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Monmouthshire

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Monmouthshire is a county in Wales on the English border, bounded on the north by Breconshire and Herefordshire, on the east by Gloucestershire, on the south by the River Severn estuary, and on the west by Glamorganshire. It covers 543 square miles.

The mountainous and picturesque country of the north and northwest contains Sugar Loaf (1954 feet) and parts of the wild and bleak Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons. In the south, the country is low and flat, especially along the River Severn. The principal rivers--Wye, Monnow, Usk, and Rhymney--all drain to the Severn. The country was at one time heavily wooded, but only small portions of the former forest remain.

Monmouthshire has a number of old abbeys, including Tintern Abbey, and numerous Norman castles. The ancient capital Caerleon, the coal port of Newport, and Monmouth, the present capital, are among the towns.