The United Nations has accorded recognition to 195 sovereign states. 193 member states and 2 observer states are part of it. Officially, there are no nations among these whose names start with the letter W. However, Wales, a member of the United Kingdom, begins with a W.
Countries That Begins With W – List Of Countries In the World Starts From Letter W
About Wales
Wales is a part of the United Kingdom and is an extension of the island of Great Britain to the west. Cardiff is the nation’s capital and financial and commercial hub.
The small country of Wales, which consists of six distinct regions and is renowned for its strikingly rugged landscape, was one of Celtic Europe’s most important political and cultural centers, and it still has elements of culture that are noticeably distinct from those of its English neighbors.
History Of Wales
When he wrote that Wales is a “country very strongly defended by high mountains, deep valleys, extensive woods, rivers, and marshes; insomuch that from the time the Saxons took possession of the island the remnants of the Britons, retiring into these regions, could never be entirely subdued either by the English or by the Normans,” the medieval chronicler Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales) had topography, history, and current events in mind.
But eventually, Wales was brought under control and was formally incorporated into the realm of England by the Act of Union of 1536. Even as many of their fellow countrymen worked hard at home to preserve cultural traditions and even the Welsh language, which experienced a revival in the late 20th century, Welsh engineers, linguists, musicians, writers, and soldiers made significant contributions to the development of the larger British Empire.
The Welsh Assembly, which was established in 1997 by the British government with support from the Welsh electorate, was given decision-making authority over most local issues, granting Wales a measure of autonomy. Welsh industry was shaken by the decline of coal mining, but by the end of the 20th century, the country had diversified its economy, especially in the cities of Cardiff and Swansea, while the countryside, which had previously been dependent on small farming, attracted a lot of retirees from England.
Visitors attracted to Wales’ opulent parks and castles as well as to cultural events showcasing the nation’s renowned musical and literary traditions—many of whom are descended from Welsh expatriates—became an economic mainstay. Wales continues to push for increased independence as well as a unique spot in a united Europe in the face of ongoing change.
Land of Wales
Wales is bordered to the north by Liverpool Bay and the Dee Estuary, to the west by the Irish Sea, to the south by the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel, and to the east by England. The largest island in England and Wales, Anglesey (Môn), is located off the northwest coast and is connected to the mainland by rail and road bridges.
Wales’ varied coastline spans about 600 miles (970 km). The country is roughly 130 miles (210 km) long from north to south and varies in width from east to west, measuring up to 90 miles (145 km) across in the north, 40 miles (65 km) across in the middle, and more than 100 miles (160 km) across the southern part.
Relief
A large portion of the Welsh landscape was deeply carved by glaciers during the Pleistocene Epoch (roughly 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago) into mountains, plateaus, and hills, including the north-south trending Cambrian Mountains, a region of plateaus and hills that are themselves divided by rivers.
The Brecon Beacons in the south, which rise to 2,906 feet (886 meters) at Pen y Fan, and Snowdonia in the northwest, which rises to 3,560 feet (1,085 meters) at Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, protrude from that backbone. While the Beacons typically have softer outlines than Snowdonia, the latter’s magnificent scenery is enhanced by the region’s stark and rugged rock formations, many of which are volcanic in origin.
A string of steep-sided coastal plateaus with elevations between 100 and 700 feet encircle the uplands on their seaward side (30 to 210 meters). Many of them have been beaten by the sea into breathtaking cliffs that resemble steps. Other plateaus give way to estuarine-derived coastal flats.
Drainage
Wales’ primary watershed roughly follows the central highlands from north to south. All of the larger river valleys start there and broaden either eastward as they converge into lowland plains near the English border, or westward near the sea. Two of the longest rivers in the country, the Severn and Wye, originate in central and eastern Wales and flow into the Bristol Channel via the Severn estuary.
The Dee, which empties into Liverpool Bay, is the principal river in northern Wales. The Clwyd and Conwy in the northeast, the Tywi in the south, and the Rheidol in the west draining into Cardigan Bay are some of the lesser rivers and estuaries (Bae Ceredigion). Natural lakes in the nation are few and almost entirely of glacial origin.
Climate of Wales
Wales has a maritime climate characterized by erratic shifts in Atlantic air masses, which, when combined with the wide range of elevations, frequently result in local conditions changing significantly from day to day. With annual totals for the entire nation averaging 55 inches (1,385 mm), precipitation is common and frequently more than adequate.
There is no clearly defined wet or dry season; on average, there are 4 inches (88 mm) of precipitation in April and 6 inches (142 mm) in January. In the uplands, where snow or sleet falls about 10 days a year, winter snowfall can be significant. The average daily temperature is 50 °F (10 °C), with the coldest months of January and July and the hottest months of August.
Soil
Wales’ parent rock is composed primarily of strata dating from the Precambrian Period, or more than 540 million years ago, to specimens from the Jurassic Period (about 200 million to 145 million years ago). Few soils can now be directly related to their parent rock because glaciers during the Pleistocene covered the majority of the landscape with till (boulder clay), scraped up, and carried along by the underside of the great ice sheets. Wales is mostly covered in acidic, leached podzol soils and brown Earth.
