How did my import result in the State for a different country to the one intended
I may not have quite understood you but if you have access to your database you can look in civicrm_state_province where you will see there is a Maryland MY in Liberia (1122) as well as a Maryland MD in the USA (1228)



When importing contacts with State/Province you may be better off if you either import the abbreviation (though even that might not be unique) or also import Country.