Wales

Wales is a small country, bounded on the north and west by the Irish Sea, and on the south by Bristol Channel. Its total area is 8,06 square miles and its total population is about 3 million people.Wales is divided into 13 counties, but 70% of the population resides in the three industrial counties on the South – Glamorgan, Monmouth and Carmarthen. Agriculture is the main occupation in the remaining 10 counties in Mid-Wales and North-Wales.Of the three industrial counties in the South, Glamorgan is the biggest, with nearly one-half of the total population of Wales. Its main industries are coal-mining, iron, and steel, and engineering. About two-thirds of the population live in the South Wales coastal area, where the three biggest towns are located: Swansea, Cardiff and Newport.Cardiff (280,000), the modern national capital of Wales is the largest city in industrial South Wales. It rose to importance with the coal mining and iron industries. Today the cargoes it handles, are mainly imports, to be distributed throughout South Wales.The main port of Wales today is Milford Hayen (situated in the very south-west because of its oil tanker traffic). It is one of the leading oil terminals of Britain. Refineries grew up on opposite shores and Milford Hayen became an important refining centre. A pipeline takes petroleum to a refinery near Swansea.South Wales is a region of contrasts. The industrial cities of Swansea, Cardiff and Newport are only a short journey away from sandy beaches and busy holiday resorts.Mid Wales is rather sparsely populated. Along the coast there are many fishing ports. North Wales has several impressive castles built by English kings. Anglesey is flat, but the rest of the region is very mountainous. Reсently 2 nuclear power stations were built: on the North Wales, the other in Anglesey.Tourism is mainly concentrated in the northern coastal strip. Surrounded on three sides by an attractive coastline, Wales has become a popular holiday resort. It is also well known for its hills and dales, and in these places a great number of people derive their livelihood from tourists and holiday-makers.There are several more lakes and artificial reservoirs, some of them providing the water supply for the cities of Birmingham and Liverpool in England as well as one or two power dams providing electricity.The highest mountain in Wales is Snowdon, which is famous for the very difficult climbing that can be practiced on its slopes.