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Western Maryland is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that traditionally consists of Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties,〔 with western portions of Frederick County also associated with the area. The region is bounded by the Mason-Dixon line to the north, Preston County, West Virginia to the west, and the Potomac River to the south. There is dispute over the eastern boundary of Western Maryland. For most residents of the Baltimore-Washington area, everything west of Frederick city is considered Western Maryland. However, the people of the more mountainous and isolated Allegany County and Garrett County consider Sideling Hill the boundary between Western Maryland and what they refer to as "down-state." Western Maryland is much more rural than the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, where most of the state's population lives; even Frederick and Washington counties are less urbanized than places closer to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Many people still perform a variety of subsistence agriculture for their food needs, and there are relatively few towns larger than 10,000 people. Western Maryland is noted for its idyllic rural landscapes in its eastern portion and the mountainous terrain in Allegany and Garrett counties. The area is generally regarded as part of Appalachia,〔〔 with the extreme western section having more of an affinity to Pittsburgh than the rest of the state. Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties are part of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Garrett County, the state's westernmost county, largely aligns itself through marketing and sports with West Virginia and the Pittsburgh area rather than Maryland. The climate of Western Maryland is more akin to the mountains of northern West Virginia than to any other part of Maryland. Summers tend to be much cooler than in the rest of the state, and winters harsher. Temperatures in winter often drop to near or below 0 F (-18 °C), and snowfall averages from 20 inches farther east to over 120 inches in the higher elevations. Comparably, Prince George's County, in the eastern part of the Washington, D.C. area, averages only 25 inches of snow and wintertime temperatures many times exceed 50 F (10 °C). ==History== In 1748, the Western Maryland population was finally large enough to create a new county called Frederick County. Hunters and traders had been in Western Maryland as early as 1715, but there were not many attempts at settlements for years after that in more remote parts of the area. 1768 had many emigrants that began to settle in the Western Maryland, Western Pennsylvania, and Western Virginia areas. In the earliest part of the colonial days, German immigrants that came from Pennsylvania had the most influence on the development of the plains and valleys of Western Maryland. Named for George Washington, Washington County was founded in 1776, by division of Frederick County. In 1862 during the civil war, this county was home to one of the bloodiest single-day battles at Antietam National Battlefield. The largest city in this county is Hagerstown. It was named after Jonathan Hager, a German settler.〔 In 1785, the city of Cumberland, which is in Allegany County, was established. The County was the home for many pioneers, when they would travel through the Cumberland Narrows, a 1,000 foot high gap. This gap forms the main pass through the Allegheny Mountains to the west. In the mid-18th century, English settlers came to the county and began to mine and create towns and farms. This county was important for transportation for many travelers heading west. They would pass through by many forms of transportation, including canal, train, and horse and buggy.〔 The most western county in the state, Garrett County, was the last part of Maryland to be settled in 1764. The county was founded in 1872 by John Work Garrett, the B&O Railroad president.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://visitmaryland.org/students/pages/marylandregions.aspx )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Western Maryland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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