Capital: Annapolis

Statehood: April 28, 1788 (The Seventh State)

Origin of Name: Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I

Nicknames: “Old Line State” (General Smallwood’s “Maryland Line” stood firm against British troops during the 1776 Battle of Long Island) and “Free State” (Coined during Prohibition by a Baltimore Sun editor who argued against prohibiting the sale of liquor) 

Geography Facts: Maryland consists of 12,193 miles, ranks 42nd in the nation and includes the Chesapeake Bay, America’s largest estuary (source: Maryland Geological Survey) Chesapeake Bay is 185 miles long, 30 miles wide at its widest, 174 feet deep at its deepest and holds 18 trillion gallons of water.

Maryland has 9,844 square miles of land, 623.35 square miles of inland water,

31 miles of Atlantic Ocean coast, including Assateague Island,

almost 4,000 miles of shoreline, 400 lakes, all manmade.

Highest Point: Backbone Mountain, 3,360 feet above sea level in the Allegheny Mountains

Time Zone: Eastern, Daylight-Saving Time

Sales Tax: 6% (a 1% to 13% lodging and amusement tax also may be imposed)

Phone Calls: Dial the three-digit area code (240, 301, 410 or 443) plus the seven-digit phone number.

Weather: Maryland's location on the mid-Atlantic corridor makes the state weather fairly moderate. In the higher elevations of western mountainside of Maryland, winter temperatures tend to be a bit colder producing wonderful snowy landscapes great for skiing and other outdoor activities.

While the Atlantic's coastal breeze tends to bring cooler temperatures to the Eastern Shore in the summer.

Normal January temperatures range from 23.5 to 40.3 degrees while normal July temperatures range from 66.8 to 87.2 degrees with an average annual precipitation of 45 inches.