Cheshire ( CHESH-ər, -eer) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shropshire to the south; to the west it is bordered by the Welsh counties of Flintshire and Wrexham, and has a short coastline on the Dee Estuary. Warrington is the largest settlement, and the city of Chester is the county town.
The county has an area of 905 square miles (2,344 km2) and had a population of 1,095,500 at the 2021 census. After Warrington (212,000), the largest settlements are Chester (86,011) and Crewe (71,722). The south and east of the county are primarily rural, while the north is more densely populated and includes the settlements of Runcorn, Widnes, and Ellesmere Port. For local government purposes Cheshire comprises four unitary authority areas: Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, and Warrington. The county historically included all of the Wirral Peninsula and southern Greater Manchester but excluded Widnes and Warrington, which were part of Lancashire.
The landscape of the county is dominated by the Cheshire Plain, an area of relatively flat land divided by the Mid-Cheshire Ridge. To the west, Cheshire contains the south of the Wirral Peninsula, and to the east the landscape rises to the Pennines, where the county contains part of the Peak District National Park. The River Mersey runs through the north of Cheshire before broadening into its wide estuary; the River Dee forms part of the county's border with Wales, then fully enters England and flows through the city of Chester before re-entering Wales upstream of its estuary. Red Triassic sandstone forms the bedrock of much of the county, and was used in the construction of many of its buildings.
The culture of Cheshire has impacted global pop culture by producing actors such as Daniel Craig, Tim Curry, and Pete Postlethwaite; athletes such as Shauna Coxsey, Tyson Fury, and Paula Radcliffe; authors such as Lewis Carroll; comedians such as John Bishop and Ben Miller, and musicians such as Gary Barlow, Ian Curtis, and Harry Styles. Most places are involved in agriculture and chemistry, leading to Cheshire's reputation for the production of chemicals, Cheshire cheese, salt, and silk.
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