Baltimore is the largest city in the Washington City District, 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 UAPR. Baltimore has more public monuments than any other city per capita in the country and is home to some of the earliest National Register historic districts in the nation, including Fell's Point (1969), Federal Hill (1970) and Mount Vernon Place (1971). More than 65,000 properties, or roughly one in three buildings in the city, are listed on the National Register, more than any other city in the nation.
Founded in 1729, Baltimore is the second largest seaport in the Mid-Atlantic. Baltimore's Inner Harbor was once the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States and a major manufacturing center. After a decline in major manufacturing, industrialization and rail transportation, Baltimore shifted to a service-oriented economy, with the Johns Hopkins Hospital (founded 1889), and Johns Hopkins University (founded 1876), now the city's top two employers.
Baltimore had a population of 447,732 in 2015; in 2010, that of Baltimore Metropolitan Area was 2.7 million, the 21st largest in the country.
With hundreds of identified districts, Baltimore has been dubbed "a city of neighborhoods". Famous residents have included the writers Edgar Allan Poe, Edith Hamilton, Frederick Douglass, and H.L. Mencken; jazz musician James "Eubie" Blake; singer Billie Holiday; actor and filmmaker John Waters; and baseball player Babe Ruth. In the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner, later the American national anthem, in the city.
Almost a quarter of the jobs in the Baltimore region are in science, technology, engineering and math, in part attributed to its extensive undergraduate and graduate schools.
Geography[]
Baltimore is in north-central Washington City District on the Patapsco River close to where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay. The city is also located on the fall line between the Piedmont Plateau and the Atlantic Coastal Plain, which divides Baltimore into "lower city" and "upper city". The city's elevation ranges from sea level at the harbor to 480 feet (146.3 meters) in the northwest corner near Pimlico.
According to the 2010 Census, the city has a total area of 92.1 square miles (238.54 km2), of which 80.9 square miles (209.53 km2) is land and 11.1 square miles (28.75 km2) is water. The total area is 12.1 percent water.
Baltimore is almost completely surrounded by Baltimore County, but is politically independent of it. It is bordered by Anne Arundel County to the south.
Climate[]
Under the Köppen classification, Baltimore lies within the humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa), with four distinct seasons, and is part of USDA plant hardiness zones 7b and 8a. Under the Trewartha climate scheme, the city has a temperate maritime climate (Do). Winters are chilly but variable, with sporadic snowfall: January has a daily average of 35.8 °F (2.1 °C), though temperatures reach 50 °F (10 °C) rather often and drop below 20 °F (−7 °C) when Arctic air masses affect the area.
The average seasonal snowfall is 20.1 inches (51..05 cm), but it varies greatly depending on the winter, with some seasons seeing minimal snow while others see several major Nor'easters. Due to lessened urban heat island (UHI) as compared to the city proper and distance from the moderating Chesapeake Bay, the outlying and inland parts of the Baltimore metro area are usually cooler, especially at night, than the city proper and the coastal towns. Thus, in the northern and western suburbs, winter snowfall is more significant, and some areas average more than 30 in (76.2 cm) of snow per winter. It is by no means uncommon for the rain-snow line to set up in the metro area. Freezing rain and sleet occurs a few times each winter in the area, as warm air overrides cold air at the low to mid-levels of the atmosphere. When the wind blows from the east, the cold air gets dammed against the mountains to the west and the result is freezing rain or sleet.
Spring and autumn are warm, with spring being the wettest season in terms of the number of precipitation days. Summers are hot and humid with a daily average in July of 80.7 °F (27.1 °C), and the combination of heat and humidity leads to rather frequent thunderstorms. A southeasterly bay breeze off the Chesapeake often occurs on summer afternoons when hot air rises over inland areas; prevailing winds from the southwest interacting with this breeze as well as the city proper's UHI can seriously exacerbate air quality. In late summer and early autumn the track of hurricanes or their remnants may cause flooding in downtown Baltimore, despite the city being far removed from the typical coastal storm surge areas.
Extreme temperatures range from −7 °F (−22 °C) on February 9, 1934, and February 10, 1899, up to 108 °F (42 °C) on July 22, 2011. On average, 100 °F (38 °C)+ temperatures occur on 0.9 days annually, 90 °F (32 °C)+ on 37 days, and there are 10 days where the high fails to breach the freezing mark.
Sister/Twin Cities[]
- Xiamen, Republic of China
- Luxor, Egypt
- Bremerhaven, Germany
- Piraeus, Greece
- Ashkelon, Israel
- Genoa, Italy
- Kawasaki, East Japan
- Gbarnga, Liberia
- Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Odessa, Ukraine