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County Antrim. Aontroim / Co. Aontroma - meaning "Solitary Farm" |
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Antrim place
names. County Antrim towns. |
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Most of the county is a high, basalt plateau, The plateau is about 80 kilometer in length and 50 wide. The beautiful Antrim coast road is built on a raised beach at the foot of the high basalt cliffs. The Antrim plateau is cut by valleys known as the nine Glens of Antrim. These valleys, which run eastward to the sea, were formed by glaciers in ancient times. The cliffs of Fair Head mark the Northeast corner of the basalt block. At the Giant's Causeway, the outflow from a volcano formed into about 40,00 pillars of black basalt, legend attributed this to a giant Finn McCool Most of the plateau is flat. Its highest point are at Trostan 554 metres (1,817 ft) above sea level, followed by Knocklayd at 517 metres (1,695 ft) Along Antrim's eastern
and northern coasts
are many harbour's some cleft from the rock, from one of these it's said,
Deirdre (Of the
sorrows) and the sons of Uisneach embarked for Scotland to escape
the wrath of King Conor. Agriculture is the main industry. Barley, oats, and potatoes are the main crops. But livestock production is more important. Farmers in the county raise cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. The textile industry was once important, chiefly for linen and, more recently, synthetic fibers. This industry is now in decline. Coal mines at Ballycastle were worked until recently. Lignite (brown coal) is found in large quantities in the county, although there is much opposition to its extraction. Most of Northern Ireland's electricity is generated by stations at Ballylumford and Kilroot. Iron ore and limestone were mined up until the 1970's. Read about industries in County Antrim from Samuel Lewis; Topographical Directory of Ireland published in 1837. The town of Antrim situated close to the Northeast corner of Lough Neagh , the largest inland lake in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Antrim and Ballymena are the administrative centers of their respective districts. The government has named them as new towns, which are centers for rapid, industrial, and urban development. Larne is also an industrial center, it is the main port for ferry traffic to and from the rest of the United Kingdom. The smaller port of Carrickfergus is dominated by its great Norman castle. Portrush and Portstewart are popular seaside resorts on the Atlantic coast. Ballycastle looks across a narrow sound (channel of water) to Rathlin Island. The traditional Lammas fair is held at Ballycastle every August. Bushmills is famous for its whiskey distillation. Northern Ireland's main air and sea terminals are located in the county of Antrim. Belfast International Airport is at Aldergrove, The ferry port of Larne, serving the short sea route to Stranraer, in Scotland, handles most of Northern Ireland's freight traffic, the remainder is carried from Warrenpoint in Co Down. The county has a good network of main roads. The M2 motorway connects Belfast with Larne, with the airport, and with all the main routes to the north and west. The railway links Belfast to Larne and to Antrim, Ballymena, and Derry in the north. The principal towns of the county are Antrim, Belfast (Capital of N I .) Ballycastle, Ballymoney, Ballymena, Carrickfergus and Lisburn. The county has a population in excess of 250,000 |
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Google
Map of County Antrim. |
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