Maryland map

Where Maryland is

Maryland is a Mid-Atlantic state wrapped around Chesapeake Bay. It reaches about 250 miles east to west but is only about 120 miles north to south at most, and just 1.8 miles wide near Hancock in the western neck. Pennsylvania lies to the north along the Mason–Dixon Line, Delaware to the east, the Atlantic Ocean at the far southeast, Virginia to the south across the Potomac River, and West Virginia to the south and west. Washington, DC, was carved from Maryland in 1791 and sits on its southern edge. Baltimore is on the Patapsco River at the head of the bay; Annapolis is 30 miles south on the Severn.

Major cities

Geography

• Backbone Mountain — 3,360 feet, the highest point, on the West Virginia line in the far western panhandle of the Appalachians.
• Chesapeake Bay — the largest estuary in the US, about 200 miles long, splitting Maryland into the Western Shore and the Eastern Shore; the lowest point is sea level.
• Potomac River — the entire southern and southwestern border, past Washington and Harpers Ferry to the North Branch in the mountains.
• Susquehanna, Patuxent and Patapsco rivers — the Susquehanna enters the bay at Havre de Grace, the Patuxent drains the centre, and the Patapsco forms Baltimore's harbour.
• Atlantic coast — about 31 miles at Ocean City and Assateague Island, with its wild horses. See US coastlines.
• Deep Creek Lake — the largest lake, a reservoir in Garrett County; Maryland has no large natural lakes.

Borders

The Potomac River is Maryland's only long natural border, and Maryland owns the whole river up to the Virginia and West Virginia low-water marks under its 1632 charter. Everything else is surveyed. The northern border is the Mason–Dixon Line, run in 1763–67 at 39°43′N to settle the Penn–Calvert dispute, and the western border is a meridian from the Fairfax Stone at the Potomac's source. The Delaware border consists of the Transpeninsular Line and the Tangent Line; the Virginia border on the Eastern Shore is a straight line across the Delmarva Peninsula. Baltimore City is independent of any county, giving 23 counties plus one city.

Regions of Maryland

Western Maryland (Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties: Cumberland, Hagerstown), the Capital Region or DC suburbs (Montgomery and Prince George's counties), Central Maryland (Baltimore, Frederick, Annapolis, Columbia), Southern Maryland (Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties) and the Eastern Shore (Salisbury, Easton, Ocean City).

Related maps

• Maryland county map — 23 counties plus Baltimore City.
• Blank Maryland map — outline for printing.
• Printable Maryland map.
• Annapolis — the capital on the Severn River, home of the Naval Academy.
• Neighbors: Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia; Washington, DC.
• Region: South · South Atlantic · Mid-Atlantic.
• Time zone: Eastern.
• Geography: Mason–Dixon Line, Appalachian Mountains, Coastlines.