The Patuxent quadrangle lies between parallel 38° 30' and 39° north latitude and meridians 76° 30' and 77° west longitude. It includes one-fourth of a square dgeree of the earth's surface and contains 931.5 square miles. From north to south it measures 34.5 miles and from east to west the mean distance is 27 miles, the width being 27.1 miles along the southern and 29.6 miles along the northern border.