Maryland State Profile

Overview of the geography of Maryland. In the video I discuss the cities, mountains, beaches, economy, taxes, food, and more. I try to cover as much of the state as possible in 25 minutes.

Album displayed: The Mothers of Invention - "We're Only In It For the Money" (1968)

0:00 Intro
0:59 Annapolis
1:36 Baltimore
5:12 Other Cities
8:27 Ocean City
9:57 Appalachian Mountains
11:44 Potomac River
12:28 Chesapeake Bay
13:48 Eastern Shore
16:32 Economy & Taxes
18:10 Government Facilities
20:48 Private Companies
21:56 Food
23:15 Leftovers

[Tonymanero]

I have been a Marylander for over 60 years, ..and have been to almost every inch of the state. I think Kyle did an outstanding job of describing our state.

[GeoGuy]

Maryland native here. Pretty good video, but I'm surprised you highlighted Emmitsburg and Leonardtown over some other places like Easton, Salisbury, Bowie, Ellicott City, or any of the various major suburbs in Montgomery County (Silver Spring, Rockville, Bethesda, Gaithersburg).

A couple random facts:

-Maryland is indeed a small state, but it's surprisingly long from end to end. It can take about 6 hours to drive from Ocean City to the end of a panhandle on a low traffic day.

-We're definitely known for the crabcakes/Old Bay, but another common crab-based dish is cream of crab soup. It's fantastic. Also, Utz potato chips and Berger cookies (soft-baked cookies dipped in fudge) are based out of Baltimore and fairly popular.

-Maryland and Virginia have a somewhat friendly, but fairly strong rivalry. I've always found this a bit peculiar because I feel like Pennsylvania should be a bigger rival to Maryland, given how many sports rivalries exist between the two states, bearing in mind that DC teams are very popular in Maryland (e.g. Ravens/Steelers, Capitals/Penguins, Commanders/Eagles, Nationals/Phillies). I guess that would be too much of a one-way rivalry since Pennsylvania tends to bicker more with Ohio and New Jersey.

-It's not the most diverse state, but there are some interesting oddities and curiosities in terms of ethnic groups, etc. For one, PG County is one of a handful of very affluent, majority-Black counties in the U.S. While mostly native-born, some of P.G. County's Black population is a result of immigration from West Africa. Also, Maryland doesn't have an especially high Latino population, but it does have one of the largest Salvadoran communities in the U.S. The western suburbs of Baltimore are home to a high concentration of Jewish people. Both the DC and Baltimore suburbs around central Maryland have pockets where large Korean immigrant communities call home. I grew up in Anne Arundel County and would notice a smattering of Korean churches whenever I drove around the northern parts of AA County.

-Maryland, for as small as it is, is kind of a little microcosm of America. You have urban, suburban, and rural areas. Mountains in the west, foothills near the center, and plains and beaches in the east. Very liberal/left-wing areas (the urbanized center of the state) and conservative/right-wing areas (most of the Eastern Shore and the panhandle). A major city battling blight (Baltimore), a very affluent urban area (Montgomery County) with lots of white collar jobs, rust belt type areas (Hagerstown and Cumberland in the panhandle), and more agrarian portions on the Eastern Shore. There's a little bit of everything in MD.

[jimr]

I have to give a mention to the C&O Canal bike trail, from Washington, DC to Cumberland, MD. The canal was surveyed by George Washington and was active until the 1920's. Now it's a linear park and the old mule towpath is a bicycle trail, including the haunted Paw Paw tunnel. It connects to the rail grade Great Alleghany Passage that ends in Pittsburgh, PA making for a wonderful bicycling/camping vacation destination.

[MegaGo]

Oh man, I live in Charles Village, teach at Johns Hopkins, and have 7 lacrosse players in my class right now. Never expected my whole life to flash before my eyes on your channel, but thank you for such thorough coverage!

[shaunl]

Your Baltimore description was very accurate for someone not from here. There are huge parts of the city that just haven't gotten better in decades, unlike DC.

Pretty neat to have a Leonardtown shoutout. My family's from there and they've been there since the beginning of the colony.

