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About Maryland

One of the Middle Atlantic states of the United States. It is bounded by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean, the District of Columbia, Virginia and West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

• Area, 10,577 sq mi (27,394 sq km)
• Pop. (2000) 5,296,468, a 10.8% increase since the 1990 census
• Capital, Annapolis
• Largest city, Baltimore
• Nickname, Old Line State
• Motto, Fatti Maschii, Parole Femine [Manly Deeds, Womanly Words]
• State bird, Baltimore oriole
• State flower, black-eyed Susan
• State tree, white oak

Although the fishing industry is declining, the catch of fish and shellfish, chiefly from Chesapeake Bay, yielded an income of over $67 million in 1998, and the state's annual catch of crabs is the largest in the nation. The coastal marshes abound in wildfowl. Stone, coal, and iron, mined chiefly in the west of Maryland, are much less significant than in the 19th cent.

Leading manufactures include electrical and electronic machinery, primary metals, food products, missiles, transportation equipment, and chemicals.

Shipping (Baltimore is a major U.S. port), tourism (especially along Chesapeake Bay), biotechnology and information technology, and printing and publishing are also big industries. Service industries, finance, insurance, and real estate are all important. Many Marylanders work for the federal government, either in offices in Maryland or in neighboring Washington, D.C.

Although manufacturing well exceeds agriculture as a source of income, Maryland's farms yield various greenhouse items, corn, hay, tobacco, soybeans, and other crops. Income from livestock (especially broiler chickens) and livestock products, especially dairy goods, is almost twice that from crops. Maryland is also famous for breeding horses.

Annapolis, with its well-preserved Colonial architecture and 18th-century waterfront, is the capital; it is also the site of the U.S. Naval Academy. Baltimore , with a large percentage of the state's population, is the dominant metropolis. Tourists are attracted to the Antietam National Battlefield and the National Cemetery at Sharpsburg; the Fort McHenry National Monument, near Baltimore's inner harbor; and the historic towns of Frederick and St. Marys City. Racing enthusiasts attend the annual Preakness and Pimlico Cup horse races in Baltimore.

*Information from Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition