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Geography of Cornwall
Continent	Europe
Island	Great Britain
Coordinates	50°18′N4°54′W / 50.3°N 4.9°W /50.3; -4.9
Area	Ranked 9th out of 82counties 3,563 km2 (1,376 mi2)
Coastline	697 km (422 mi)
Highest point	Brown Willy 420 m (1,378 ft)
Lowest point	Sea level
Longest river	River Tamar (border) 94 km (58 mi) River Camel (within Cornwall) 50 km (31 mi)
Largest lake	The Loe

Thegeography ofCornwall (Cornish:Doronieth Kernow) describes the extreme southwesternpeninsula of England west of theRiver Tamar. The population of Cornwall is greater in the less extensive west of the county than the east due toBodmin Moor's location; however the larger part of the population live in rural areas. It is the only county in England bordered by only one other county,Devon, and is the 9th largest county by area, encompassing 3,563 km² (1,376 mi²). The length of the coast is large in proportion to the area of the county. Cornwall is exposed to the full force of the prevailing south-westerly winds that blow in from the Atlantic Ocean. To the north is theCeltic Sea, and to the south theEnglish Channel.

Cornwall is the location of Great Britain's most southerly point,The Lizard, and the southern mainland's most westerly point,Land's End. A few miles further west are theIsles of Scilly.

Cornwall is located at50°30′N5°00′W / 50.5°N 5°W /50.5; -5. The highest point isBrown Willy at 420 m (1,378 ft), part of the graniteBodmin Moor, of which such intrusions are covered by rough grass, heather and bog flora. Woodland is prevented from growing on the granite uplands because of the poor soil and the height giving them the full force of the wind and climate. The rest of the inland contains pastureland and arable farmland. The coastline, at 697 km (422 mi),^[1] is mostly occupied by high cliffs, but also featuring islets, stacks, coves and bays. Lowland stretches are also to be found, particularly along the south coast, sometimes backed by large expanses of towans or dunes such as nearPar. TheIsles of Scilly are the largest archipelago in the British Isles outside Scotland. The largest other islands are off the south coast:Looe Island andSt Michael's Mount.

The sea to the north of Cornwall is theCeltic Sea; before the usage of Celtic Sea it was part of theBristol Channel. On Joel Gascoyne's map of 1699 this part of the Atlantic Ocean was named "The North Sea or Severn Channel".^[2]

• 
  Land's End
• 
  Rough seas off Trebarwith Strand on the north coast
• 
  An aerial view ofCarrick Roads
• 
  Harlyn Bay
• 
  Low tide at Bedruthan Steps

Cornwall was one of the most important mining areas in Europe until the 20th century, due to its intrusions of granite into surrounding sedimentary rocks which resulted inmetamorphism and mineralisation.Bodmin Moor andCarn Brea are examples of such granite intrusion. TheLizard peninsula is an example of anophiolite.

The north coast is more exposed to the prevailing winds from the Atlantic Ocean than the south coast and is more rugged, with many sheer cliffs and steep valleys. The south coast is more sheltered and is interrupted by severalrias which provide deep water harbours such asCarrick Roads.

Cornwall has varied habitats including terrestrial and marine ecosystems. One of thelower plant forms in decline locally is theReindeer lichen, which has been made a priority for protection under the national UKBiodiversity Action Plan.

Thenational character areas recognised byNatural England that lie wholly or partially on Cornish soil are:

One of the oldest maps still in existence depictingCornwall is the 1290Hereford Mappa Mundi currently on display inHereford Cathedral in theUnited Kingdom. Many maps of theBritish Isles prior to the 17th century showed Cornwall (Cornubia/Cornwallia/Kernow) as a nation on a par withWales and examples include the maps ofSebastian Münster,Abraham Ortelius, andGirolamo Ruscelli. After the 17th century, maps of Cornwall tended to no longer make the distinction betweenAnglia and Cornubia, theBritish Sea was renamed theEnglish Channel and Cornwall as a separate entity was omitted from the maps.

From 1889 to March 2009 Cornwall was administered byCornwall County Council; the second level of local government included municipal boroughs, urban districts and rural districts, and within each of these were a number of civil parishes. Cornwall consisted from April 1974 to March 2009 of six districts, which are, from west to east:Penwith,Kerrier,Carrick,Restormel,North Cornwall, andCaradon. While traditionally administered as part of Cornwall, theIsles of Scilly are now a separateunitary authority though they are included in the ceremonial county. Natural resources include:granite,slate,tin, copper andkaolinite. Agricultural land: 73.64%; Woodland cover: 7.5%; Other types: 18.86%. The deposits of tin, copper and kaolinite were heavily exploited during the 19th and 20th centuries. Some species of fish are abundant in the coastal waters; thepilchard fishery was of great importance from the late 18th to the early 20th century.

