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The Hereford Zone is an area in Northern Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, constituting 20% of all of the land in Baltimore County. It includes Hereford, Parkton, Monkton, Freeland, Sparks, White Hall, Jacksonville, Upperco, Manchester, Phoenix, and Glyndon.
It is by far the most sparsely populated area in Baltimore County. Strict zoning laws prohibit any planned communities from developing, with large single-family housing lots and agricultural activity predominating.
Because of its higher elevation and microclimate, the weather of The Hereford Zone is slightly different from that of the rest of the county. [1] It is not unusual in the winter for schools in the surrounding areas to be 2 hours late, while the Hereford Zone is closed due to inclement weather.
Near the most northern part of the zone in the topmost strip where Baltimore County meets south central Pennsylvania, numerous mini tornadoes and wind storms zip through the fields unfettered by buildings or natural land changes to halt their progress. The air quality in the area is markedly different from that of the suburbs of Baltimore City to the south. Both the land elevation as it climbs from sea level to 966' at the Mason-Dixon Line near Stiltz, Pa.,on Middletown Rd [2] and the absence of smokestack manufacturing combine with the prevailing westerly winds to eliminate the yellow haze associated with low levels of pollution on even the most humid summer days.
In the Hereford Zone, Prettyboy Reservoir covers an area of 206.5 sq/km behind the scenic Prettyboy Dam on the Gunpowder River.
Hereford High School is the host of the annual "Bull Run" Cross Country Invitational, run in the end of September, which is one of the largest East Coast cross country running events, attracting over 100 schools from surrounding states. The "grueling" course is noted for its hills, twists, turns, and a steep ravine known as "The Dip", all making for what has been called "The Toughest Three Miles in Cross-Country" by John Dye of DyeStat. [3] [4]
Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, and the national capital of Washington, D.C. to the southwest. With a total area of 12,407 square miles (32,130 km2), Maryland is the ninth-smallest state by land area, and its population of 6,177,224 ranks it the 19th-most populous state and the fifth-most densely populated. Maryland's capital is Annapolis, and the most populous city is Baltimore.
Garrett County is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland completely within the Appalachian Mountains. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,806, making it the third-least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Oakland. The county was named for John Work Garrett (1820–1884), president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Created from Allegany County in 1872, it was the last county to be formed in the state. The county is part of the Western Maryland region of the state. Garrett County is bordered by four West Virginia counties and to the north the Maryland–Pennsylvania boundary known as the Mason–Dixon line. The eastern border with Allegany County was defined by the Bauer Report, submitted to Governor Lloyd Lowndes, Jr. on November 9, 1898. The Potomac River and State of West Virginia lie to the south and west.
Arbutus is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 20,483 at the 2010 census. The census area also contains the communities of Halethorpe and Relay, in which all three names were used during the 1960 census when the area had a population of 22,402.
Hampton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,052 at the 2010 census. Hampton is often considered a subdivision of the nearby community of Towson and is located just north of Baltimore, about twenty minutes from downtown. Hampton contains residences situated on lots up to several acres in a park-like setting. The community is anchored by its principal landmark, the Hampton National Historic Site. The Towson United Methodist Church is located in Hampton, flanked on the south by I-695 and Goucher College.
Eldersburg is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The population was 30,531 at the 2010 census.
Aberdeen is a city located in Harford County, Maryland, United States, 26 miles (42 km) northeast of Baltimore. The population was 16,254 at the 2020 United States Census. Aberdeen is the largest municipality in Harford County.
Jessup is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard and Anne Arundel counties, about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 10,535.
Hunt Valley is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, near the site of the Maryland Hunt Cup Steeplechase. It lies just north of the city of Baltimore, along York Road, parallel to Interstate 83. The nearby Loch Raven Reservoir is an important landmark and drinking water resource. Its surrounding forested watershed is one of three reservoirs established for the City of Baltimore. Hunt Valley is located at a latitude of 39.5° North and longitude of 76.7° West. It is served by the Cockeysville post office, and is also a neighbor of Timonium. A satellite campus of the Community College of Baltimore County, one of the three supplemental campuses of CCBC, uses a leased building located at 11101 McCormick Road, a business park in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
The Gunpowder River is a 6.8-mile-long (10.9 km) tidal inlet on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, United States. It is formed by the joining of two freshwater rivers, Gunpowder Falls and Little Gunpowder Falls.
