DEVELOPMENT OF KNOWLEDGE CONCERN- 

 ING THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF 

 ST. MARYS COUNTY. WITH 

 BIBLIOGRAPHY 



BY 



GEORGE BURBANK SHATTUCK 



Inteodcctokt. 

 The miscellaneous observations made by the early explorers of St. Mary's 

 County pertained to subjects which have now become distinct fields of 

 investigation. Notes which relate to discoveries in geography and 

 geology have been gathered from various sources by the author who has 

 grouped together the most important of them under their respective 

 heads. The review of geographic research begins with a summary of 

 the exploration made by Capt. John Smith in 1608 and ends with the 

 recent work of the State Geological Survey during the summer of 1906. 

 The account of the geologic research begins with Wm. Maclure's investi- 

 gations in 1809 and ends with the latest publications made in 1906. 



HisTOEicAL Review. 

 St. Mary's County, which occupies a narrow neck of land between 

 Chesapeake Bay on the east and the deep estuary of the Patuxent and 

 Potomac rivers on the north and south, is favorably situated for explora- 

 tion and colonization and was consequently visited and settled by the 

 Europeans at a very early date. As is customary in a new country, 

 explorations were at first incomplete and the maps made by the early 

 geographers far from correct. But as time advanced and the country 

 became more thoroughly explored, the rough preliminary maps were 

 replaced by more exact and satisfactory ones. The history of exploration 

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