The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1948-04-22
Garrett County

ridges are comparatively narrow, but
in the northern part of the county
they broaden out to form rather wide
stretches Of rolling open country. The
plateau and valley sections constitute
the principal agricultural districts. al
though some Of the flat-topped ridges
have considerable areas that are suit
able for cultivation.
Drainage
The most unusual fact about the
drainage of Garrett County is the OK
istencc Of continental divide along
the crests of Great Backbone and
Meadow Mountains and the irregular
group of hills connecting them. Pre-
cipitation falling on the northwest
slopes of these ridges eventually
flows into the Gulf of Mexico via the
Youghiogheny, Monongahela, Ohio,
and Mississippi Rivers. The southeast
sides are drained by the North Branch
of the Potomac River and its tribu-
taries. with the water reaching the
Atlantic Ocean through Chesapeake
Bay. Roughly 60 percent of the county
is included in the Youghiogheny
watershed.
The east slopes Of Great Backbone
Mountain drain directly into the
North Branch Of the Potomac. The
Savage River drains the valley be-
tween Big Savage and Meadow Noun
tains and the upper part of the valley
between Great Backbone and Meadow
Mountains. The east slopes of Big
Savage Mountain are drained by
streams which flow into Georges
Greek, tributary entering the North
Branch of the Potomac at Western
port, in Allegany County The valley
between Meadow and Negro Noun
tains is drained by the Casselman
River which empties into the Yough-
iogheny al Confluence, Pennsyl-
vania. The Youghiogheny proper
drains all the territory lying west Of
Negro Mountain and north Of Great
Backbone Mountain.
Climate
Due to the fact that the greater
part of its area has an elevation of
more than 1000 feet, Garrett County
has the most extreme climate of any
section of Maryland. 1t has the short
est growing season, the heaviest pre-
cipitation, the greatest snowfall, the
coolest winters, the coolest summers,
and the largest annual range Of
While there are some
local climatic variations on account of
differences in altitude or in location
with respect to high mountain ridges,
the county as whole has a generally
uniform climatic pattern.
The average yearly precipitation in
Garrett County varies between Sc and
81 inches, with the greater amounts
being received in the higher stu
ations. Thunderstorms occur frequent
ly during the warmer months, and
there are more days with hundredth
of an inch or more Of precipitation
than anywhere else in Maryland. The
annual snowfall is generally heavy,
averaging between go and 70 inches,
in some years it exceeds 100
inches. Snow always falls during the
months of November to April, and
sometimes during October and May.
About Is per cent of the annual pre-
cipitation occurs in the form of snow.
While the winters in Garrett County
are usually rather cold, the periods of
severe weather last only few days
at a time. The summers are charac-
terized by warm days and cool nights.
There are relatively few days during
which the mercury rises above 80 de-
grees. The temperature extremes
range from a high of 101 degrees
Fahrenheit to low of 40 degrees be-
low zero. The average length of the
growing season is about 100 days.
Killing frosts have occurred during
every month of the year except July
and August. Although climatic limi-
tations have had some influence on
the county's agricultural development,
the annual growing period is long
enough to permit the successful pro-
duction of wide variety of staple
and specialized crops.
Forests
With the exception of the upland
swamps, or "Glades," virtually all of
Garrett County was at one time COW
cred with forests. The original stand
contained hemlock, spruce, white oak,
chestnut, white pine, sugar maple, and
other valuable species. Practically all
Of the virgin timber has been removed,
and the cut-over areas have suffered
from repeated cuttings and destructive
fires. The high point of devastation
vas reached some years ago, and con-
siderable progress has since been
made in the work of restoring the
county's forest wealth.
For more than half a century the
timber industry was the dominate
business activity in the county. AS
large-scale commercial methods were
employed in cutting the greater part