II.

Land and Resources

Monmouthshire has a varied topography. In the south, along the Severn estuary, is a lowland region where mud and gravel has been deposited. Undulating country with dark red soils rises through hills to the Black Mountains in the north-west, the highest points in the county are Sugarloaf (597 m/1,955 ft), Blorenge (560 m/1,833 ft), and Ysgyryd Fawr (487 m/1,596 ft). About 147 sq km (57 sq mi) of this part of the county is within the Brecon Beacons National Park. To the east of the Black Mountains, the hill country forms the Trelleck Plateau, while in the east is the spectacular valley of the River Wye, which forms the border with Gloucestershire. The other main rivers are the Monnow, which joins the Wye at Monmouth, and, in the west of the county, the Usk.

The southern coastal plain generally resembles a Dutch landscape, with few hedges and water-filled ditches that act as field boundaries. Along the coast bordering the Severn estuary, a stretch of land 2 to 5 km (1 to 3 mi) wide and only a few metres above sea level runs some 19 km (12 mi) from Portskewett to the border with Newport county borough; from there the coastal lowland runs another 20 km (12.4 mi) to the outskirts of Cardiff. It is protected by a huge sea wall and drainage ditches; naturally marshy, this area was first drained by the Romans, who built the original sea wall.

The climate is moderate. Temperatures average 3° C (37° F) in January and 21° C (70° F) in July. Average annual rainfall is in the region of 1,000 to 1,500 mm (40 to 60 in).