instance_of west glamorgan
The historic counties of Wales are sub - divisions of Wales . They were used for various functions for several ___MASK40___ years , but have been largely superseded by contemporary sub - national divisions , some of which ___MASK47___ some limited similarity to the historic entities in name and extent . They are alternatively known as " ancient counties ". The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign ___MASK63___ in western Europe . ___MASK6___ off the north - western coast of the European mainland , it includes the ___MASK65___ of Great Britain ( the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole ___MASK63___ ), the north - eastern part of the ___MASK65___ of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe ___MASK22___ of Ireland . Apart from this land border , the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North ___MASK90___ to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic ___MASK90___ to its south - south - west , giving it the 12th - longest coastline in the world . The Irish ___MASK90___ lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area of , the UK is the 78th - largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th - largest in Europe . It is also the 21st - most populous ___MASK63___ , with an estimated 65 . 1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth most densely populated ___MASK63___ in the European Union . West Glamorgan ( Welsh : Gorllewin Morgannwg ) is a preserved ___MASK75___ and former administrative ___MASK75___ of Wales , one of the divisions of the ancient ___MASK75___ of Glamorgan . West Glamorgan was created on ___MASK85___ April 1974 , by the Local ___MASK69___ Act 1972 from the ___MASK75___ borough of Swansea , the municipal boroughs of Neath and Port Talbot , the urban districts of Glyncorrwg and Llwchwr , Gower Rural District , Pontardawe Rural District , and all of Neath Rural District except the parish of Rhigos . From 1982 , the main council offices were located in County Hall , Swansea . West Glamorgan had four districts , as follows : Swansea -- Swansea CB and Gower RD Lliw Valley -- Llwchwr and Pontardawe RD Neath -- Neath and Neath RD Port Talbot -- Port Talbot and Glyncorrwg Following the Local ___MASK69___ ( Wales ) Act 1994 , West Glamorgan and its component districts were abolished on ___MASK85___ April 1996 , the area being divided into the two unitary authorities of Swansea and Neath and Port Talbot . Lliw Valley was partitioned between the two authorities . A West Glamorgan preserved ___MASK75___ was created for the limited functions of Lieutenancy and High Shrievalty . Glywysing was , from the sub - Roman ___MASK13___ to the Early Middle Ages , a petty kingdom in south - east Wales . Its people were descended from the Iron ___MASK79___ tribe of the Silures . Great Britain , also known as Britain , is a large ___MASK65___ in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe . With an area of , Great Britain is the largest European ___MASK65___ and the ninth - largest in the world . In 2011 the ___MASK65___ had a population of about 61 million people , making it the world ' s third - most populous ___MASK65___ after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan . The ___MASK65___ of Ireland is situated to the west of it , and together these islands , along with over ___MASK85___ , 000 smaller surrounding islands , comprise the British Isles archipelago . A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or " petty " by contrast to an ___MASK10___ or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it ( e . g . the numerous kingdoms of Anglo - Saxon ___MASK20___ unified into the Kingdom of ___MASK20___ in the 10th century , or the numerous Gaelic kingdoms of Ireland unified under the Kingdom of ___MASK20___ as the Kingdom of Ireland in the 16th ). Alternatively , a petty kingdom would be a minor kingdom in the immediate vicinity of larger kingdoms , such as the medieval Kingdom of Mann and the Isles relative to the kingdoms of Scotland or ___MASK20___ or the Viking kingdoms of Scandinavia . Glamorgan or , sometimes , Glamorganshire ( or ) is one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales and a former administrative ___MASK75___ of Wales . It was originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship . Glamorgan is latterly represented by the ___MASK77___ preserved counties of Mid Glamorgan , South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan . The name also survives in that of Vale of Glamorgan , a ___MASK75___ borough . Yr Wyddfa commonly known as Snowdon in English , is the highest ___MASK29___ in Wales , at an ___MASK39___ of above ___MASK90___ level , and the highest point in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands . It is located in Snowdonia National Park (") in Gwynedd , and has been described as " probably the busiest ___MASK29___ in Britain ". It is designated as a national nature