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London boroughs

The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at the same time as Greater London on 1 April 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) and are a type of local government district. Twelve were designated as Inner London boroughs and twenty as Outer London boroughs. The City of London, the historic centre, is a separate ceremonial county and sui generis local government district that functions quite differently from a London borough. However, the two counties together comprise the administrative area of Greater London as well as the London Region, all of which is also governed by the Greater London Authority, under the Mayor of London.

The London boroughs have populations of between 150,000 and 400,000. Inner London boroughs tend to be smaller, in both population and area, and more densely populated than Outer London boroughs. The London boroughs were created by combining groups of former local government units. A review undertaken between 1987 and 1992 led to a number of relatively small alterations in borough boundaries. London borough councils provide the majority of local government services (schools, waste management, social services, libraries), in contrast to the strategic Greater London Authority, which has limited authority over all of Greater London.

The councils were first elected in 1964, and acted as shadow authorities until 1 April 1965. Each borough is divided into electoral wards, subject to periodic review, for the purpose of electing councillors. Council elections take place every four years, with the most recent elections in 2022, and the next elections due in 2026. The political make-up of London borough councils is dominated by the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties. Twenty-eight councils follow the leader and cabinet model of executive governance, while five have directly elected mayors (Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, and Tower Hamlets). The City of London is instead governed by the City of London Corporation (and the Inner and Middle Temples, which are not governed by the City of London Corporation).

List
There are four boroughs that do not have "London Borough" in their official names: the City of Westminster, and the Royal Boroughs of Kingston upon Thames, Kensington and Chelsea, and Greenwich.

Creation
From the mid-1930s, the Greater London area comprised four types of local government authorities. There were county boroughs, municipal boroughs, urban districts and metropolitan boroughs. The large county boroughs provided all local government services and held the powers usually invested in county councils. The municipal borough and urban district authorities had fewer powers. The situation was made more complex because county councils could delegate functions such as elementary education and library provision to the municipal borough and district councils, and this was implemented piecemeal. Reform of London local government sought to regularise this arrangement.

The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London was established in 1957 and the report was published on 19 October 1960. It proposed 52 "Greater London Boroughs" with a population range of 100,000 to 250,000. This was made up of a mixture of whole existing units, mergers of two or three areas, and two boroughs formed as the result of a split. In December 1961 the government proposed that there would be 34 boroughs rather than 52, and detailed their boundaries. The proposed number was further reduced to 32 in 1962.

On 1 April 1965, the 32 London boroughs and Greater London were created by the London Government Act 1963. Twelve boroughs in the former County of London area were designated Inner London boroughs and the 20 others were designated Outer London boroughs. Outer London borough councils were local education authorities, but Inner London borough councils were so designated primarily to continue the existence of an Inner London Education Authority, praised by official Opposition and government who further noted that unusually the former County of London's many small local authorities had no history of providing education. The City of London continued to be administered by the City of London Corporation, and the Inner and Middle Temples continued to govern their own areas.

Elections were held on 7 May 1964, with the new councils acting as shadow authorities before coming into their powers the following year.

Former authorities
The boroughs were created as follows. Some relatively minor changes have been made to the boundaries of boroughs since 1965, and two have changed their names.

 * County boroughs
 * Metropolitan boroughs
 * Municipal boroughs
 * Urban districts

Greater London Council
Between 1965 and 1986 the boroughs were part of a two-tier system of government and shared power with the Greater London Council (GLC). The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the London borough councils responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. Several London borough councils and the GLC were involved in the rate-capping rebellion of 1985. On 1 April 1986 the GLC was abolished and the borough councils gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. The Inner London Education Authority continued to exist as an ad hoc authority. In 1990 it was abolished and the Inner London borough councils also became local education authorities.

Name and boundary changes
The Local Government Act 1972 provided a mechanism for the name of a London borough and its council to be changed. This was used by the London Borough of Hammersmith (changed to Hammersmith and Fulham) on 1 April 1979 and the London Borough of Barking (changed to Barking and Dagenham) on 1 January 1980. Borough names formed by combining two locality names had been discouraged when the boroughs were created.

