Howard County

Administrative district of central Maryland; area 650 sq km/251 sq mi, population (1990) 187,300. Howard County is bounded to the northeast by the Patapsco River, and to the west and southwest by the Patuxent River. Its seat is at Ellicott City.

Located mainly within the Piedmont, with just a small section in the southeast on the coastal plain, Howard County was made up until recently almost entirely of farmland, with several large estates. Following the growth of Columbia, now the largest community in the county, several residential and commercial centres have been developed on these estates. The county encompasses many of the southwestern suburbs of Baltimore.