DURHAM, is a martime county' in the north of England. Its form is nearly that of an equilateral tri angle ; the eastern side, from its southern extremity at Sockburn to the mouth of the Tyne, measuring rather less than the distance of those two points from its wes tern extremity, where it joins the counties of Cumber land and Westmoreland. It is situated between the la titudes of 54° 29' and 3'; on the north it is separa ted from Northumberland by the rivers Tyne and Dar' went; on the west from Cumberland and Westmore land, by the Crookburn and the Tees, and by barren hills and moors; on the south and south-cast, from Yorkshire by the Tees; and on the cast it is bounded by the German Ocean. The greatest extent of the coun ty, from Shields in the north to Sockburn in the south, is rather more than 36 miles; and its greatest breadth, from the peninsula of Hartlepool on the cast to the mouth of the Crookburn on the west, where the three counties of Durham, Cumberland, and Westmoreland unite, scarcely reaches 45 miles. Its circumference is about 180 miles, and it contains about 582,400 acres. It is divided into four wards : Chester ward, which con tains three divisions ; Darlington ward, which con tains the same number of divisions; and Easington and Stockton wards, each of which contain two divisions. But besides these, part of the county of Durham lies at the north-eastern extremity of England, separated from the main body of it by the whole length of Northumber land. This detached portion is divided into two parts, Islandshire (so called from its comprehending Holy Island,) which commences a little to the north of Ilam borough, and runs along the sea coast, and for seven or eight miles inland, as far as Berwick upon Tweed ; and Norhamshire, which lies to the west of Islandshire, and runs up Twcedside, nearly as far as where the Till falls into that river. These two detached portions of Durham contain about 72 square miles of good land, well cultivated. This county pays three parts of the land tax, and provides 400 men for the militia. The natural districts of Durham arc not very distinctly marked ; nevertheless the sea coast may be distinguish ed by a flatness and tameness of surface, when com pared with the centre parts of the county; the banks of the Tees, by lowness of situation and productiveness of soil ; the moorlands, which occupy the western parts of the county, on the contrary, are characterized by ele vation and barrenness; and the interior is marked by the irregularity of its surface, and the diversity of its soils, comparatively with the rest of the county. The prin
cipal vale land consists of the Vale of Stockton, which is well defended by the rotund, prominent hills, which rise about nine miles northward of the Tees; the flat vale land spreading seven or eight miles from that river. The central district is the largest of the natural districts, commencing at the foot of Gateshead-fell, and extend ing southward as far as the vale of Stockton : the sea coast district bounds it on the cast ; and the moorlands, with the valley of Walsingham, on the west. The ge neral appearance of the moorlands of Durham is simi lar to that of the moorlands of Yorkshire and Northum berland. It is crossed by that ridge of hills, which have been not unaptly culled the Apennines of Eng land, though none rise very high in this county. From this description of the face of this district, it will be seen that the general aspect of the county is hilly and naked. As it extends from the sea coast nearly to the top of Crossfell, which is 3400 feet above the level of the sea, the climate of Durham must vary very con siderably. In favourable seasons, and early situations, the harvest commences about the middle or August ; but when the seasons arc cold and wet, little corn is cut, even in the low and sheltered parts of the county, before September; and not unfrequently, in the western parts, it is protracted till the beginning or middle of November. In the spring, cold north and easterly winds prevail ; these sometimes continue till the beginning of June, and are succeeded by south and westerly winds, bringing much rain ; but the heaviest fulls of ruin and snow are from the south-east.