262 NORTHUMBERLAND NORTH-WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA. 



NORTHUMBERLAND; the northernmost county 

 of England, is bounded on the north by Scotland, and 

 a detached portion of the county of Durham, east by 

 the German ocean, south by Durham and Cumber- 

 land, and west by Cumberland and Scotland. It 

 forms an irregular triangle, extending about sixty- 

 five miles from north to south, and about forty-eight 

 from east to west. The county is included in the 

 northern circuit, in the diocese of Durham, and the 

 province of York. Under the Romans, it formed 

 part of the province of Valentia, which extended 

 from Tynemouth to the firth of Forth. During the 

 Saxon period, it was included in the kingdom of 

 Northumbria or North-Humber-Land, which extended 

 northward to the firth of Forth, and southward to 

 the Humber, whence its name; comprehending, be- 

 sides this county, Yorkshire, Durham, Lancashire, 

 Westmoreland, and Cumberland. From the reign of 

 Stephen till the union of the crowns of England and 

 Scotland, it formed the great theatre of the border 

 wars. 



Northumberland, which is one of the largest coun- 

 ties in England, presents a great variety of soil and 

 surface ; for though some parts are fertile and well 

 cultivated, the greater portion approaches to the 

 state of absolute barrenness. In the north-west are 

 the Cheviot hills, where the land, though unfit for 

 the plough, affords good pasturage for sheep. Other 

 mountainous districts extend from the south-west 

 angle of the county and the borders of Durham to 

 the moors north of Rothbury. On the eastern side 

 of the county are some fertile tracts, consisting of 

 valleys through which the rivers take their course to 

 the sea; and among these the vale of the Coquet is 

 remarkable for its fertility. Along the sea-coast the 

 surface is generally level, and there are several small 

 bays, or imets, but no harbour of importance, except 

 that of North Shields at the mouth of the Tyne. The 

 headlands of Bainbrough and Dunstanbrough are two 

 promontories remarkable for their castles ; and off 

 the coast are the groups called Farn Staple islands, 

 as well as the larger island of Lindisfarn. Southward 

 of these is Coquet island, at the mouth of the river 

 of the same name. The principal river of Northum- 

 berland is the Tyne, formed by two branches ; the 

 North Tyne, which rises in the Cheviot hills on the 

 Scottish border ; and the South Tyne, which has its 

 source at Aldstone moor in Cumberland ; and these 

 uniting near Hexham, flow westward by Newcastle 

 and Shields to the sea at Tynemouth. The Reed, 

 which rises at Carter Fell, among the Cheviot hills 

 not far from the source of North Tyne, falls into that 

 river at Bellingham. The Coquet, which has its 

 origin in the same mountain range, crosses the 

 county from west to east, and enters the sea at 

 Warkworth. The Tweed, a Scottish river, skirts 

 the northern border of this county ; and, besides 

 these, may be specified the Blyth, the Wansbeck, 

 and the Alne, which all fall into the German ocean. 



The climate of Northumberland is extremely vari- 

 ous, but on the whole by no means so cold as might 

 be expected from its northern situation ; the tempera- 

 ture of the air being moderated by the sea-breezes 

 which reach it from the Irish channel as well as from 

 the German ocean, and hence the snow seldom lies 

 long except on the tops of the highest hills. 



Northumberland is chiefly distinguished for its 

 mineral treasures, especially coal and lead-ore. The 

 great coal-field of this district is partly in this county 

 and partly in that of Durham. The coal-measures 

 and rocky strata, which together constitute the coal 

 formation of Northumberland and Durham, are in 

 part covered by magnesia, limestone, and rest upon 

 lead-mine measures. They occupy a hollow, or ba- 

 sin, the extreme length of which, from Acklingtou 



colliery, near the Coquet river, on the north, tj 

 Cockfield, near West Auckland in Durham, is fifty- 

 eight miles ; and the breadth, from Bywell-on-the- 

 Tyne, westward, to the sea-shore, is twenty-four miles. 

 This tract is characterized by low-topped hills, which 

 rise gradually on advancing from the coast towards 

 the interior. Ores of iron and lead, and calcarious 

 spar, accompany the coal measures ; with which also 

 are found organic remains of vegetables, as impres- 

 sions of ferns, mineralized cones, stalks of trees, &c., 

 and bivalve fresh water shells, but no marine relics. 

 The quantity of coal raised annually in this district is 

 immense. It is exported chiefly from the ports of 

 Shields, Newcastle, and Sunderland, to London and 

 the entire eastern coast of England ; the vessels by 

 the Tyne river being the largest, chiefly proceed to 

 London, and those by the Wear, which are smaller, 

 to the towns on the coast. The lead-mine measures 

 form ths northern and western boundaries of the coal- 

 field. This formation enters Northumberland from 

 the north side of the Tweed, and in a south-eastern 

 direction it follows the coast from Berwick to the 

 Coquet, for thirty-two miles. The porphyritic moun- 

 tains of Cheviot interrupt it towards the west for 

 about twenty miles ; but, having passed the southern 

 part of that ridge, it stretches across the whole 

 breadth of Northumberland, and is spread over the 

 adjacent borders of Cumberland, Westmoreland, Dur- 

 ham, and Yorkshire. From the lead-ore silver is 

 likewise sometimes extracted in considerable quanti- 

 ties. Ores of zinc and iron are found in many parts 

 of the county ; and limestone is of common occur- 

 rence. 



The principal products of Northumberland, besides 

 minerals, are corn, cattle, sheep, wool, and fish, par- 

 ticularly trout and salmon ; the latter, procured in 

 abundance from the fisheries on the Tweed, furnish, 

 when dried or pickled, an important article for ex- 

 portation. The chief manufactures are such as de- 

 rive advantage from the collieries, and hence there 

 are extensive glass-works, potteries, and iron foun- 

 deries. 



The six wards in this county are those of Barn- 

 borough, Coquetdale, Glendale, Morpeth, Tindale, 

 and Castle Ward. The boroughs are Newcastle, 

 Morpeth, and Berwick; the market-towns are 

 Allerdale, Alnwick, Belford, Bellingham, Blyth, 

 Corbridge, Holtwhistle, Hexham, Rothbury, North 

 Shields, Warkworth, and Wooller ; but Blyth, though 

 it is become a place of importance on account of the 

 coal-trade, has not a regularly chartered market ; that 

 of Corbridge is discontinued ; and the market of 

 Warkworth is inconsiderable. Population of the 

 county in 1831, 222,912. 



NORTHUMBERLAND, DPKE OF. See Dudley. 



NORTH-WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERI- 

 CA. This part of the world has been for some time 

 the scene of an active commerce in furs with China. 

 Cook examined this coast on his third voyage. On 

 the arrival of the expedition in China, the sailors dis- 

 posed of the sea-otter skins which they had obtained, 

 at what seemed to them enormous prices, and it was 

 immediately perceived that this newly discovered 

 branch of trade would be extremely lucrative. Sev- 

 eral voyages were accordingly made for carrying on 

 this traffic as early as 1784 ; and in 1787 two vessels 

 were fitted out from Boston for this destination. In 

 a few years, the trade was almost entirely in the hands 

 of the Americans ; and in 1801, out of sixteen ships 

 on the coast, fifteen were American, which collected 

 18,000 sea-otter skins, besides other furs, for the 

 China market. In 1822, there were fourteen vessels 

 from the United States engaged in this trade, com- 

 bined with that from the Sandwich islands, in sandal- 

 wood. These vessels are from two to four hundred 



