Cumbria

Cumbria, county (1991 pop. 486,900), 2,635 sq mi (6,826 sq km), extreme NW England. The county stretches from the Morecambe Bay to Soloway Firth along the Irish Sea coast. It includes the Lake District, comprised of a series of volcanic rock and slate mountain peaks and lake-filled valleys. It also includes the Carlisle plain and the Eden and Kent river valleys. The county is divided into six districts: Allerdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Coplenad, Eden, and South Lakeland. Tourism, sheep farming, salmon fishing, and mineral extraction are the primary industries. The area has been occupied by humans since the Neolithic Period. Northern Cumbria vacillated between Scottish and English rule until the mid-10th cent., when it was wrested from the Scots in 1157. The Lake District was home to poets such as William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert Southey. The Lake District National Park is located in Cumbria.

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Cumbria

Administrative county (pop., 2001: 487,607), northwestern England. Extending along the Irish Sea coast from Morecambe Bay to Solway Firth, it includes the famous Lake District. It was established in 1974, with its seat at Carlisle. Human occupation dates from the Neolithic Period. The Romans constructed several roads, a series of forts, and the great complex of Hadrian's Wall. After the mid-10th century, northern Cumbria alternated between Scottish and English rule until it was taken by the English in 1157. Lead, silver, and iron ore have been mined in the district since the 12th century.

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Cumbria

(since 1974) a county of NW England comprising the former counties of Westmorland and Cumberland together with N Lancashire: includes the Lake District mountain area and surrounding coastal lowlands with the Pennine uplands in the extreme east. Administrative centre: Carlisle. Pop.: 489 800 (2003 est.). Area: 6810 sq. km (2629 sq. miles)