Western Maryland, also known as the Maryland panhandle, is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that typically consists of Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties. The region is bounded by Preston County, West Virginia, to the west, the Mason–Dixon line (Pennsylvania) to the north, and the Potomac River and West Virginia to the south. At one point, at the town of Hancock, the northern and southern boundaries are separated by just 1.8 miles, the narrowest stretch in the state.
Sideling Hill Road Cut, a man-made mountain pass on Interstate 68/U.S. Route 40 near Hancock, Maryland
Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The state borders Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, Delaware to its east, the Atlantic Ocean, and the national capital of Washington, D.C. With a total area of 12,407 square miles (32,130 km2), Maryland is the ninth-smallest state by land area, and its population of 6,177,224 ranks it the 18th-most populous state and the fifth-most densely populated. Maryland's capital is Annapolis, and the most populous city is Baltimore. Occasional nicknames include Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after Henrietta Maria, the French-born queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland during the 17th century.
The bombardment of Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner".
The Battle of Antietam in 1862 was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War with nearly 23,000 casualties.
Ruin left by the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904
Great Falls on the Potomac River