.

Climate. Generally moderate, the climate varies
from mild to hot in summer and in winter from
moderate in the east and south to very cold in
the mountainous region. Average annual rainfall,
41.65 inches; average annual snowfall, 26.70
inches; temperature average 64.4 degrees Fahren-
heit maximum, 43.7 degrees Fahrenheit minimum,
and 54 degrees Fahrenheit mean. Average dura-
tion of freeze-free period is 185 days.

Chesapeake Bay. 195 miles long with 1,726
square miles in Maryland and 1,511 square miles
in Virginia, Varies in width from 3 to 20 miles.
Navigable for ocean-going ships and has two out-
lets to the Atlantic Ocean, one through the Ches-
apeake and Delaware Canal, one through the
mouth of the Bay between the Virginia capes.
The William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge
(Chesapeake Bay Bridge) spans 4.2 miles between
Sandy Point, Anne Arundel County, and Kent
Island, Queen Anne's County.

Chief Rivers. Potomac, Wye, Patuxent, Susque-
hanna, Choptank, Nanticoke, Elk, Magothy, Pa-
tapsco, Sassafras, South, Severn, Gunpowder,
Tred Avon, Bush, Miles, Chester, Northeast,
Wicomico, Pocomoke, and Great Bohemia.

Boating Waters. Twenty-three rivers and bays
with more than 400 miles of water tributary to
the Chesapeake Bay; Chincoteague Bay with 35
miles of water accessible to and from the Atlantic
Ocean; an estimated (1977) 607 boat ramps and
37,115 boat slips.

Water Frontage. Sixteen of the 23 counties and
Baltimore City border on tidal water. Length of
tidal shoreline, including islands, 4,100 miles.

Forest Area. More than 2,653,000 acres, or ap-
proximately 42 per cent of the land surface. Chief
forest products are lumber, pulpwood, and piling.
Nine State forests and one State forest nursery
cover 112,662 acres.

State Parks and Recreation Areas. Thirty-five
operational State parks covering 63,525 acres; 66
lakes and ponds open to public fishing; 9 State
forests and portions of 9 State parks open to pub-
lic hunting; 31 wildlife management areas cover-
ing 69,306 acres open to public hunting; 3 natural
environment areas containing 12,662 acres.

Labor Force, Employment and Unemployment
(1978). Civilian labor force, 2,032,000; total em-
ployment, 1,918,000; unemployment, 114,000, or