Ceredigion county
Geography
Area: - Total - % Water	Ranked 4th 1,795 km² ? %
Admin HQ:	Cardigan
ISO 3166-2:	GB-CGN
ONS code:	00NQ
Demographics
Population: - Total (April 29, 2001) - Density	Ranked 19th 74,941 42 / km²
Welsh language: - Any skills	Ranked 4th 61.2%
Politics
Ceredigion County Council http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk
Control:	Multi-party
MP:	Simon Thomas

Ceredigion is a county in Wales. It was previously part of Dyfed (along with Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire) and before that it was known as Cardiganshire or Sir Aberteifi in Welsh. It is a coastal county, bordered by Cardigan Bay to the west, Gwynedd to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire to the south, and Pembrokeshire to the south-west.

The name Ceredigion means 'Land of Ceredig', who was a son of Cunedda, a chieftain who reconquered much of Wales from the Irish around the fifth century AD.

Its area is 440,630 acres. The population of the county is 64,000. From 1974 until 1996 it was a district in the county of Dyfed, under the name of 'Ceredigion'. It was split out again on April 1, 1996 as Cardiganshire, only to change its name back to 'Ceredigion' on April 2.

The main towns are Aberaeron, Aberarth, Aberystwyth, Cardigan, Eglwys Fach, Lampeter, Llanrhystud, New Quay, Newcastle Emlyn (partly in Carmarthenshire) and Tregaron.

The Cambrian Mountains cover much of the east of the county. In the south and west the surface is less elevated. The highest point is Plynlimon at 2,486 feet, where five rivers have their source: the Severn, the Wye, the Dulas, the Llyfnant and Rheidol, the last of which meets the Mynach in a 300-foot plunge at the Devil's Bridge chasm. The 50 miles of coastline has many sandy beaches. The chief river is the Teifi which forms the border with Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire for much of its length.

Places of special interest: Ceredigion Museum, Aberystwyth (SN5881); Devil's Bridge (SN7477); Strata Florda Abbey (SN7465); Vale of Rheidol Railway (SN5881). Aberystwyth Castle, Nanteos Mansion, Welsh Gold Centre Tregaron, Llywernog Silver Lead Mine

A referendum was held on May 20, 2004 on whether to have a directly-elected mayor for the county; this was rejected by a large majority.

Traditional Cardiganshire

Places in Ceredigion

• Aberaeron
• Aberarth
• Aberystwyth
• Borth
• Cardigan
• Eglwys Fach
• Lampeter
• Llanrhystud
• New Quay
• Newcastle Emlyn
• Tregaron

United Kingdom | Wales | Principal areas of Wales
Anglesey | Blaenau Gwent | Bridgend | Caerphilly | Cardiff | Carmarthenshire | Ceredigion | Conwy | Denbighshire | Flintshire | Gwynedd | Merthyr Tydfil | Monmouthshire | Neath Port Talbot | Newport | Pembrokeshire | Powys | Rhondda Cynon Taff | Swansea | Torfaen | Vale of Glamorgan | Wrexham