The London boroughs were created by combining whole existing units of local government and it was realised that this might provide arbitrary boundaries in some places. The London Government Act 1963 provided a mechanism for communities on the edge of Greater London to petition for transfer from London boroughs to a neighbouring county district. This was used in 1969 in the transfers of Knockholt in Bromley to Kent, and of Farleigh and Hooley in Croydon to Surrey. The Act also provided for transfers between London boroughs and neighbouring counties where there was consensus for the change between all the relevant local authorities. This provision was used to exchange two islands on the River Thames between Richmond upon Thames and Surrey. (See List of Greater London boundary changes.)

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England was established by the Local Government Act 1972 to review periodically the boundaries of Greater London and the London boroughs. The first review of boundaries commenced on 1 April 1987 and reported in 1992. Following the review a series of relatively minor adjustments were made to borough boundaries, for example uniting the whole of the Becontree estate in Barking and Dagenham. The commission noted that many of its recommendations were strongly opposed and were not implemented. The boundary of the City of London with adjacent boroughs was adjusted to remove some anomalies.

The London boroughs were incorporated using the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act 1882. In the London boroughs the legal entity is not the council, as elsewhere in the country, but the inhabitants incorporated as a legal entity by royal charter (a process abolished elsewhere in England and Wales under the Local Government Act 1972). Thus, a London authority's official legal title is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of X" (or "The Lord Mayor and Citizens of the City of Westminster").

Greater London Authority
In 2000 the Greater London Authority was created, comprising the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. As a strategic authority, it absorbed only limited powers, such as major highways and planning strategy, from the borough councils.

London borough councils
The London boroughs are administered by London borough councils (sometimes abbreviated LBCs), which are elected every four years. They are the principal local authorities in London and are responsible for running most local services, such as schools, social services, waste collection and roads. Some London-wide services are run by the Greater London Authority, and some services and lobbying of government are pooled within London Councils. Some councils group together for services such as waste collection and disposal. The boroughs are local government districts and have similar functions to metropolitan boroughs. Each borough council is a local education authority.

Shared services
Shared services are borough council services shared between two or more boroughs. Shared services were previously resisted due to councils guarding their authority. However, as the need for budget cuts in the late 2000s became apparent some councils have sought service mergers. Westminster and Hammersmith & Fulham were due to merge their education services, including school admissions and transport, by 2011. In October 2010, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster announced plans to merge all their services to create a "super-council". Each would retain its own political identity, leadership and councillors but staff and budgets would be combined for cost savings. Lambeth and Southwark likewise expressed an interest in sharing services.

The management thinker and inventor of the Vanguard Method, Professor John Seddon, claims that shared service projects based on attempts to achieve economies of scale are a mix of a) the plausibly obvious and b) a little hard data, brought together to produce two broad assertions, for which there is little hard factual evidence. He argues that shared service projects fail (and often end up costing more than they hoped to save) because they cause a disruption to the service flow by moving the work to a central location, creating waste in hand-offs, rework and duplication, lengthening the time it takes to deliver a service and consequently creating failure demand (demand caused by a failure to do something or do something right for a customer). Seddon referred directly to the so-called tri-borough shared services in an article in 2012.

title: London boroughs


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Talk:Auto racing

From the article:
Illegal street racing is not drag racing.

This sentence seems to be wrong and ill-placed on many levels. First, street racing in general can take many forms of auto racing (of which drag racing is the most popular). This is like saying "drinking is illegal in some countries" as opposed to "drinking alcohol is illegal in some countries".

Second, drag racing, as defined in the article itself, constitutes covering a straight distance of a given length in the shortest amount of time, the distance traditionally being the quarter mile. No part of the term 'illegal street racing' is in opposition of that definition. I have removed this sentence from the article, please reply here if you disagree. GodGell 02:55, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

 * I'd disagree. "Street racing", by definition, differs from drag racing, which is sanctioned & run on controlled tracks. Trekphiler 03:19, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Should the term "motorsport" be used as a redirection to auto-racing? I mean, when I think of motorsports, I think of auto-racing, motorcycle racing, motorboat racing, and air racing. Should motorsport (and the plural form) be used as a disambiguation for for different types of motorsport and not just auto-racing? - Captain Spyro, 2005

Note: I added a mention to motorboat racing and air racing at the top of the page. - Captain Spyro, 2005

 * Yopu're absolutely right! Auto racing is only a fraction of the whole spectrum of motorsports and even then is IMO an unusual term worldwide. German and Spanish Wikis among other too have auto racing articles, but they also have motorsport articles in general. There should be seperate "motorsport" article with a link to the sub-species. The Rre-direct is just wrong 213.243.182.3 21:42, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

