The Port of Baltimore lies above the Chesapeake Bay at the head of the Patapsco River Estuary in the State of Maryland in the United States. About 65 kilometers northeast of the Nation's capital, Washington DC, the Port of Baltimore is about 140 nautical miles north of the Port of Norfolk in Virginia from the head to the mouth of the Bay and about 147 kilometers southwest of the Port of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. At the northeastern end of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, the Port of Baltimore is the largest city in and the economic center of the State. The Port of Baltimore is the only city in the State that is not located within a county. In 2006, over 631 thousand people lived in the Port of Baltimore, and more than 2.6 million called the Baltimore-Towson metropolitan area home.

At one time, the Port of Baltimore was a busy industrial center based on the manufacture of steel and automobiles, shipping, and transportation. Today, the Port of Baltimore still has some industry, but its modern economy is based on financial, health, and business services for the United States' southern Mid-Atlantic region. The Port of Baltimore is home to six Fortune 1000 companies, including Black & Decker, T. Rowe Price, and McCormick and Company. It is also home to other major companies that include Alex. Brown & Sons, Thomson Prometric, Sylvan Learning, DAP, and DeBaufre Bakeries. The Port of Baltimore is also the home of Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital, the future center for a biotechnology park.

The area of today's Port of Baltimore was inhabited by the Powhatan peoples before Europeans arrived. In 1729, the Port of Baltimore was established and named after Lord Baltimore in the Irish House of Lords. It was soon a busy port for tobacco and grain. The surrounding waters were powering flour mills.

When the American Revolution began, the Port of Baltimore was already an important seaport and shipbuilding center. Merchant traders went as far as the Caribbean. For a short time in 1776 and 1777, the Port of Baltimore was home to the Continental Congress who met there hoping to avoid the threat of British attack on Philadelphia.

The Constellation, the United States' first naval vessel, was launched from the Port of Baltimore in 1797. The country's last all-sail warship, also named the Constellation, was built in 1854 and has been in the Port of Baltimore harbor since 1955.

The British attempted to capture the Port of Baltimore during the War of 1812, but US troops defended the city from nearby Fort McHenry. It was during this battle that Francis Scott Key was inspired to write The Star Spangled Banner. In 1827, the Nation's first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio, terminated at the Port of Baltimore's Mount Clare Station, the site of a railroad museum today.

Although the State of Maryland did not secede from the Union during the American Civil War, many of its residents sympathized with the southern Confederacy. Union troops occupied the Port of Baltimore throughout the war, seriously disrupting the economic and cultural life of the city.

In 1904, a terrible fire destroyed most of the Port of Baltimore's business district. The Great Baltimore Fire raged for two days in February, and it took more than 1200 firefighters to bring it under control. Before it was over, the fire covered almost 57 hectares and destroyed more than Port of Baltimore 1500 buildings. Fortunately, few lives were lost, and recovery was fast.

When World War I began, the Port of Baltimore grew quickly with facilities related to the war effort including steel works and oil refineries. The Great Depression of the late 1920s and 1930s was a time of serious economic trouble for the Port of Baltimore, and World War II brought continued stress to an already stressed urban area.

In the early 20th Century, the Port of Baltimore was home to many writers and artists who gave it a special flavor. H.L. Mencken, Eubie Blake, Billie Holliday, and many other talented Americans transformed the industrial city into a modern cosmopolitan center.

After World War II, the economy began to recover, and the Port of Baltimore's residents experienced a rising standard of living. With affluence came movement of the middle-class population to new suburbs outside the city's borders. Many people left, and the Port of Baltimore's population began to shrink for the first time since the middle of 19th Century. As in many parts of the country, "suburban flight" depressed the economy, hitting the downtown retail areas hard. By the late 1960s, the Port of Baltimore's inner city was as hard-pressed as it had been during the Great Depression.

Municipal, business, and citizens groups banned together to bring the Port of Baltimore back from the economic brink. Urban renewal efforts gave the Port of Baltimore a new look and feel. Problems remained, but the Port of Baltimore revitalized its downtown and several neighborhoods.

One area of focus was the Port of Baltimore's Inner Harbor. New hotels, office buildings, and entertainment centers were constructed. The National Aquarium and the Maryland Science Center replaced deteriorating wharves and warehouses. More recently, the new home of the Baltimore Orioles, Camden Yards, gave the citizens another proud structure.

Today, the Port of Baltimore is an important seaport with ship repair facilities and a richly diverse economy. Reaching the sea through the Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, it is a major shipping hub for automobiles. In addition to the seaport, the Port of Baltimore is a busy center for education, healthcare, finance, and insurance industries. Federal government and military installations contribute many jobs. Manufacturers produce automobiles, processed foods, steel, electronics, aircraft parts, and paper and plastic products.

