1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Maryland
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The states largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, the state is named after Henrietta Maria of France, the wife of Charles I of England. George Calvert was the first Lord of Baltimore and the first English proprietor of the colonial grant. Maryland was the state to ratify the United States Constitution. Maryland is one of the smallest U. S. states in terms of area, as well as one of the most densely populated, Maryland has an area of 12,406.68 square miles and is comparable in overall area with Belgium. It is the 42nd largest and 9th smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii, the next largest state, its neighbor West Virginia, is almost twice the size of Maryland. Maryland possesses a variety of topography within its borders, contributing to its nickname America in Miniature. The mid-portion of this border is interrupted by Washington, D. C. which sits on land that was part of Montgomery and Prince Georges counties and including the town of Georgetown. This land was ceded to the United States Federal Government in 1790 to form the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore. Close to the town of Hancock, in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state. This geographical curiosity makes Maryland the narrowest state, bordered by the Mason–Dixon line to the north, portions of Maryland are included in various official and unofficial geographic regions. Much of the Baltimore–Washington corridor lies just south of the Piedmont in the Coastal Plain, earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent and small due to the states distance from seismic/earthquake zones. The M5.8 Virginia earthquake in 2011 was felt moderately throughout Maryland, buildings in the state are not well-designed for earthquakes and can suffer damage easily. The lack of any glacial history accounts for the scarcity of Marylands natural lakes, laurel Oxbow Lake is an over one-hundred-year-old 55-acre natural lake two miles north of Maryland City and adjacent to Russett. Chews Lake is a natural lake two miles south-southeast of Upper Marlboro. There are numerous lakes, the largest of them being the Deep Creek Lake. Maryland has shale formations containing natural gas, where fracking is theoretically possible, as is typical of states on the East Coast, Marylands plant life is abundant and healthy. Middle Atlantic coastal forests, typical of the southeastern Atlantic coastal plain, grow around Chesapeake Bay, moving west, a mixture of Northeastern coastal forests and Southeastern mixed forests cover the central part of the state
4.
Baltimore
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Baltimore is the largest city in the U. S. state of Maryland, and the 29th-most populous city in the country. It was established by the Constitution of Maryland and is not part of any county, thus, it is the largest independent city in the United States, with a population of 621,849 as of 2015. As of 2010, the population of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area was 2.7 million, founded in 1729, Baltimore is the second largest seaport in the Mid-Atlantic. Baltimores Inner Harbor was once the leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States. With hundreds of identified districts, Baltimore has been dubbed a city of neighborhoods, in the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner, later the American national anthem, in Baltimore. More than 65,000 properties, or roughly one in three buildings in the city, are listed on the National Register, more than any city in the nation. The city has 289 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the historical records of the government of Baltimore are located at the Baltimore City Archives. The city is named after Cecil Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, of the Irish House of Lords, Baltimore Manor was the name of the estate in County Longford on which the Calvert family lived in Ireland. Baltimore is an anglicization of the Irish name Baile an Tí Mhóir, in 1608, Captain John Smith traveled 210 miles from Jamestown to the uppermost Chesapeake Bay, leading the first European expedition to the Patapsco River. The name Patapsco is derived from pota-psk-ut, which translates to backwater or tide covered with froth in Algonquian dialect, a quarter century after John Smiths voyage, English colonists began to settle in Maryland. The area constituting the modern City of Baltimore and its area was first settled by David Jones in 1661. He claimed the area today as Harbor East on the east bank of the Jones Falls stream. In the early 1600s, the immediate Baltimore vicinity was populated, if at all. The Baltimore area had been inhabited by Native Americans since at least the 10th millennium BC, one Paleo-Indian site and several Archaic period and Woodland period archaeological sites have been identified in Baltimore, including four from the Late Woodland period. During the Late Woodland period, the culture that is called the Potomac Creek complex resided in the area from Baltimore to the Rappahannock River in Virginia. It was located on the Bush River on land that in 1773 became part of Harford County, in 1674, the General Assembly passed An Act for erecting a Court-house and Prison in each County within this Province. The site of the house and jail for Baltimore County was evidently Old Baltimore near the Bush River. In 1683, the General Assembly passed An Act for Advancement of Trade to establish towns, ports, one of the towns established by the act in Baltimore County was on Bush River, on Town Land, near the Court-House
5.
