Draw Maryland Outline from Memory
How well do you know The Old Line State? Draw Maryland from memory and score 0–100 based on how accurately you sketch its distinctive outline.
More US States to Draw
Why Maryland Looks the Way It Does
The Mason-Dixon line began as two aristocratic families' property squabble. The Penns of Pennsylvania and the Calverts of Maryland had disputed their shared border for eighty years before surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were hired in 1763 to settle it. Their line — fifteen miles south of Philadelphia, dead straight for 233 miles — was a property fix that became, after Missouri Compromise made it slavery's symbolic boundary, the most famous line in America.
The Potomac border carries a quirk: Maryland owns the riverbed clear across to the Virginia shore, a 1632 royal charter grant the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld. Virginia touches the water; Maryland owns the water — including, as the District of Columbia's presence shows, the land where the nation's capital sits. Washington was carved out of Maryland in 1791, which is why the state's border makes its odd rectangular detour around the capital.
The Eastern Shore is the Chesapeake's doing: the bay is a drowned river valley, flooded by rising seas after the ice age, and it cut Maryland into fragments. The Eastern Shore belongs to the Delmarva peninsula, reachable from the mainland only by the Bay Bridge or a long drive through Delaware. Maryland's outline is colonial law and rising water cooperating to make the most complicated shape in the Union.
Quick Facts: Maryland
- Capital
- Annapolis
- Nickname
- The Old Line State
- Statehood
- 1788
- Area
- 25,142 km²
- Borders
- Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware
What is "Drawing Maryland Outline from Memory"?
Drawing Maryland from memory means sketching the Old Line State's border on a blank canvas without looking at a map. Focus on the state's distinctive features and overall proportions — that's what pushes your accuracy score up.
Maryland became a state in 1788 and is rated ★★★★ out of 4 for drawing difficulty — one of the hardest borders on the site. When you hit Reveal, your sketch is scored 0–100 against the real border, so every attempt teaches you something about the outline.
Maryland is one of the strangest shapes on the map: a wiggly main body bounded by the dead-straight Mason-Dixon line on top and the Potomac River on the bottom, a detached Eastern Shore on the Delmarva Peninsula across the Chesapeake Bay, and the famous bite of Delaware's Twelve-Mile Circle notching the northeast.
How to Draw Maryland from Memory
Step 01
Draw the Mason-Dixon line first: the state's entire northern border, one perfectly straight horizontal line against Pennsylvania. Above it, America's cultural North; below it, Maryland.
Step 02
The western body is a river-framed wedge: the Potomac wiggling northwest along the bottom and up the left side toward Harpers Ferry, giving the state its pointed western panhandle. Sketch the Potomac's bends generously.
Step 03
Add the two signatures: the Eastern Shore — a fragment of the Delmarva peninsula east of the Chesapeake, running down the bay's middle — and at the top-right, the small circular arc where Delaware's Twelve-Mile Circle scoops a round bite from the border.
A state of three fragments: a wiggly main body between the Mason-Dixon line and the Potomac, plus the Eastern Shore across the Chesapeake — with the odd circular notch where Delaware's Twelve-Mile Circle bites in.
How Maryland Is Scored
When you hit Reveal & compare, your sketch is measured against Maryland's real border, point by point, in the same canvas space. Three numbers come back:
Matched — the share of the real border your drawing covered. 100% means you traced every part of the outline.
Extra — how much of your drawing fell outside the true border. This catches sketches that are too big, mispositioned, or drifting off.
Missed — the border you didn't reach, the flip side of Matched.
The three combine into a single 0–100 accuracy score. The rating names give you a target: 80+ is Cartographer, 60+ is Border patrol, 40+ is Getting there, and below 40 is Try again.
Drawing large and roughly centered is the single fastest way to raise your score — a small sketch tucked in a corner overlaps less of the true border, so it scores lower. For Maryland, keep the whole outline in frame and let the distinctive parts do the work.
FAQ
- What makes Maryland's outline distinctive?
- Maryland is one of the strangest shapes on the map: a wiggly main body bounded by the dead-straight Mason-Dixon line on top and the Potomac River on the bottom, a detached Eastern Shore on the Delmarva Peninsula across the Chesapeake Bay, and the famous bite of Delaware's Twelve-Mile Circle notching the northeast.
- How hard is it to draw Maryland from memory?
- Maryland is rated ★★★★ out of 4 for drawing difficulty — one of the hardest borders on the site. You can score your attempts immediately and watch your accuracy climb with practice.
- Which states border Maryland?
- Maryland shares its border with 4 US states — Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware are on this site. Drawing a neighbor right after Maryland helps anchor both outlines in your memory.
- How is my Maryland drawing scored?
- Your sketch is compared with Maryland's real border, point by point, in the same canvas space. Matched is the share of the border you covered, Extra is how much of your drawing fell outside it, and Missed is the border you didn't reach. The three combine into a single 0–100 accuracy score.
- Can I draw Maryland on mobile?
- Yes — Maryland works on desktop, tablet, and mobile. Draw with your finger on touchscreens; no app download is required and it runs directly in your browser.