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State Capital. Annapolis: The original capital was
St. Mary's City. In 1694, the General Assembly
designated Anne Arundel Town the capital. After
Queen Mary's death in December 1694, Anne
Arundel Town was renamed Annapolis for Queen
Mary's sister and heiress apparent. Princess Anne.
The government moved to Annapolis in February
1694/5, when the site was still known as Anne
Arundel Town.
Population. 4,216,975 in 1980 census; ranked 18th
among the states.
Government. Executive. The governor, elected by
popular vote for a four-year term, is the chief
executive of the State. Fourteen cabinet-level
executive departments oversee most State
agencies. Legislative. The General Assembly,
Maryland's bicameral legislature, consists of a
47-member Senate and a 141-member House of
Delegates. As of November 1986, the Senate has
40 Democrats and 7 Republicans; the House of
Delegates includes 125 Democrats and 16
Republicans. The General Assembly meets each
year on the second Wednesday in January for 90
days to enact laws. Judicial. The Judiciary
consists of four court divisions: the Court of
Appeals, the Court of Special Appeals, the Circuit
Courts, and the District Courts. Local. Of the 50
states, Maryland is among those with the fewest
number of local governments. Local government
exists in Maryland's 23 counties, 154 municipal
corporations (including Baltimore City), and
special taxing districts.
Area. In square miles: land, 9,837; inland water,
623; Chesapeake Bay, 1,726; total, 12,186. 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"
province from Fall Line to base of Catoctin
Mountains; Appalachian province from base of
Catoctin Mountains to western boundary of State.
Mean elevation, 350 feet; maximum elevation,
3,360 feet on Backbone Mountain.
Distances. Longest east-west, 198.6
miles—Fairfax Stone to Delaware Line; north-
south, 125.5 miles—Pennsylvania line to Virginia
line at Smith Point on south-shore mouth of
Potomac River; shortest north-south, 1.9
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miles—Pennsylvania line to south bank of
Potomac River near Hancock; farthest points
northwest corner to southeast corner at Atlantic
Ocean, 254.7 miles.
Location. Highway distance from Central
Maryland (in miles): Boston, 392; Chicago, 668;
New York, 196; Philadelphia, 96; Pittsburgh, 218;
Richmond, 143; Washington, D.C., 37.
Climate. Generally moderate, varies from mild to
hot in summer, and in winter from moderate in
the east and south to very cold in the western
mountains. Average annual rainfall, 42.90 inches.
Average seasonal snowfall, 25 inches ranging from
10 inches on the southern Eastern Shore to 110
inches in Garrett County. Average annual
temperature 54.6 degrees Fahrenheit, with high
temperatures in July, the warmest month,
averaging in the low 80s and the low temperatures
in January, the coldest month, averaging in the
low 30s. Duration of the freeze-free period
averages 185 days, ranging from 130 days in
Garrett County to 230 days in the southern
Chesapeake Bay area.
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; two outlets to
the Atlantic Ocean, one through the Chesapeake
and Delaware Canal and 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,
Susquehanna, Choptank, Nanticoke, Elk,
Magothy, Patapsco, 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; 714 boat ramps and 42,545 boat slips
(estimated 1986).
Water Frontage. Sixteen of the 23 counties and
Baltimore City border on tidal water. Length of
tidal shoreline, including islands, 4,360 miles.
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