[markswishereatsstuff]

As a born and bred Baltimoron who lives just north in Towson. You were very spot on about the state and Baltimore. I tend to get all my daily needs done in the suburbs north of Towson. I go into the city a couple times a year to see a performance or special restaurant. The crime is what turns me off. That stock shot of the first crabs is incorrect. Those are west coast Dungeness crabs. We have the blue crabs which now have invaded the Mediterranean Sea. The Italians are trying to figure out how to eat them. We need to do a drop-off of some Old Bay Seasoning and show them what's what.😄

[mdimp]

Great job, Kyle! I’ve lived in 5 states over my lifetime, but have lived in Maryland for the past 30 years. I have no intention of leaving. It’s the most moderate, accommodating, tolerant state I’ve known.

[pjflynn]

I love Maryland so much! It and Pennsylvania are undoubtedly the most beautiful states to me. I’ve lived all over the country, California, CT, VA, but MD is just my favorite. Frederick MD is the most beautiful city in America too I believe. I will die on this hill that MD is the best damn state

[storey]

Keep the state profiles coming! They are my favorite thing on your channel.

[bengeertsema]

Omg no way! Great video as always, Kyle, Maryland is indeed a nice place :) I'm a native Marylander and I went on a couple of surveys of Tanglefoot Cave a few years ago. It is very long but at least when I was on the survey crew it had very little beautiful formations. I'm rooting for Baltimore's comeback from here in DC, it is one of the most beautiful and historic seaports in the country!

[billlauretti]

Great video! I lived in Maryland for 15 years and enjoyed my time there. The one small opportunity you missed was to talk about the Mason-Dixon line that forms the border between MD, PA and DE. Lots of history there, from its origin as a way to settle a border dispute between the Calvert and Penn families to its status as the effective divide between slave and free states before the Civil War.

[MarkM]

Another interesting thing about Maryland is the totally different cultures between the Baltimore and DC areas. Kinda like Dallas and Fort Worth.The Baltimore area is much more blue collar in nature. Another thing you didn't mention is Columbia, one of the first ever completely planned communities in the US. It was completely planned by James Rouse before the first shovel of dirt was dug in 1966. Google the Rouse Company. He developed several waterfront area like Baltimore's Inner Harbor and Norfolk' waterfront.

[michelepayne]

Not only informative but full of cute little anecdotes! Perfect blend of information and entertainment.

[scottkilmer]

As someone who is from the Virginia area of the DMV, I always appreciated Baltimore despite its faults due to it having an awesome aquarium and a not horrific football stadium

[brandoontwowheels]

Kyle, The high resolution maps you use in this video are top notch from a nerdy perspective, particularly the topography and Chesapeake watershed ones. They really help to illustrate the state’s geographic diversity. And overall, the production of this state profile is good. Hope you keep these profiles coming!

[MrDEWaters]

A must-see for history buffs is the historical exhibit at St. Mary's City. Several of my ancestors were there in the 1600s. It is often neglected, although its importance rivals that of Jamestown, Plymouth, Mass., and St. Augustine.

[michaelsadams]

Kyle, when I introduce myself, I almost always say "I am an endangered species! I am a native Maryland Republican who votes!" I really appreciated your video! It was very thorough and extremely accurate! I live down in Southern Maryland, not very far from Leonardtown which you covered in this video.
I grew up in the south and central part of Prince Georges County and then lived for quite a bit of time in Charles County. I have now been down here in the southwestern part of the state for several years, and I do not think I will do any more moving! Like @stevediorio, there is no part of Maryland I have not been to. It is such a beautiful state.
I have one final thought. I really appreciated how you introduced Maryland at the beginning of your video: as The Old Line State. I particularly love this name because of how we received it.
It was The Revolutionary War. The battle was taking place in New York and the fighting was fierce. The British were effectively pushing back every company but one: The Maryland Company.
It was George Washington who gave us this name. He said of the Maryland troops that "They held the line." What makes me love this statement is not totally that we were brave and courageous during that conflict, which obviously, we were. But it is the fact that it was George Washington himself who paid us this powerful compliment. I really love Our Nation's most beloved founding father, George Washington!

[julayanna]

as a long time fan of you and a native marylander, you did a great job talking about the state! i think one big thing about maryland is its suburban sprawl, bowie being the worst of them all. 1950s-1970s builders really loved winding suburbs for some reason and theyre still popping up where you least expect them today lol

[clara-ikwn]

Kyle, love the state profiles. Would you consider doing province profiles for Canada? I’m sure a lot of people would enjoy!

[sid]

Baltimore is so underrated as a city, and I’ve been all around the world. Really good food scene and distinct in its own way