Maryland isn't a very big state, but its cultural make-up is quite complex. To the west are West Virginia and Pennsylvania, blue-collar coal country and quite conservative. In the middle of the state is Washington DC suburbia, with all the culture and worldliness that being part of the nation's capital entails. To the East is big city: Baltimore and the jagged, beautiful Chesapeake coast. Maryland UniversitiesMaryland colleges and universities reflect this complexity. On the one hand, you have the big public universities associated with rural states. Maryland has a major public university with its own college town. Maryland also has small liberal arts colleges in rural and suburban locations. Some... Read More

Maryland isn't a very big state, but its cultural make-up is quite complex. To the west are West Virginia and Pennsylvania, blue-collar coal country and quite conservative. In the middle of the state is Washington DC suburbia, with all the culture and worldliness that being part of the nation's capital entails. To the East is big city: Baltimore and the jagged, beautiful Chesapeake coast. Maryland Universities
Maryland colleges and universities reflect this complexity. On the one hand, you have the big public universities associated with rural states. Maryland has a major public university with its own college town. Maryland also has small liberal arts colleges in rural and suburban locations. Some of these are elite institutions. Baltimore has an elite university as well as a good community college system. Being a suburb of DC, Maryland has access to all the capital city has to offer, including its numerous educational facilities. Maryland Economy
Maryland's Eastern Shore and Western Shore embrace the Chesapeake Bay, and the many estuaries and rivers create one of the longest waterfronts in the country. The Bay produces more seafood?oysters, crabs, clams?than any comparable body of water. Important agricultural products are greenhouse products, chickens, dairy products, eggs, and soybeans. Stone, coal, sand, gravel, cement, and clay are the chief mineral products. Manufacturing in Maryland includes food products, chemicals, computer and electronic products, transportation equipment, and primary metals. Baltimore ranks as the nation's second port in foreign tonnage. The capital, Annapolis, is the site of the U.S. Naval Academy. Maryland Attractions
Popular attractions in Maryland are the Fort McHenry National Monument; Harpers Ferry and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Parks; Antietam National Battlefield; National Aquarium, USS Constellation, and Maryland Science Center at Baltimore's Inner Harbor; Historic St. Mary's City; Jefferson Patterson Historical Park and Museum at St. Leonard; U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis; Goddard Space Flight Center at Greenbelt; Assateague Island National Park Seashore; Ocean City beach resort; and Catoctin Mountain, Fort Frederick, and Piscataway parks. Hide