Geography of Wales

Physyical geography

Wales streches West of England, facing Ireland. Relief, made up of Caledonian and Hercynian-old moutains (Cambrian), is not very high. Snowdon Peak (1,085 m), the highest point, is located North-West, whereas in the South the Black Mountains do not exceed 886 m. Plateaus are dug with deep valleys (the famous cwms or coombs) and strewn in the North with more than 400 lakes propitious for tourism, leisure and hydroelectric industry.

There are many and active watercourses but of little importance. Apart from rivers' estuaries in the North and South (such as Wye, Dee or Severn rivers), there are no navigable rivers as in mainland Europe.

80% of the lands are used for agriculture and more than 10% are covered with forests.

The country is rich in natural resources at the roots of its industrial revolution. Coal and metal form broad deposits in the South. Important slate deposits can be found in the North.

Many bays indent a rocky coast. Pembrokshire is the largest part of the South-West peninsula. Birds and seals colonies make it an internationaly renowned reserve. One can also find rocky and sandy coves, small fishermen villages and very nice beaches.

Climate

The maritime climate and the Atlantic Ocean's effect give Wales a rather changing weather but without extreme variations. If the country is very rainy (more than 1,000 mm/year), the average snow coverage is around 10 days a year.

In summer, on average per day the region gets 6 hours of sunshine, compared to 1.5 to 2 hours in winter. This climate favours moors, peat bogs, meadows and, inland, forests more than crops.