Antrim
County of Northern Ireland
Area:
2,830 sq km/1,092 sq mi
Towns and Cities:
Belfast (county town), Larne (port), Antrim, Ballymena, Lisburn, Carrickfergus
Physical:
Peat bogs; Antrim borders Lough Neagh, and is separated from Scotland
by the North Channel, which is only 21 km/13 mi wide at Torr Head,
the narrowest point; the main rivers are the Bann and the Lagan
Features:
Giant's Causeway, a World Heritage Site, consisting of natural hexagonal
and pentagonal basalt columns on the coast, which, according to
legend, was built to enable the giants to cross between Ireland
and Scotland
Industries:
Shipbuilding; traditional linen production largely replaced by the
manufacture of man-made fibres, whiskey, agriculture (the Bann
Valley is particularly fertile)
Agriculture:
Potatoes, oats, flax
Population:
(1981) 642,000
Features:
The Antrim Mountains and the Glen of Antrim are particularly noted
for their scenic beauty (highest point Trostan 554 m/ 1,817 ft);
Kebble National Nature Reserve, on Rathlin Island, off the coast
near Ballycastle; Bushmills Distillery, in the village of Bushmills,
has the oldest known licence for distilling whiskey; there are
a number of early fortifications, castles, and medieval ecclesiastical
remains in the county; the village of Cushendun was built by Clough
Williams-Ellis, who also created Portmeirion in Wales for Lord
Cushendun
|