Prettyboy Reservoir is a 1,500-acre (610 ha) reservoir in the Hereford Zone of northern Baltimore County, Maryland. While the reservoir is in Baltimore County, the independent city of Baltimore owns the reservoir and the surrounding land. The reservoir is one of three reservoirs created to supply the municipal water system for Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and northern Anne Arundel County constructed by the Baltimore City Department of Public Works. Prettyboy Reservoir, along with Loch Raven Reservoir further down the Big Gunpowder Falls, provide about 61% of the drinking water for the Baltimore metropolitan area system; for this reason, the Prettyboy is considered a "source water" or drinking water watershed. The reservoir contains about 19 billion US gallons (72,000,000 m3) of water on average.
Darlington is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northeastern Harford County, Maryland, United States. The population was 409 at the 2010 census. The center of the community was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Darlington Historic District in 1987. Median household income is $66,563. The percentage of people in poverty is 5.3%.
West Friendship is a semi-rural unincorporated community in western Howard County, Maryland, United States. West Friendship is located at the junction of Interstate 70 and Maryland Route 32. Frederick Road is a main thoroughfare.
Hereford High School is a four-year public high school located in the rural northern Baltimore County town of Parkton, Maryland, United States, as part of the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS). The secondary school was established in 1953.
The Churchville Test Area is a United States Army facility of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, located northeast of Bel Air, Maryland.
The U.S. state of Maryland has a varied geography. It has an area of 12,406.68 square miles (32,133.2 km2) and is comparable in overall area with Belgium [11,787 square miles (30,530 km2)]. It is the 42nd largest and 9th smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii, the next smallest state. The next largest state, its neighbor West Virginia, is almost twice the size of Maryland. Maryland borders Pennsylvania to the north, Delaware to the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and to the west and south by West Virginia and Virginia.
The Jones Falls is a 17.9-mile-long (28.8 km) stream in Maryland. It is impounded to create Lake Roland before running through the city of Baltimore and finally emptying into the Baltimore Inner Harbor.
Gunpowder Falls State Park is a public recreation area comprising six non-contiguous areas covering 15,088 acres (6,106 ha) in northeastern Baltimore County and western Harford County, Maryland. The state park is primarily made up of the stream valleys of the Big and Little Gunpowder Falls and the Gunpowder River; its natural features range from tidal marshes to rugged interior slopes. The park has over 120 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing plus facilities for picnicking, tubing, canoeing and kayaking, tide-water fishing and crabbing, fly fishing, and hunting, among other activities. It is managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Maryland Route 137 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Mount Carmel Road, the state highway runs 8.50 miles (13.68 km) from Gunpowder Road near Hampstead east to MD 45 at Hereford in northern Baltimore County. MD 137 was built in the early 1920s.
The Hagerstown–Martinsburg metropolitan area, officially designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as Hagerstown–Martinsburg, Maryland–West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), constitutes the primary cities of Hagerstown, Maryland; Martinsburg, West Virginia; and surrounding areas in three counties: Washington County, Maryland; Berkeley County, West Virginia; and Morgan County, West Virginia. The metro area lies mainly within the rich, fertile Cumberland and Shenandoah valleys, and is approximately a 60–90 minute drive from Washington, D.C.; Baltimore, Maryland; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Hagerstown is approximately 75 miles (121 km) driving distance from all three cities. The population of the metropolitan area as of 2008 is 263,753.
Bull Run Invitational is a Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) sanctioned high school cross country invitational. The race is hosted by Hereford High School on their rural campus in northern Baltimore County. The invitational has become one of the east coast's largest and most popular cross country races, drawing over 125 schools annually and approximately 4500 runners. Features 13 races throughout the day. On the local level, the course has always been known for its challenging nature and slower than average times, but recent national media attention sealed the course's status as one of the top three most challenging cross country courses in the nation.