NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



401 



records from this and adjacent and 

 similar areas indicate an interesting 

 fauna, as yet very inadequately in- 

 vestigated. 38-52 ft.; level. 



From Georgetown, Delawaret, go 8 

 mi. north by P. R. R. to (w) or (a) 

 Ellendale, Delaware. 



Delaware Sand-bar Land. (C4.) The 

 state-owned lands of Delaware consist 

 almost exclusively of a narrow strip 

 along the coast, beginning at the mouth 

 of Broadkill River in Broadkill Hun- 

 dred, Sussex County, and extending 

 southeast and south to the Maryland 

 line, thus including a comparatively 

 short frontage on Delaware Bay, and 

 (with some interruptions, notably at 

 Lewes, Rehoboth, and Bethany Beach) 

 the entire ocean front of the state, 

 from Cape Henlopen southward, a 

 total distance of about 30 mi. The 

 width of the strip is variable, from a 

 few hundred yards to 2 mi. or more, its 

 western boundaries, over most of its 

 extent, following the shallow waters of 

 Rehoboth, Indian River, and Little 

 Assowoman bays. Included are the 

 sandy beaches, shifting dunes of pure 

 sand, others partially fixed by beach 

 grass (Ammophila arenaria) or clothed 

 with Hudsonia; thickets of Myrica and 

 Baccharis; extensive grassy flats; though 

 many miles j.pf the sand-bar strip are 

 treeless, wherever conditions are favor- 

 able, a good stand of loblolly pine main- 

 tains itself, and the systematic affores- 

 tation of a considerable portion of these 

 state lands has been strongly recom- 

 mended. 



Except in the vicinity of the towns 

 mentioned, the sand-bar strip is almost 

 uninhabited, and has been little changed 

 by human agency. Most of it lies 

 beneath the 20 ft. contour line, though 

 at Cape Henlopen one large dune exceeds 

 70 ft. in height. 



Lewest; RehobothJ; Bethany Beachf 

 (in summer). 



3. MARYLAND 

 BY C. C. HAMILTON 



I. GENERAL CONDITIONS 



The topography 



Maryland, although ranking as the 

 eighth smallest state of the Union, is so 

 situated that it offers a wide variety of 

 conditions for the study of plant and 

 animal life out of all proportions to its 

 area. Its greatest length is some 320 

 mi., measured from the northwest to the 



southeast, which is nearly at a right 

 angle to the general direction of the 

 Allegheny Mountains. The state is, 

 in effect, a cross-section of the Coastal 

 Plain, the Piedmont Plateau and the 

 Allegheny Ridges. The elevations pass 

 gradually from sea-level to 3342 ft. near 

 Table Rock in Garrett County. While 

 the north and south extent of the state 

 is not great (250 mi. at its greatest 

 point), yet it lies between the north 

 and the south and is a meeting ground 

 for plants and animals of northern and 

 southern range. The geological forma- 

 tions range from the most ancient 

 granite and gneiss, through rocks of 

 every age and great mineralogical 

 diversity, down to the coastal deposits 

 of recent times. Overlying these varied 

 rocks and deposits are a diversity of 

 soils, which have been nowhere modified 

 by glacial action, as in the neighboring 

 states to the north. Through the middle 

 of the coastal portion of Maryland 

 stretches the Chesapeake Bay with its 

 great system of estuaries, varying the 

 topography, modifying the climatic 

 conditions and bringing about the 

 constant changes in the distribution of 

 plant communities. 



The climate 



Although the climate in general is 

 what is known as continental, it is 

 greatly modified in the eastern portion 

 of the state by the ocean and the Chesa- 

 peake Bay, and in the extreme southeast 

 becomes almost oceanic or insular, 

 surrounded as the land is on nearly all 

 sides by water. 



Due to the geographical position of 

 Maryland and the increasing altitudes 

 encountered in passing from the coast 

 to the northwestern corner there are 

 considerable differences in temperature, 

 which are of importance in determining 

 the type of vegetation. The average 

 annual mean temperature varies from 

 47 to 57, the average annual mean 

 maximum temperature varies from 58 

 to 67 and the average annual mean 

 minimum temperature varies from 35 

 to 48. There is approximately three 



