Penwith

Penwith District
Shown within Cornwall
Geography
Status:	District
Region:	South West England
Admin. County:	Cornwall
Area: - Total	Ranked 155th 303.56 km²
Admin. HQ:	Penzance
ONS code:	15UF
Demographics
Population: - Total (2002 est.) - Density	Ranked 319th 63,924 211 / km²
Ethnicity:	98.9% White
Politics
Penwith District Council http://www.penwith.gov.uk
Leadership:	Alternative - Sec.31
Control:	Conservative + Independent
MP:	Andrew George

Penwith (Cornish: Penwyth) is a local government district in Cornwall, UK. It is the westernmost district in the UK, other than the Isles of Scilly. Its council is based in Penzance. Other places in the district include St. Ives, Hayle and Land's End.

The district is named after an ancient hundred of Cornwall. The name derives from the two Cornish words, pen and wyth. Pen means 'Headland' and wyth means 'at the end'.

It is mostly composed of the peninsula that bears the same name. It features a rugged coastline with many fine beaches, which make this area a renowned holiday destination. Tourism plays a major part in Penwith's economy, which was hit by the decline of the mining and fishing industries, which led to Penwith's listing as an Objective 1 area by the European Social Fund .

Inland, the peninsula is a bare plateau, rich in minerals, which were mined for many centuries. The landscape is dotted with ruined mine buildings. Penwith also contains many sites of archaeological interest, with notable Iron Age and Romano-British finds.

Over 9,500 ha of agricultural land in the west of the district is designated an Environmentally Sensitive Area.

External link

• Penwith (DMOZ.org)