Soldiers Delight

Soldiers Delight is a protected natural environment area comprising 1,900 acres of serpentine soil which hosts over 39 rare, threatened, or endangered plant species as well as rare insects, rocks and minerals.cite web
url = http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/soldiers.html
title = Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area
accessdate = 2008-06-10
author = Maryland Department of Natural Resources
authorlink = Maryland Department of Natural Resources
date = August 15, 2007
format = HTML
publisher = Patapsco Valley State Park ] Located in western Baltimore County,cite web
url = http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/features/soldiers.html
title = Soldiers Delight Serpentine Barrens, Baltimore County
accessdate = 2007-12-23
author = Bob Conkwright, Division of Coastal and Estuarine Geology
format = HTML
work = Maryland's Geologic Features
publisher = Maryland Department of Natural Resources ] near to Owings Mills, Maryland and with five different marked hiking trails which combined make seven miles; hikers are encouraged while equestrians and cyclists are discouraged due to the sensitive nature of the area.cite web
url = http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/soldiersguide.html
title = Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area
accessdate = 2008-06-10
author = Maryland Department of Natural Resources
authorlink = Maryland Department of Natural Resources
date = August 15, 2007
format = HTML
work = Trail Guide
publisher = Patapsco Valley State Park ]

Political heritage

The early colonial records of Maryland describe the area as a hunting ground for native Americans. In 1693, rangers in the King's service from a nearby garrison patrolled the area calling the land Soldiers Delight. In the 1700s, King George II made gifts of land grants upon Maryland's earliest settlers in what was then Soldiers Delight Hundred.

During the American Civil War Soldiers Delight was the scene of minor short-term fights1913] between the Maryland Volunteers of the Confederate Army and the regular troops of the Union Army. After the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves, the great estates of the early families were reduced to many small farms and individual properties.

Geological heritage

The area is underlaid by serpentinite, a rock that contains very little quartz and aluminum-bearing minerals and consists mainly of serpentine. Weathered serpentinite is dissolved rock, transformed into thin, sand- and clay-poor soil which is easily eroded. This creates a land surface over serpentinites which is stony, unfertile and sparsely vegetated and is the reason that the term "serpentine barren" is used to describe these areas. A typical serpentine barren contains bear oak, Virginia pine, Eastern redcedar, grasses and some unique and rare wildflowers.

Serpentine is valued as a decorative building stone, road material, and for this area in Maryland, a historic source of chromium ore. During the 1800s Soldiers Delight and the Bare Hills district of Baltimore City were the largest producers of chrome in the world. In Maryland, chromite, a significant accessory mineral in the serpentine, was mined until 1860. Several old mines and quarries are still visible in these serpentine barrens.

ee also

*Wildflowers of Soldiers Delight
*Woody Plants of Soldiers Delight
*Graminoids of Soldiers Delight
*Ferns of Soldiers Delight
*Lichens of Soldiers Delight
*Isaac Tyson

References

External links

*cite web
url = http://www.bcpl.net/~sdci/sdci_history.html
title = Soldiers Delight Conservation -- History
accessdate = 2008-06-10
date = 2007-08-07
format = HTML
publisher = [http://www.bcpl.net/~sdci/ Soldiers Delight Conservation, Inc.]
*cite web
url = http://www.k9trailblazers.org/hike_areas/soldier.html
title = Soldier's Delight Natural Environment Area
accessdate = 2008-06-10
date = 2007-08-07
format = HTML
work = [http://www.k9trailblazers.org/ K9 Trailblazers Hike Areas]