A maritime county in S. Wales, fronting the Bristol Channel, between Monmouth and Carmarthen; amid the hilly country of the N. lie the rich coal-fields and iron-stone quarries which have made it by far the most populous and wealthiest county of Wales; the S. country—the garden of Wales—is a succession of fertile valleys and wooded slopes; dairy-farming is extensively engaged in, but agriculture is somewhat backward; the large towns are actively engaged in the coal-trade and in the smelting of iron, copper, lead, and tin; some interesting Roman remains exist in the county.