The ceremonial county of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

(composed of the

shire county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

of Lincolnshire, plus the

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Barton ...

and North-East Lincolnshire) is the second largest of the English counties and one that is predominantly agricultural in character. Despite its relatively large physical area, it has a comparatively small population (of less than 1 million people). The unusually low population density that arises gives the county a very different character from the much more densely populated an urbanised counties of south-east and northern England, and is, in many ways, key to understanding the nature of the county (and perhaps even its people).

Classification

For the purposed of a general geographical classification the county can be broken down into a number of sub-regions: *The

Lincolnshire coast The coast of Lincolnshire runs for more than down the North Sea coast of eastern England, from the estuary of the Humber (which divides it from East Yorkshire) to the marshlands of the Wash, where it meets Norfolk. This stretch of coastline has lo ...

. *

Lincolnshire Fens The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...

: a region of flat, marshy land (much of it reclaimed from the sea) that predominates in the southern and south-eastern areas of the county (most particularly around the local towns of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and Spalding and extending around

The Wash The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk, England, Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and both border the North Sea. One of Britain's broadest estuaries, it i ...

to the county border with Norfolk. ** The Witham Valley which extends the low-lying nature of the fens toward the city. Historically important for abbey and prehistoric usage. *The

Lincolnshire Marsh The Lincolnshire Marsh is a belt of reclaimed salt marsh and sand dune in Lincolnshire, England and between the Lincolnshire Wolds and the North Sea coast. It is up to seven kilometres wide. It is part of one of the national character areas defin ...

: reclaimed

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

in the east of the county, north of the Fens. *The

Lincolnshire Wolds The Lincolnshire Wolds are a range of low hills in the county of Lincolnshire, England which run roughly parallel with the North Sea coast, from the Humber Estuary in the north-west to the edge of the Lincolnshire Fens in the south-east. They a ...

: a range of low hills that run broadly south-east through the central and eastern portion of the county. *The

Lincoln Cliff The Lincoln Cliff or Lincoln Edge is a portion of a major escarpment that runs north–south through Lindsey and Kesteven in central Lincolnshire and is a prominent landscape feature in a generally flat portion of the county. Towards its norther ...

: a jurassic escarpment forming a major feature facing the Wolds. *The industrial

Humber Estuary The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...

and north-east coast: the major population and industrial centres of

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

North East Lincolnshire North East Lincolnshire is a Unitary authority area with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. It borders the borough of North Lincolnshire and districts of West Lindsey and East Lindsey. The population of the district in the 2011 Census was ...

. These include the major fishing port of

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

and nearby

Immingham Immingham is a town, civil parish and ward in the North East Lincolnshire unitary authority of England. It is situated on the south-west bank of the Humber Estuary, and is north-west from Grimsby. The region was relatively unpopulated and un ...

(an important centre for the chemical industry) - both towns are on estuary of the

River Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...

, which flows into the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

). Also included is the nearby industrial town of

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A pre ...

, a once important steel producing town, but now somewhat in post-industrial decline. * The vale of the

River Trent The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...

in the west of the county, bordering Nottinghamshire. * The

Isle of Axholme The Isle of Axholme is a geographical area in England: a part of North Lincolnshire that adjoins South Yorkshire. It is located between the towns of Scunthorpe and Gainsborough, both of which are in the traditional West Riding of Lindsey, and D ...

in the north west. The highest point of the county is just to the north of the village of Normanby le Wold, in the Lincolnshire Wolds north-east of

Market Rasen Market Rasen ( ) is a town and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The River Rase runs through it east to west, approximately north-east from Lincoln, east from Gainsborough, 14 miles (23 km) west of Louth ...

. Marked by a

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

, it is 168m/551 ft high and is a Marilyn. ''...highest point in eastern England near Normanby le Wold, which at over 500 feet is officially classed as a Marilyn...''

The Greenwich Meridian

The

Greenwich Meridian The historic prime meridian or Greenwich meridian is a geographical reference line that passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London, England. The modern IERS Reference Meridian widely used today ...

runs through the county. It extends from the

between

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, England with a population of 38,372 in 2020. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry, then develo ...

and

Humberston Humberston is a village and civil parish south of Cleethorpes in North East Lincolnshire, England. Boundary and population The village's boundary with Cleethorpes runs along North Sea Lane and Humberston Road. Its population in the 2001 censu ...

at ¹ and passes through

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

and

before leaving the county south of

Gedney Hill Gedney Hill is a village and civil parish in South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 737. It is situated close to the border of Cambridgeshire, and approximately south-east ...

at ¹.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of Lincolnshire