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Show collar" Government positions is a dominant feature of the basin economy. The sparsely settled mountainous section around the headwaters is now largely devoted to agricul- ture, although lumbering and mining were formerly important. Central Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley contain fertile and highly cultivated lands, with apple orchards playing an important role in the agriculture of the area from Winchester, Va., to Romney, W. Va. Coal is the leading mineral resource of the basin. Some manufacturing industry has developed around the coal fields, as at Cumberland, Md., but diversi- fied small industries are found scattered in a num- ber of localities within the basin. The tidewater part of the river, which extends from Chesapeake Bay to Washington, supports fish- eries and recreational boating. Present Forms of Resource Use Agriculture In the rural areas of the basin, the main occupa- tion is agriculture. Almost 6 million acres, or 65 percent of the watershed is in 53,000 farms. How- ever, only 29 percent of the watershed is tilled crop- land. Irrigation is not practiced in the basin since annual rainfall is generally adequate for most agricultural purposes. Because of the occasional droughts, however, Department of Agriculture studies have indicated that supplementary water for apple orchards and some other crops would be desirable. Tobacco is the principal commercial crop of the Maryland and Virginia Coastal Plain. The crops of the Piedmont Plateau are diversified except for a few specialized areas. Apples and other fruits are grown in the Shenandoah Valley, which is also an important poultry-producing area. A large crop of tomatoes is produced and packed in Maryland, and a major portion of the grains, fruit, dairy prod- ucts, poultry, and livestock consumed in the basin is raised within the drainage area. In the valleys of the Allegheny Mountain region, grain, fruit, and dairy products are produced. Farm products raised in the basin were valued at 156 million dollars in 1945. Manufacturing Washington and its surrounding communities have no large industries, and those in the metropoli- tan area supply mostly the needs of the local area. However, various industries are situated in a number of localities within the basin, principally in and around the following cities: Cumberland, Frederick, and Hagerstown, Md.; Chambersburg, Gettysburg, and Waynesboro, Pa.; Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro, and Winchester, Va.; and Martinsburg, W. Va. In 1947, estimated "value added by manufacture" in the Potomac River Basin was 465 million dollars. Because the basin contains adequate supplies of some raw materials and because it is strategically lo- cated near the source of other raw materials and near potential markets for its manufactured prod- ucts, it has attracted a variety of industries. These include manufacturers of textiles, rubber, leather, paper products, hosiery, chemicals, and machine tools. A manufacturing plant in Front Royal, Va., is among the largest producers of rayon in the United States, thus providing the possibility of a large market for wood pulp. Other pulpwood- consuming industries are located in adjacent river basins. Forestry About 50 percent of the basin is estimated to be in forest lands. However, the cutting of timber for many years has so depleted the stand that little mar- ketable lumber is left. Forest fires also have greatly reduced the amount of available commercial timber. The lumber industry reached its peak around 1900. Since then lumbering has declined until at present it is relatively unimportant. In 1941 pulp- wood had an estimated value of 5.2 million dollars. The long growing season and heavy rainfall pro- mote rapid timber growth. If forest areas are well managed in the future, yields can be high. Herein lies an opportunity to add to the income and im- prove the general economy of people in the area. Mining Coal is the most important mineral mined in the Potomac River Basin and it is the chief source of revenue obtained from mining operations. Depos- its of coal lie wholly within the western part of the basin, in an extension of the Appalachian coal field. Value of the coal produced in the basin in 1948 was 10.3 million dollars (value at the mine). The larg- er veins of coal are gradually being depleted and mining of the thinner veins is so costly that there 579 |
