II.

Land and People

The north of the county was dominated by high, barren moorlands cut by deeply incised valleys running north-west to south-east on the south Wales coalfield. The valley sides are often steep, rising sharply from a narrow base of more level ground. Many of these valley bases are occupied by industrial villages of terraced houses, built for the miners who worked the coalfield. The coastal strip of Mid Glamorgan, with sandy beaches, dunes, and cliffs, forms part of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast. The western area of the Vale of Glamorgan ran through the county.

Mid Glamorgan was the most populous of the post-1974 Welsh counties. About 8.5 per cent of the county's population were Welsh speakers; Aberdare (population, 1991, 29,040), Rhondda (1991, 59,947), Merthyr Tydfil (1991, 39,482), Caerphilly (1991, 28,481), Bridgend (1991, 35,841), and Pontypridd (1991, 28,487) were the county's main urban areas. All except Caerphilly, in the southern lowlands, owe their development primarily to coal-mining and to the industry which subsequently moved into the region. Porthcawl (1991, 15,922), on the coast, is a popular holiday resort. In addition to the county council, whose offices were based in Cardiff, Mid Glamorgan had six district councils: Cynon Valley, Merthyr Tydfil, Ogwr, Rhondda, Rhymney Valley, and Taff-Ely.