As part of the United States' busy Northeast Corridor, the Port of Baltimore is an important stop on the passenger-commuter rail system. It shares the Baltimore-Washington International Airport with the Nation's capital. It is also served by a vast and dense network of interstate and state highways. As a center for higher education, the Port of Baltimore is home to Johns Hopkins University (founded in 1876), several colleges among the University of Maryland system.

The Maryland Port Administration (MPA) is the port authority for the Port of Baltimore. The seven-member Maryland Port Commission oversees the MPA, setting policy and procedures that help make the Port of Baltimore an efficient and competitive seaport. Six of the Commission's members are appointed by the Governor and approved by the State Senate to serve three-year terms. The Commissioners are responsible for acquiring and improving port facilities, managing dredging activities, establishing Foreign Trade Zones, and conducting studies and surveys that will improve port performance.

In 2008, the Port of Baltimore handled a total of almost nine million tons of cargo, including 5.8 million tons of containerized cargo, almost 1.2 million tons of forest products, 968 thousand tons of roll-on/roll-off cargo, 699 thousand tons of automobiles, and 309 thousand tons of steel and breakbulk cargoes. Containerized cargoes through the Port of Baltimore included a total of over 395 thousand TEUs of containerized cargoes, including 194.1 thousand TEUs of imports and 201.1 thousand TEUs of exports.

The Port of Baltimore's Seagirt Marine Terminal specializes in handling containers. Covering 112 hectares, the terminal contains 54.2 hectares of container storage space. The terminal has four berths, three for vessels and one for barges. Berths 1 through 3 are a total 953 meters long with alongside depth of 13.7 meters. Berth 4, the Barge Berth, is 213.4 meters long with alongside depth of 9.8 meters. The terminal includes 112 reefer outlets and has direct rail connections serviced by CSX Transportation.

The Dundalk Marine Terminal in the Port of Baltimore handles containers, automobiles, breakbulk, roll-on/roll-off cargoes and forest products. The 225-hectare terminal has 13 berths with berthing space for 12 vessels. Berths 1 through 4 total 772.7 meters in length alongside depth of 10.4 meters. Berths 5 and 6 are 385.6 meters long with alongside depth of 13.7 meters. With alongside depth of 12.8 meters, Berths 7 through 10 total 858.9 meters and Berths 11 through 13 total 876 meters. The roll-on/roll-off platforms are located at the Port of Baltimore's Berth 13 and between Berths 8 and 9. This Port of Baltimore terminal contains 28 reefer outlets, a total of 86.6 thousand square meters of shed space, and an almost two thousand square meter fumigation center. The terminal is served by direct rail access to all sheds and has direct rail to/from ship capacity. It also has two rail storage yards with ample cargo-handling equipment, including automobile loading/unloading operations.

The Fairfield and Masonville Marine Terminals in the Port of Baltimore are premier automobile terminals. Fairfield Terminal is located just 5.6 kilometers from the US's East Coast Interstate-95. Specializing in the import, export, and processing of automobiles, the terminal covers over 42 hectares and has one berth, the Port of Baltimore's Pier 4, that is 253.6 meters long with alongside depth of 14.9 meters. The Masonville Terminal covers almost 25 hectares and contains two berths at Pier 4, which is 253.6 meters long with alongside depth of 14.9 meters. The Masonville Marine Terminal is leased to ATC Logistics.

The Port of Baltimore's South Locust Point Marine Terminal is a multi-use facility specializing in breakbulk and roll-on/roll-off cargoes of forest products. The 32-hectare terminal and three berths totaling 626.7 meters in length with alongside depth of 11 meters. The terminal has a total of 77.6 thousand square meters of sheds and has direct rail connections to the rear of the sheds by CSX Transportation.

The North Locust Point Marine Terminal in the Port of Baltimore is a multi-use facility specializing in breakbulk, liquid bulk, roll-on/roll-off, and containerized cargoes. Covering a total of over 36 hectares, the terminal includes 7.9 hectares of outside storage and almost 16.1 thousand square meters of sheds. The terminal has nine berths. Handling general cargo, Pier 3 East is 376.4 meters long alongside depth of 10.1 meters. Pier 3 West is 368.2 meters long with alongside depth of 10.4 meters. With alongside depth of 10.4 meters, Pier 4/5 East and West is each 365.8 meters long. Handling bulk cargo, Pier 10 East is 193.5 meters long alongside depth of 10.4 meters. This Port of Baltimore terminal has eight reefer outlets and direct rail connection to the terminal and all berths by CSX Transportation.