reserve for its rare flora and fauna . A ___MASK63___ is a region that is identified as a distinct national entity in political ___MASK82___ . A ___MASK63___ may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state , as a non - sovereign or formerly sovereign political division , or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated people with distinct political characteristics . Regardless of the physical ___MASK82___ , in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League of Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945 , a resident of a ___MASK63___ is subject to the independent exercise of legal jurisdiction . ___MASK75___ borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ( excluding Scotland ), to refer to a borough or a city independent of ___MASK84___ control . They were abolished by the Local ___MASK69___ Act 1972 in England and Wales , but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in Northern Ireland . In the Republic of Ireland they remain in existence but have been renamed " cities " under the provisions of the Local ___MASK69___ Act 2001 . The Local ___MASK69___ ( Wales ) Act 1994 re - introduced the term for certain " ___MASK91___ areas " in Wales . Scotland did not have county boroughs but instead counties of cities . These were abolished on 16 May 1975 . All four Scottish cities of the time  Aberdeen , Dundee , Edinburgh , and Glasgow  were included in this category . There was an additional category of large burgh in the Scottish system , which were responsible for all services apart from police , education and fire . Wales is a ___MASK63___ that is ___MASK73___ of the United Kingdom and the ___MASK65___ of Great Britain . It is bordered by ___MASK20___ to the east , the Irish ___MASK90___ to the north and west , and the Bristol Channel to the south . It had a population in 2011 of 3 , 063 , 456 and has a total area of . Wales has over of coastline and is largely mountainous , with its higher peaks in the north and central areas , including Snowdon , its highest summit . The ___MASK63___ lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable , maritime climate . Glywys is a legendary early 5th ___MASK42___ Welsh ___MASK61___ , an important character in early Welsh genealogies as the eponymous founder ___MASK61___ of Glywysing , a south - east Welsh kingdom whose heartland lay between the Tawe and the Usk . The ___MASK26___ , often referred to as The Vale , is a ___MASK75___ borough in Wales . With an ___MASK31___ based largely on agriculture and chemicals , it is the southernmost ___MASK32___ in Wales . Attractions include Barry ___MASK65___ ___MASK66___ Park ( known for the BBC sitcom , " Gavin & Stacey "), the Barry Tourist Railway , Porthkerry Park , St Donat ' s Castle , Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Cosmeston Medieval Village . It is also the location of Atlantic College , one of the United World Colleges . ___MASK20___ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom . It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west . The Irish ___MASK90___ lies northwest of ___MASK20___ and the Celtic ___MASK90___ lies to the southwest . ___MASK20___ is separated from continental Europe by the North ___MASK90___ to the east and the English Channel to the south . The country covers five - eighths of the island of Great Britain ( which lies in the North Atlantic ) in its centre and south ; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly , and the Isle of Wight . The Bristol ___MASK11___ is a major inlet in the ___MASK65___ of Great Britain , separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West ___MASK20___ . It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean . It takes its name from the English city of Bristol , and is over 30 miles ( 50 km ) across at its widest point . A shire is a traditional ___MASK19___ for a division of land , found in the United Kingdom and Australia . It was first used in Wessex from the beginning of Anglo - Saxon ___MASK8___ , and spread to most of the rest of England in the tenth century . South Glamorgan is a ___MASK87___ . It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , as a county council area . It consisted of the county borough of Cardiff along with the southern part of the administrative county of Glamorgan , and also the parish of St Mellons from Monmouthshire . Mid Glamorgan is a ___MASK87___ . From 1974 until 1996 it was also an administrative county with a county council . The Irish ___MASK90___ (, , , Ulster - Scots : " Airish ___MASK90___ "), separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain . It is connected to the Celtic ___MASK90___ in the south by St George ' s Channel , and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Channel . Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish ___MASK90___ , followed by the Isle of Man . The ___MASK90___ is occasionally , but rarely , referred to as the Manx ___MASK90___ .