Maryland Golf

Maryland is an important industrial and shipping state of the United States. It lies in the northeastern corner of the Southern States. Chesapeake Bay, which cuts deep into Maryland, provides the state with several excellent harbors. Historic Baltimore, the state's largest city, is one of the world's greatest port cities. Annapolis, the home of the U.S. Naval Academy, is the capital of Maryland.

Chesapeake Bay divides Maryland into two parts. The part of Maryland east of the bay is called the Eastern Shore. The part west of the bay is the Western Shore. The two parts join north of the bay in the northeastern corner of the state. The Eastern Shore shares the Delmarva Peninsula with parts of Delaware and Virginia. The Eastern Shore and part of the Western Shore are low and relatively flat. But western Maryland has rolling plains, hills and valleys, mountains, and plateaus. Most parts of Maryland have good farmland. Forests cover about 40 percent of the state.

Service industries, such as government and trade, play a leading role in Maryland's economy. The state's chief manufactured products include computer and electronic products, processed foods, and chemicals. Manufacturing in Maryland is centered in the Baltimore area and in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Many farms on the Eastern Shore raise chickens. Many dairy farms lie in the river valleys of the Western Shore. Greenhouse and nursery products are important in the larger cities. Maryland is an important producer of clams, crabs, and oysters.

Baltimore is the state's largest city. Other large population centers, in order of population, are Columbia, Silver Spring, Dundalk, and Wheaton-Glenmont. Maryland is one of the most densely populated U.S. states. Only New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut rank higher in population density.

One of Maryland's most famous annual events is the Preakness Stakes, a horse race run each May at the Pimlico race track in Baltimore. The Preakness, the Kentucky Derby, and the Belmont Stakes make up the famous Triple Crown of horse racing in the United States.

Maryland's long Chesapeake Bay shoreline offers opportunities for boating, fishing, and swimming. Visitors can hunt game birds and animals in the fields and forests, and along rivers. Old mansions and historic sites throughout the state appeal to sightseers. Visitors can still watch a form of old English jousting, in which galloping riders try to catch small rings on a spear. Tournaments are held throughout the year, including a major competition in Calvert County in August.

Maryland was named for Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of King Charles I of England. In 1791, Maryland gave part of its land to the federal government for the District of Columbia (or Washington, D.C.), the new national capital. Maryland is nicknamed the Old Line State after its heroic ''troops of the line.'' These troops won praise from George Washington, who was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.