Maryland has been called "America in miniature," because the state embodies a wide range of our nations landscape features. From sandy beaches on the Atlantic Ocean, across flat fields of the Coastal Plain on the Eastern Shore, to the rolling hills and tumbling rivers of the states central counties, and concluding with the mountainous terrain of Western Maryland, the Free States diverse scenery is a result of eons of geological activity. Written for the interested layman or student with no specialized training, this book explains the basics of geological processes, and then shows how they worked to create Marylands beautiful and fascinating landforms. A wealth of diagrams and maps clarify further a text peppered with enlightening analogies. Whether the discussion concerns the different types of weathering, for instance, or the basic kinds of faults or events of plate tectonics, the text and figures combine to help the reader understand how long-ago events produced what we see today. The author not only focuses on the actual landforms and their underlying geology, but also describes the patterns of settlement, farming, mining, manufacturing, and transportation that are all results of the states unique underlying structures.