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Home > World Tour > Wales > Geography of Wales
Geography of Wales
Wales is located on a peninsula in central-west Great Britain. Its area, the size of Wales, is about 20,760 sq km. It is about 170 miles north-south and 60 miles east-west. Wales is bordered by England to the east and by sea in the other three directions: the Bristol Channel (Môr Hafren) to the south and the Irish Sea (Môr Iwerddon) to the west and north, and also by the estuary of the River Dee (Afon Dyfrdwy) in the north-east. Altogether, Wales has over 750 miles of coastline. There are several islands off the Welsh mainland, the largest being Ynys Môn (Anglesey) in the northwest.
The modern border between Wales and England was largely defined in the 16th century, based on medieval feudal boundaries. The boundary line (which very roughly follows Offa's Dyke up to 40 miles (64 km) of the northern coast) separates Knighton from its railway station, virtually cuts off Church Stoke from the rest of Wales, and slices straight through the village of Llanymynech (where a pub actually straddles the line). The Capital of Wales is Cardiff.
Much of
Wales is mountainous, particularly in three main regions: Snowdonia in the north
west, the Cambrian Mountains in mid Wales, and the Brecon Beacons in the south.
The mountains largely assumed their present shape during the last ice age, the
Devensian glaciation. Snowdonia contains the highest peaks, topped by Snowdon
(Welsh: Yr Wyddfa) at 1,085 m (3,560 ft). The 14 (or possibly 15) peaks over
3,000 feet (914 m) are known collectively as the Welsh 3000s.
The classical name for Wales, Cambria (derived from Cymru), gave its name to the
earliest geological period of the Paleozoic era, the Cambrian. After much
dispute, the next two periods of the Paleozoic era, the Ordovician and Silurian,
were named after pre-Roman Celtic tribes from Wales, the Ordovices and Silures.
The
Seven Wonders of Wales
The Seven Wonders of Wales is a traditional list of seven geographic and
cultural landmarks in Wales: Snowdon, the Gresford bells (the peal of bells in
the medieval church of All Saints at Gresford), the Llangollen bridge (built in
1347 over the River Dee), St Winefride's Well (a pilgrimage site at Holywell in
Flintshire) the Wrexham steeple (16th century tower of St. Giles Church in
Wrexham), the Overton yew trees (ancient yew trees in the churchyard of St
Mary's at Overton-on-Dee) and Pistyll Rhaeadr (at 240 ft or 73 m waterfall). The
"wonders" are part of the traditional rhyme:
Pistyll Rhaeadr and Wrexham steeple,
Snowdon's mountain without its people,
Overton yew trees, St Winefride wells,
Llangollen bridge and Gresford bells.
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