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Location: A constituent country of the United Kingdom in the western part of mainland Britain. Borders: England to the east, the Irish Sea to the northwest, Saint George’s Channel to the west, the Bristol Channel to the south. Size: Just over 8,000 square miles (20,764 square kilometers), a little smaller than the state of Massachusetts, USA but rolled out flat it would be bigger than Texas and about half the size of The Netherlands; about 170 miles long north to south, and about 90 miles wide across the northern part, 40 miles across the middle, and a little over 100 miles across the southern part. Terrain: The rugged central heartland extends from the Brecon Beacons in the south to Snowdonia in the north, where Mount Snowden/Yr Wyddfa (“the tomb”) at 3,560 feet, is the highest point in Wales and England. To the north and northwest lie the coastal lowlands, together with the Lleyn Peninsula (Penrhyn Llyn) and the Isle of Anglesey. To the west of the heartland lies the coastline of Cardigan Bay, with numerous cliffs and coves and pebble- and sand-filled beaches. Southwest of the heartland, the lowlands rise eastward from St. David's Head through moorlands and uplands, to 1,760 feet (536 meters) in the Preseli Hills. Industrial South Wales stretches south of the heartland on an immense but largely exhausted coalfield and the Gower Peninsula in the center of the southern coast was the first spot in Great Britain to be declared an Area of Outstanding Beauty. To the east of the heartland, the Welsh borderland with England is largely agricultural and is characterized by rolling countryside and occasional wooded hills and mountainous moorland. Major Rivers: Severn (longest – abt. 180 mi.), Wye, Dee, Clwyd Temperature: Avg. January 40°F, 4.4°C; Avg. July 61°F, 16°C; Highest recorded 95°F, 35°C; Lowest Recorded -10°F, -23.3°C |
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