The Geography of Wales
The Landscape of Wales
Wales, on the western shores of Britain, has a maximum length of 140 miles and is 100 miles across at its widest. It is a mountainous country. Around one quarter of the land is above 305m (1,000ft) and in the north the peak of Snowdon rises to 1,085m (3,560ft), the highest point in England and Wales. Wales' 732-mile coastline is a varied one, consisting of bays, beaches, peninsulas and cliffs. The largest bay - Cardigan Bay - gives the west-facing Welsh coastline its distinctive 'horseshoe' shape. The largest island, connected to the mainland by road and rail bridges, is Anglesey in the north.
Wales' landscape is essentially rural. In terms of land use, 81% is used for agriculture, 12% is covered in woodland, and only 8% is categorized as urban.Most of the country's population of 3.5 million is concentrated in the south-eastern corner around the capital city of Cardiff. The city, population 270,000, grew up in the 19th century as a coal-exporting port. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries had its major impact in South Wales, where the iron and steel factories and coalmines were concentrated. Swansea, also in the south, is Wales' second city with a population of 177,000. Newport, to the east of Cardiff near the Welsh border, has a population of 130,000. Like Cardiff, Swansea and Newport owe their growth to the industries of South Wales and their location as ports on the Bristol Channel.
South Wales
Geographically, South Wales is a region of sharp contrasts. The border country around Monmouth, Abergavenny and the Wye Valley consists of rolling hills and rich farmlands. Next door are the steep-sided, heavily populated "valleys" running from north to south and carved by rivers such as the Taff and Rhondda, where coal was mined in great quantities in the 19th and early 20th centuries.Immediately to the north of these are the Brecon Beacons, green, open mountains rising to the summit of Pen-y-Fan, at 886m (2,907ft) the highest point in South Wales.
To the south, the valleys subside into more rich farming country in the Vale of Glamorgan, a prosperous lowland area between Cardiff and Swansea. Further west in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire the landscape is again shaped by farming, though amongst the patchwork of fields there are also bare hills, moors and wooded river valleys.
South Wales Coastline
The coastline of South Wales is a varied one. Though there is evidence of commercial and industrial development along the shores of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, much of the remote, cliff-backed shoreline between Wales' three main cities has been declared 'Heritage Coast'. Immediately west of Swansea is the unspoiled Gower Peninsula, followed by the sands and estuaries of Carmarthen Bay.Pembrokeshire in the far west is home to Britain's only coastal based national park. Amongst intense natural beauty, there are the stark scenic contrasts along the deepwater fjord of the Milford Haven waterway.
Mid Wales
Mid Wales displays much more homogeneity than the south. This central region is undiluted farming country, dotted with small market towns and traditional villages. Along the border the landscape is a gentle one of undulating hills. These rise in the west to the remote wildernesses of the Cambrian Mountains, Wales' north-south 'backbone'.Although low in comparison to Snowdonia (the Cambrians are in the range of around 550-730m /1,800-2,400ft) this spine of high plateau and moorland is a dominant feature of the landscape, influencing the nature of farming, local culture and architecture.
The more accessible, anglicized border country, with its traditional cross-border black-and-white half-timbered houses, rise in the west into marginal hill sheep farming country dotted with sturdy stone-built farmsteads and populated by Welsh-speaking communities.
The northern reaches of Mid Wales, around the market towns of Dolgellau and Bala, have mountains more in Snowdonia's mould. Aran Fawddwy, at 905m (2,970ft) and Cader Idris, at 892m (2,927ft), are the highest peaks in Mid Wales, while to the north of Dolgellau are the Rhinogs, rough, inaccessible uplands that have been described as "the last true wilderness" in Britain south of the Scottish Highlands.
Forestry is an important feature of Wales' inhospitable high country, no more so than in Mid Wales. Another significant man-made feature are the reservoirs, built to take advantage of the higher rainfall in Wales' western mountains. Again, these tend to be concentrated in the central region, following the creation of Wales' first major chain of lakes in the Elan Valley near Rhayader around 100 years ago.
Mid Wales also contains Wales' largest natural lake, the 4-mile-long Bala Lake which sits between the Aran and Arennig Mountains. In the Berwyn Mountains east of Bala is Pistyll Rhaeadr, at 73m (240ft) the highest waterfall in England and Wales.
Mid Wales largest town is Aberystwyth, with a population of about 10,000. It stands midway along Cardigan Bay, a great arc of coastline made up of grassy headlands, sandy estuaries, small ports and seaside resorts.
North Wales
North Wales, like the south, is a diverse region. The flat border country around Wrexham (population 41,000) has a history of metal producing and coalmining. Today, there is still plentiful evidence of industry here. Heading inland to the mountains, rural North Wales soon takes over. The Clwydian Range, a line of rounded hills rising to 555m (1,821ft), is the first upland barrier into Wales. They flank the lovely Vale of Clwyd, a sheltered and fertile farming valley.The Vale of Conwy further west is similar to the Vale of Clwyd. Separating these two valleys are the Denbigh Moors, an exposed plateau of heather moor and forest. Snowdonia's mountains begin at the Vale of Conwy. This rocky landscape contains many classic mountain peaks - the Carneddau, Tryfan, the Glyders, as well as Snowdon itself (all over 914m (3,000ft)). But amongst the high peaks there are also wooded valleys, lakes and moorlands.
North Wales Coastline
The coastline in the north begins along the saltings of the Dee Estuary and ends on the savage headlands around Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula, the Land's End of North Wales. The north-facing coast consists of a long stretch of sands dotted with popular seaside resorts, the largest of which is Llandudno.The quiet Isle of Anglesey is fringed with sandy bays, rocky foreshores and dunes. The beaches of Llyn, a crooked peninsula that points into the sea from Snowdonia, are part of a dramatic coastline of cliffs and towering headlands.