Antrim is a maritime county of northeast Northern Ireland in Ulster Province Province, including Lough Neagh and Beg in the south and southwest. It is 57 miles long at its extreme length and 28 miles wide at its broadest, and includes 90 miles of seacoast. Its area is 1192 miles. Off the north coast lie Rathlin Island and the Skerries, and off the east coast the Maiden ROcks. Between Ballycastle and the mouth of the Bann is the Giant's Causeway, one of the finest examples of columnar basalt in the world.
There are many peat bogs, but more than three quarters of the area of the county is under cultivation. There are salt mines at Duncrue and Carrickfergus, and small coal fields. Several large distilleries are situated in the county. The principal towns are Belfast, Lisburn, Carrickfergus, Ballymena, Larne, Ballymoney, Portrush, and Antrim.