Camborne is the county's largest town and more populous than the capital Truro. Together with the neighbouring town ofRedruth, it forms the largest urban area in Cornwall, and both towns were significant as centres of the globaltin mining industry in the 19th century; nearby copper mines were also very productive during that period.St Austell is also larger than Truro and was the centre of thechina clay industry in Cornwall. Until fournew parishes were created for the St Austell area on 1 April 2009 St Austell was the largest settlement in Cornwall.^[3]

Cornwall has atemperateoceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), with mild winters and cool summers, and hot and very cold weather are rare. Cornwall has the mildest and sunniest climate in the United Kingdom, as a result of its oceanic setting and the influence of theGulf Stream.^[4] The average annual temperature in Cornwall ranges from 11.6 °C (53 °F) on theIsles of Scilly to 9.8 °C (50 °F) in the central uplands. Winters are amongst the warmest in the country, due to the moderating effects of the warm ocean currents, and frost and snow are very rare at the coast and are also rare in the central upland areas. Summers are, however, not as warm as those of other areas in southern England. The surrounding sea and its southwesterly position mean that Cornwall's weather is relatively changeable.

Cornwall is one of the sunniest areas in the UK, with over 1541 hours of sunshine per year, with the highest average of 7.6 hours of sunshine per day in July.^[5] The moist, mild air coming from the south west brings higher amounts of rainfall than in eastern Great Britain, at 1051 to 1290 mm (41.4 to 50.8 in) per year, though not as much as in more northern areas of the west coast.^[6] The Gulf Stream moderates the climate of Cornwall enough that Cornwall's weather is distinctly milder than other places in the world at the same latitude, such asNewfoundland. The mild climate has resulted in a number of botanical gardens, such asTrebah and theLost Gardens of Heligan.

TheIsles of Scilly, for example, is the warmest place in the whole of Great Britain with an average temperature of 11.6 °C, where there are on average less than two days of air frost per year, are in theUSDAHardiness zone 10, which is thus the only area in the UK that is in this zone. However, compared to most other climates in zone 10, Scilly has cool summers. In Scilly there is on average less than one day of air temperature exceeding 30 °C per year and it is in the AHS Heat Zone 1.Pendennis Point inFalmouth is the warmest place on mainland Great Britain, with an average temperature of 11.4 °C (52.5 °F).^[7]

Extreme temperatures in Cornwall are particularly rare; however, extreme weather in the form of storms and floods is common. TheShipping Forecast areas bordering on Cornwall are Lundy (north coast) and Plymouth (south coast).

Cornwall is not known for being prone to natural hazards, although they do happen. The county experiencesdroughts andheat waves with the rest of Europe as they happen, but its location close to the ocean dampens their severity. Also,European windstorms in the winter usually make landfall on the west coast of Europe, including Cornwall, resulting in severe gales and flooding. Cornwall's many valleys also make it prone to rapid flooding when an unusually heavy amount of rainfall occurs, as seen in theBoscastle flood of 2004.

Although not lying on anyplate boundary, Britain occasionally experiencesintraplate tremors as a result of theEurasian Plate's motion, reactivating weak points in the rock. The west coast is more prone to these tremors than the east.^[13]The strongest tremor so far recorded in Cornwall was in 1815, measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale with its epicentre nearPenzance.^[14]

The 1755 earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal which measured 9.0 on the Richter scale sent a tsunami towards the south coast of Cornwall. Historical accounts describe the waves of 3 metres (10 feet) in height and significant loss of life and property.^[15]

• Flora and fauna of Cornwall
• List of hills of Cornwall
• List of Special Areas of Conservation in Cornwall

• Burton, S. H. (1955)The Coasts of Cornwall. London: T. Werner Laurie.
• Gascoyne, Joel (1991)A Map of the County of Cornwall, 1699; reprinted in facsimile with an introduction by William L. D. Ravenhill and O.J. Padel (Devon and Cornwall Record Society: new series; vol. 34.); Exeter: Devon and Cornwall Record Society.
• Henderson, Charles & Coates, Henry (1928)Old Cornish Bridges and Streams. London: published for the University College of the South West by Simpkin Marshall
• Hoskins, W. G. (1978 )One Man's England; chapter 7: Cornwall, behind the scenery. London: Book Club Associates; pp. 69-80
• Kain, Roger; Ravenhill, William (eds.) (1999)Historical Atlas of South-West England. Exeter: University of Exeter Press
• Kain, Roger (ed.) (2006)English Landscape: the South West
• Woollett, Lisa (2013)Sea and Shore Cornwall. [Looe]: Zart Books in association with Eden ProjectISBN 978-0-9574902-0-8

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