Central business district
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A central business district is the commercial and business centre of a city. In larger cities, it is synonymous with the citys financial district. Both the CBD and the city centre or downtown may also coincide with the central activities district, a citys CBD is usually typified by a concentration of retail and office buildings. The CBD usually has a density higher than the surrounding districts of the city. The CBD is often also the city centre or downtown, Mexico City also has a historic city centre, the colonial-era Centro Histórico, along with two CBDs, the mid-late 20th century Paseo de la Reforma - Polanco, and the new Santa Fe. The shape and type of a CBD almost always reflect the citys history. Cities with maximum building height restrictions often have a historic section quite apart from the financial. It has been said that downtowns are therefore distinct from both CBDs and city centres. CBDs usually have very small resident populations, for example, the population of the City of London declined from over 200,000 in the year 1700 to less than 10,000 today. In some instances, however, CBD populations are increasing as younger professional, the Buenos Aires Central Business District, is the main commercial centre of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. The actual area was the point of first European settlement and its north-south axis runs from Monserrat in the south to Retiro railway station in the north. Its east-west axis runs from Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve and Puerto Madero, the district is the financial, commercial, and cultural hub of Argentina. Its port is one of the busiest in South America, navigable rivers by way of the Río de la Plata connect the port to northeast Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. As a result, it serves as the hub for a vast area of the southeastern region of the South American continent. Tax collection related to the port has caused political problems in the past. The Buenos Aires Human Development Index is likewise high by international standards, the term is used to refer to the business and financial area of a state capital city such as the Sydney CBD, Melbourne CBD, Brisbane CBD, Perth CBD and Adelaide CBD. The city centres of some cities, such as Townsville, Bendigo. More recently, in cities the city centre, which may or may not be distinct from the CBD, is increasingly separately identified
6.
Interstate 395 (Maryland)
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Interstate 395 is an Interstate Highway in the U. S. state of Maryland. Known as Cal Ripken Way, the highway runs 1.33 miles from I-95 north to Howard Street and Camden Street in Baltimore. I-395 is a spur heads north from I-95 over the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River toward Downtown Baltimore, where it provides access to the Inner Harbor. The Interstate also serves the Camden Yards Sports Complex, which contains M&T Bank Stadium and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, homes of the Baltimore Ravens and Baltimore Orioles, respectively. The Interstate is maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority and, like all Interstates, is a part of the National Highway System. I-395 begins at a directional T interchange with I-95 that is elevated above the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River. The one-lane ramp from southbound I-395 to northbound I-95 splits from the southbound I-95 ramp where the Interstate becomes a viaduct over land. East of the stadium, two-lane flyover ramps from northbound I-395 to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and from the boulevard to southbound I-395 leave and join the mainline. The train station is just to the east of the B&O Warehouse, Conway Street heads east toward Light Street and the Inner Harbor. The roadway continues north as Howard Street through downtown Baltimore, in the 3-A system, I-395 was planned as a freeway spur from I-95 to the south edge of the central business district, connecting to a new route named City Boulevard. As routed in the 3-A System, I-95 would act as a bypass of the business district. The Eastern Branch is now called Cal Ripken Way from I-95 to Conway Street, the entire route is in Baltimore. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a road, is a 2. 3-mile controlled-access boulevard that passes along the west side of downtown Baltimore. The boulevard begins at an interchange with I-395 south of downtown and ends at Howard Street. The first 0.65 miles of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the remainder of the highway from Russell Street to Howard Street is maintained by the Baltimore City Department of Transportation. The boulevard is a part of the National Highway System between I-395 and US40, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard begins as a pair of two-lane freeway ramps to and from southbound I-395 and northbound I-395, respectively. Before the northbound ramp crosses I-395, an exit ramp splits from the flyover for Lee Street. The boulevard curves to the west, crosses over the Baltimore Terminal Subdivision and Baltimore Light Rail lines, each direction of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard receives a ramp from northbound Russell Street before it crosses over the state highway
7.