The Port of Baltimore's Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) is used to transfer containers to and from rail and ship. The terminal is leased by CSX Transportation Intermodal. Almost 27 hectares of the 34-hectare terminal has been developed. The remaining seven hectares are currently the site of warehouses. This Port of Baltimore terminal is equipped with over 1.1 kilometers of rail tracks, including four loading/unloading tracks, three storage tracks, and one run-around track.

The Port of Baltimore also contains several private terminals. These include APM Terminals Baltimore, Baltimore Metal and Commodities Terminal Inc., CNX Marine Terminals Inc., MAT Mid-Atlantic Terminal, Rukert Terminals Corporation, Sparrows Pint, The Terminal Corporation, and Westway Terminal Company Inc.

The City of Baltimore is a popular tourist destination in the United States' Mid-Atlantic region. Lying on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, it enjoys a temperate climate, numerous tourist attractions, a long-lived nightlife, and a tradition of hospitality. With a long rich history, the Port of Baltimore was instrumental in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War. Since African Americans were brought as slaves to the Port of Baltimore during the colonial era, the city's black population has given it a rich and varied cultural face. The Port of Baltimore was also home to Edgar Allen Poe and many American writers and musicians who have enriched the country's cultural life. For more information on the many things to see and do in the Port of Baltimore, please visit the city's tourism website.

The Port of Baltimore has a humid subtropical climate with hot humid summers and cool yet comfortable winters. Rain is frequent and evenly spread through the year, and afternoon thunderstorms are not unusual. Heavy snow is rare, but light snowfall comes two to three days per year. Further inland, snow is more generous. The Port of Baltimore is protected from extreme weather by the Appalachian Mountains to the west and the Delmarva Peninsula to the east. Temperatures range from an average high of 33 ?C (91 ?F) in July to an average low of -1 ?C (30 ?F) in January and February.

The most popular destination in the Port of Baltimore is the Inner Harbor, the city's heart and center. With many restaurants and music venues, nights are filled with people and pleasure. It is also home to the huge National Aquarium, the Maryland Science Center, and the American Visionary Arts Museum. The Inner Harbor in the Port of Baltimore is one of the most-photographed places in the city. It has been an important American seaport since the 18th Century.

While the Inner Harbor is popular and plentiful, it is devoid of history − unlike the rest of the Port of Baltimore. Fort McHenry is the most famous historic attraction in the Port of Baltimore. Located across the harbor at Locust Point, it was here that Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the Star Spangled Banner, the country's national anthem, while the British navy bombed the fort in 1812.

The Port of Baltimore's National Aquarium in the Inner Harbor is home to over 660 species of animals and about 16.5 thousand individual specimens. Exhibits include Australian animals, amphibians, birds, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, and, of course, fish. The fish are both salt-water and fresh-water species from the coolest regions to the tropics. With about 1.6 million people visiting each year, the most popular exhibits in the National Aquarium are the dolphin display, rooftop rainforest, ray pool, and the multi-story shark pool. One of the country's most outstanding aquariums, it is also the largest tourist attraction in the State of Maryland.

The Port of Baltimore's Westminster Hall and Burying Ground is a fascinating architectural landmark and the resting place of many of the city's past citizens. Westminster Hall is a Gothic church that was built on arches above the Burying Ground, which created catacombs. Several of Baltimore's early mayors now rest there, as do Edgar Allan Poe and his wife. Restored and cared for by the Westminster Preservation Trust, the church has been renovated and adapted for modern use. The restoration is faithful to the original design but has modern conveniences. The graveyard was first established in 1786 by the First Presbyterian Church, and it was the burial ground for the Port of Baltimore's most prominent politicians, merchants, and veterans. Today, the graveyard is a favorite of paranormal investigators and ghost hunters.

Visitors to the Port of Baltimore will also want to visit the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum celebrates perhaps the most famous resident of the city. The writer lived in the house in the early 1830s before he moved to Richmond, Virginia, to edit The Southern Literary Messenger. The house is open to the public from April to November, and it contains displays of some of Poe's personal effects and mementos. The house was saved from being demolished in the 1930s by public outcry from the residents of the Port of Baltimore. The annual celebration of Poe's birthday is an amazing event, with actors portraying a Poe classic, a bagpipe tribute, showing of rare Poe artifacts, and a Toast to Poe at his grave.

Travelers who want to visit the Port of Baltimore by sea can find a list of scheduled cruises on the Cruise Compete Website.