The map above
is of Kent County,
England..Click
on Blue Area for details
..
County (1991 pop. 1,485,600),
1,525 sq mi (3,950 sq km), SE England. It lies between the Thames estuary
and the Strait of Dover. The county town is Maidstone. The
Isle
of Thanet is separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel.
The
Isle of Sheppey is separated from the north coast by the narrow Swale channel.
The chalky North Downs cross the county from east to west, and to the south
lie the fertile Weald and Romney Marsh. The Medway, the Stour, and the
Darent are the chief rivers. The region, largely agricultural, is a market-gardening
center. Crops include fruit, grain, and hops. Sheep and cattle grazing,
fishing, and dairying are also prevalent. One of London’s “Home Counties,”
Kent is increasingly important industrially because of the encroachment
of the London urban area into its western portion. Since Great Britain’s
entry into the European Community (now the European Union) in 1973, warehousing
has emerged as a growing enterprise. Paper, pottery, brick, cement, chemicals,
and beer are manufactured, and there is shipbuilding and oil refining.
Because of its strategic location on the path to the Continent through
Dover, Kent has been important throughout English history. Julius Caesar
landed at Kent in 55 B.C., and Roman roads crossed the county. In 597,
St. Augustine founded a Christian mission near the Canterbury cathedral.
Kent was one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the Middle Ages many
religious houses were established in the old kingdom of Kent, and Canterbury
became the goal of numerous pilgrims such as Chaucer described in the Canterbury
Tales. The region was intimately associated with the rebellions of Wat
Tyler, Jack Cade, and Sir Thomas Wyatt. The coast was heavily fortified
during the two World Wars. In 1974, Kent was reorganized as a nonmetropolitan
county. ............................................................................................................................From
Bartleby.com |
