WALES (AS:, ll'a/ag. IVerdas, foreigners; conneeted with (01(;, truth, Celt le l'olem, a tribe of G:»11). An historical division of the United Kinodoni of Great Britain and Ireland, administratively a part of England. It a large peninsula projecting westward on the is land of Great Britain, and bounded on the north by the Irish Sea, on the east by the English counties of Chester, Shropshire. Hereford, and Monmouth, on the south by Bristol Channel, and on the west by Saint George's Channel. Wales extends 130 miles from north to south and has a breadth varying from 30 to 96 miles. Area. 7442 square miles. The northwestern corner is oat off by Menai :Strait to form the island of -Anglesey (q.v.). Compared with England, Wales is dis tinctly a mountainous country. containing the highest point ( Snowdon, 3590 feet ) of the British Island south of Scotland. In general the moun tains do not form well-defined ranges, but com prise a mass of short ranges and small groups, separated by narrow valleys. Wales is geologi cally more ancient than the greater part of Eng land. consisting almost exclusively of the older Paleozoic rocks with igneous intrusions. The mineral deposits are extensive and valuable. in cluding coal, iron. copper, zinc, tin, lead, and gold. Of these by far the most important is coal, amounting' in value to about 85 per cent. of the mineral output of Wales and in quantity to about 20 per cent. of the coal supply of the United Kingdom. There are two coal fields, the north. in Denbigh and and the south. more than half in Glamorgan and the rest in Carmar then. Pembroke, Brecknock, and the English coun ty Monmouth. The north fields were worked as early as the sixteenth century and the develop ment of the south fields began about the middle of the eighteenth. The latter fields extend 89 miles east and west. with a maximum breadth of 21 miles and all area of about 1000 square miles. The thickness of the coal measures is estimated at about 7000 feet. (q.v.) has become the largest coak•xporting port in the world. its
export in 1901 being 14.316,929 tons. In 1901 Wales yielded mineral products to the value of $105,000.000, or about one-fifth of the total amount produced by Great Britain and Ireland.
For agriculture. mamdaetures (the most im portant of which is iron), and other topics Wales not treated here, see GREAT BRITAIN.
The population increased from 718.353 in 1821 to 1..119,03.1 in 1891, and 1.720.009 in 1901. 'rile increase between 1890 and 1900 was per cent., as against 9.9 per cent. for the Unitcl Kingdom. From the table above it will he seen that Gla morgan has as large a population as all the rest of Wales. There was but one enmity in England that made a larger percentage of gain.
ld: is uf comi ties in Great Britain, its growth being due to its great mining industry. It Mal he: all the Cities of Wales that exceeded a population of 50,000 in 11)01: Card ill', with 101,420, having increased 27.34 per Cent. iu the decade ending tenth that year; Swansea, \yid] 114,014; and Merthyr Tydfil, with 014,227. \Vides is divided into 12 adminis trative counties, as shown in the preceding table.
The greater portion ,d the population belong to the Calvinistic, -Methodist, or other dissenting bodies. Various attempts have been made to se• eure the disestablishment of the Chnrch of Eng land. which is still the State Church.
Wales has the same eduentional system as England (q.v.). (See also Gity.kr BRITAIN.) Elected school boards have charge of elementary education in districts not tidequately provided for by voluntary schools. the necessitous voluntary schools receiving public aid. Attendance is com pulsory. Non-sectarian religions instruction is offered hut is not compulsory in board schools. Sectarian instruction may he given in the volun tary schools. There is no organized system of secondary education, The CIff Tsi ty of \\ ales, les, consisting of the three colleges of Aber?stmith, Bangor, and Cardiff, was established in 1S93.