Inner Harbor
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The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world. ”The Inner Harbor is located at the mouth of Jones Falls, creating the wide and short northwest branch of the Patapsco River. The district includes any water west of a line drawn between the foot of President Street and the American Visionary Art Museum, the harbor is within walking distance of Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium. A water taxi connects passengers to Fells Point, Canton, while Baltimore has been a major U. S. seaport since the 18th century, the historically shallow water of the Inner Harbor was not conducive to large ships or heavy industry. These were concentrated in Locust Point, Fells Point, and Canton, in the mid-20th century, Baltimore suffered from the economic decline of restructuring common to many industrial cities in the United States. Old harbors were abandoned with the arrival of ships after World War II. Later, the old harbors were adapted as focal points to reconnect cities with their waterfronts, and develop public spaces, tourism, business, during the 1940s, John H. Threadgill, the head of the Steamship Trade Association, initiated a study for a cross-harbor bridge. A bridge across the Inner Harbor of Baltimore was one idea that was discussed frequently, Threadgill was named head of Baltimores Port Commission during the 1950s. In the 1950s, economic changes ended both the freight and passenger use of the Inner Harbor, such as the Old Bay Lines steamers, rotting warehouses and piers were eventually torn down and replaced by open, grass-covered parkland that was used for recreational purposes and occasional large events. The renewal of Baltimores Inner Harbor area began with the adoption of the 33-acre Charles Center project by the City Council, between 1958 and 1965, Baltimore renewed the center of its business district by rebuilding Charles Center with office buildings, hotels, and retail shops. At the beginning of mayor Theodore R. McKeldins second term in 1963, corporate headquarters and hotels were built around the shoreline of the Inner Harbor. A public park and promenade were added for leisure activity and community gatherings. On July 4,1976, following the rendezvous of Tall Ships in New York for the U. S. Bicentennial, eight ships from other nations visited Baltimore, where they attracted a huge number of tourists. The nearby Baltimore Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Baltimore Hotel added to the services and resulted in population density, with the success of the Inner Harbor in the 1970s and 1980s, Baltimore became a worldwide tourist destination and model of urban planning and development. S. In recent years, the area along the waterfront to the east of the Inner Harbor has been developed with condominiums, retail space, restaurants, and hotels – an ongoing project known as Harbor East. While little development land remains around the Inner Harbor, the land has been subject to many plans. In September 2003, the Inner Harbor area was flooded by Hurricane Isabel, in March 2004, a water taxi capsized during a storm on the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River near Fort McHenry. While occurring over a mile downstream of the Inner Harbor, the accident was associated with the Inner Harbor by news reports, five passengers died in the accident, which the National Transportation Safety Board determined was caused when the small pontoon-style vessel encountered unpredictable strong winds and waves
8.
Great Baltimore Fire
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The Great Baltimore Fire raged in Baltimore, Maryland, United States on Sunday, February 7 and Monday, February 8,1904. It destroyed much of central Baltimore, including over 1,500 buildings covering an area of some 140 acres. From North Howard Street in the west and southwest, the flames spread north through the shopping area as far as Fayette Street and began moving eastward. The fires wide swath burned as far south as the wharves and piers lining the side of the old Basin of the Northwest Branch of the Baltimore Harbor. It is considered historically the third worst conflagration in an American city, surpassed only by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906. Other major urban disasters that were comparable were the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and most recently, Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans, One reason for the fires long duration involved the lack of national standards in firefighting equipment. Much of the area was rebuilt in relatively short order. Perhaps the greatest legacy of the fire was the impetus it gave to efforts to standardize firefighting equipment in the United States, in centuries past, fires regularly ravaged cities, frequently destroying large areas within. Close living quarters, lax, unenforced, or non-existent building codes, the rapid expansion of American cities during the nineteenth century contributed to the danger. In addition, firefighting practices and equipment were largely unstandardized, each city had its own system, as time passed, these cities invested more in the systems that they already had, increasing the costs of any conversion. In addition, early equipment was often patented by its manufacturer, by 1903, over 600 sizes and variations of fire hose couplings existed in the United States. Fire was reported first at the John Hurst and Company building on West German Street at Hopkins Place in the part of downtown Baltimore at 10,48 a. m. on Sunday, February 7. Soon, it became apparent that the fire was outstripping the ability of the firefighting resources to fight it. By 1,30 p. m. units from Washington, D. C. were arriving on the Baltimore, to halt the fire, officials decided to use a firebreak, and dynamited buildings around the existing fire. Not until 5,00 p. m. the next day was the fire brought under control, One reason for the fires duration was the lack of national standards in firefighting equipment. Fire crews and fire came from as far away as Philadelphia. The crews brought their own equipment, most could only watch helplessly after discovering that their hoses could not connect to Baltimores gauge size of water hydrants. High winds and freezing temperatures further contributed to the fires extent, as a result, the fire burned over 30 hours, destroying 1,545 buildings spanning 70 city blocks—amounting to over 140 acres
Downtown Baltimore
