THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF 

 PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY 



INTRODUCTION 



Prince George's County lies between the parallels 38° 32' and 

 39° 8' north latitnde and the meridians 76° 40' and 77° 5' west 

 longitude and, with Anne Arundel, Charles, St. Mary's and Calvert 

 counties, comprises what is commonly known as Southern Maryland. 

 It covers an area of 479.6 square miles. The county is separated on 

 the north and east from Howard, Anne Arundel and Calvert counties 

 by thePatuxentEiver; on the south from Charles County by Swanson 

 and Mattawoman creeks and a line between them ; on the west from 

 Alexandria and Fairfax counties, Virginia, by the Potomac River, 

 and from Montgomery County and the District of Columbia by 

 arbitrary lines. The lower portion of the county fonns a part of 

 the Southern Maryland peninsula, situated between the navigable 

 estuaries of the Potomac and Patuxent rivers, while the northern 

 part connects the peninsula witli the upland. The county thus 

 includes portions of two geological provinces, the Coastal Plain and 

 the Piedmont Plateau. 



The earliest settlements in Prince George's County were made 

 upon the Patuxent side of the County in the vicinity of Mataponi 

 Creek, from which point to Swanson Creek stretched a more or less 

 scattered plantation close to the river banks. The earliest records 

 show that the inhabitants along the river were regarded as living in 

 St. Mary's County. In 1650, when old Charles County was erected, 

 the south shore of the Patuxent was included in it and such settle- 

 ments as were made within the present limits of Prince George's 



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