La Plata Maryland Map

About La Plata, Maryland

La Plata is a locality in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It has a population of 10,683. The population density is 506.4 people per km². La Plata is located at 38.5293°N, 76.9753°W. It observes the Eastern Time (America/New_York) timezone. ZIP code: 20646.

La Plata rests in a landscape of gentle, rolling hills, where the air, especially in the humid embrace of summer afternoons, carries the faint, sweet scent of ripening corn and the distant hum of cicadas. It lies 5.5 miles south-south-west of Saint Charles, MD (from Saint Charles, MD: bearing 201°T), and is situated 6.9 miles east of Charles. The terrain, a soft, fertile loam, slopes gradually towards the broad, languid waters of the Potomac River estuary, its tributaries like Port Tobacco Creek and Mattawoman Creek weaving through the countryside, their banks often fringed with dense stands of oak, maple, and the occasional towering pine. The skies here, vast and often painted with dramatic cloud formations, cast a particular kind of light, especially at dusk, when the setting sun bleeds across the horizon in hues of rose and amber, softening the edges of the fields and lending a serene, almost ethereal glow to the scattered farmhouses and their weathered barns. Life in La Plata unfolds with a measured cadence, a quiet dignity that seems to echo the slow, deliberate flow of the nearby waterways. The history of La Plata is deeply entwined with the agricultural bounty of Southern Maryland, a region long celebrated for its tobacco fields, which once defined the local economy and shaped its early settlements. The land itself, worked for generations, holds the echoes of that past, evident in the enduring presence of historic plantations and the enduring appeal of the county's agricultural heritage. Today, while farming remains a vital thread, La Plata has diversified, with a growing service sector and a population drawn to its convenient access to larger metropolitan areas, yet still cherishing its small-town character. Notable landmarks, like the historic Charles County Courthouse, stand as silent sentinels to the passage of time, while the nearby Port Tobacco River offers opportunities for recreation, its waters reflecting the changing seasons and the persistent, quiet beauty of this corner of Maryland.

About This La Plata Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of La Plata, Maryland — switch between views using the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. Coordinates: 38.529288, -76.975251. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service, with current observations and a 7-day forecast also powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while a Wikipedia summary or an editorially written description provides background on La Plata and Charles County.

Detailed location data for La Plata includes the ZIP code (20646), telephone area code (301, 240), county seat of Charles County (La Plata), and school district assignment (Charles County Public Schools). These are among the most commonly searched location details for any US city or town.

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct La Plata is identified even where the name is shared across multiple counties or states. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.