Laurel, Maryland
| Laurel, Maryland | |||
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| City | |||
| City of Laurel | |||
The Laurel Museum in May 2007
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| Motto: "Progressio Per Populum" (English: Progress Through People) |
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 Location of Laurel in Prince George's County and Maryland |
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 Laurel
Laurel
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| Coordinates: 39°5′45″N 76°51′35″W / 39.09583°N 76.85972°WCoordinates: 39°5′45″N 76°51′35″W / 39.09583°N 76.85972°W | |||
| Country |
 United States |
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| State |
 Maryland
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| County |  Prince George's |
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| Incorporated | 1870 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Craig A. Moe (2002–present) | ||
| • City Council |
Ward 1: Valerie M. A. Nicholas |
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| Area | |||
| • Total | 4.33 sq mi (11.21 km2) | ||
| • Land | 4.30 sq mi (11.14 km2) | ||
| • Water | 0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 164 ft (50 m) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 25,115 | ||
| • Estimate (2012) | 25,554 | ||
| • Density | 5,840.7/sq mi (2,255.1/km2) | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP codes | 20707–20709, 20725–20726 | ||
| Area code(s) | 240, 301 | ||
| FIPS code | 24-45900 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0597667 | ||
| Website | cityoflaurel.org | ||
Ward 1: Valerie M. A. Nicholas
Ward 1: H. Edward Ricks
Ward 2: Frederick Smalls
Ward 2: Donna L. Crary
Laurel is a city in northern Prince George's County, Maryland, in the United States, located midway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on the Patuxent River. Founded as a mill town in the early 19th century, the arrival of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1835 expanded local industry and later enabled the city to become an early commuter town for Washington and Baltimore workers. Largely residential today, the city maintains a historic district centered on its Main Street, highlighting its industrial past.
The Department of Defense is a prominent presence in the Laurel area today, with the Fort Meade Army base, the National Security Agency, and Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory all located nearby. Laurel Park, a thoroughbred horse racetrack, is located just outside city limits.
Many dinosaur fossils from the Cretaceous Era are preserved in a 7.5-acre (3.0 ha) park in Laurel. The site, which among other finds has yielded fossilized teeth from Astrodon and Priconodon species, has been called the most prolific in the eastern United States. From the Late Glacial age in 10,700 B.C. to 8,500 B.C., Laurel's climate warmed and changed from a Spruce forest to a hardwood forest. In the Late Archaic period from 4,000 to 1,000 B.C., Laurel would have been covered primarily with an Oak and Hickory forest.
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