Gwynedd

Unitary authority in northwest Wales, created 1996 from part of the former county of Gwynedd.

Area
2,546 sq km/983 sq mi

Towns
Caernarfon (administrative headquarters)

Physical
area includes the highest mountain in Wales, Snowdon (1,085 m/3,560 ft), and the largest Welsh lake, Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake)

Features
Snowdonia National Park; seaside resorts; Bardsey Island; Portmeirion; 13th-century castles at Harlech, Criccieth, and Caernafon

Industries
gold mining at Dolgellau, textiles, electronics, slate, tourism

Agriculture
cattle and sheep-farming

Population
(2001) 116,850

Most of Gwynedd lies within Snowdonia National Park. The Lleyn Peninsula, which juts out into the Irish Sea and forms the northern limit of Cardigan Bay, is a rural area with many seaside resorts. Off the tip of the peninsula is the former pilgrimage centre of Bardsey Island, with its 6th-century ruined abbey. In Tremadog Bay is the fantasy resort of Portmeirion, built by Clough Williams-Ellis and made famous by the 1960s television show The Prisoner.