I removed the term "psuedo-sport" (sic) from the introduction.--Ciroa 22:51, 6 September 2006 (UTC) -

What is a rally raid? Is it the same as off-road racing? --rmhermen
 * What you call off-road racing is not off-road racing. Off-road is rallycross and autocross. Baja races and the Paris-Dakar Rally are called Cross-Country Rallies, which isn't the same as rallying either. --Pc13 08:27, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)

I don't want to start a US vs other languages war but I never hear any of those terms in common usage. Where I live it is almost always "motorsport" and of course includes all forms of motorcycle racing. --dramatic

Petrol fueled ?

 * "The beginning
 * "Auto racing began almost immediately after the construction of the first successful gas-fueled autos."

Is that meant to indicate gas as in gasoline/petrol, or some form of gas? Gas as in gasoline is mainly US usage. Moriori 03:13, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Please pick either "gasoline" or "petrol" and stick with it. There is no reason to use synonyms randomly.75.208.127.252 (talk) 22:29, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

In early racing they were also steam powered automobile and the first car to break the 100 km/h bareer was electic powered thus I tweak the beginning. Ericd 22:24, 4 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Why was petrol fueled restablished ? IMO this hide the fact that there was a serious competition between petrol, steam and electric engines in the beginning. Ericd 07:07, 16 Sep 2004 (UTC)

 * I agree with eliminating distinction regarding the vehicle's power source, especially as a couple of the cars racing at Le Mans this year were powered by fuels other than the typical "petrol" (diesel and bio-diesel).

 * Going on the old adage, "the race began the moment after they built the second one," I'd say we should remove any indication of the power source, vis "Auto racing began almost immediately after the construction of the first automobile." Hopefully fill out some of the early benzine/steam/diesel/electric races going on.  It's all about four wheels, right?
 * ✅: energy source is not material; all that matters is that the energy powers a mechanical "motor" on board to mobilize a car. An automobile could compete against a man or horse without needing a second automobile.  75.208.127.252 (talk)

 * I'd like to fill out the "history" section a bit. Any suggestions as to sources?
 * --User:Atombaby 00:19 13 Nov 2004

Single-seater racing
Should this section be called single-seater racing or open wheel racing? A google test shows that "open wheel racing" is ten times as prevalent as "single-seater racing". Personally, I would always call it "open wheel racing". Comments? --Timc 15:16, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * The usage of "open-wheel racing" exists only in North America. In Europe it's always called "single-seater racing" or a translation thereof. --Pc13 08:27, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)

 * What about "formula"? AFAIK, these types are the only racing cars that are governed by a "forumla" (i.e. displacement, weight, etc) and carry the "formula" moniker, similar to sailing formulas.
 * --User:Atombaby 00:10, 13 Nov 2004
 * No, that won't do - not so long ago intenational rallying had a Formula 2 championship. Here in Britain, "single-seater" is by far the most common term. Loganberry 05:01, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * No, because that implies "spec" racing, which covers more than that. I'd suggest heading it "single-seater" & open the section with a double def, "single" & "open-whl". Trekphiler 03:19, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

 * Single-seater is by far more accurate than open-wheeled. Formula E had closed-wheeled cars (Despite the fact that they are going to retire them, I still think that open-wheeled is not the most encompassing term). George Rodney Maruri Game (talk) 08:59, 30 April 2022 (UTC)

Autosport magazine
I note that autosport redirects here. I would say that to British motorsport fans, and probably to European enthusiasts in general, the word Autosport overwhelmingly means the weekly motorsport-related magazine of that title rather than the sport itself, and since there is an article for F1 Racing magazine, I'd say there should be one for the much more widely read Autosport. Possibly it could go Autosport (magazine), with a disambiguation page at autosport, or at least a note about this other usage of the word? There's also a Motor Sport magazine in the UK, but this is less important. Autosport, however, has considerable influence, and surely deserves an article. Loganberry 23:00, 16 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * My opinion is that when an article for the magazine is created it should be at Autosport with a disambig note to the auto racing article. SamH 10:22, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Sports Car
Didn't see a mention of the TransAM series. It's fallen to the wayside of late, but for many years (AFAIK) it basically was road-racing in the States. I was thinking about adding it, but couldn't decide where it'd be appropriate. It's in between touring car (being run on road-courses) and stock-car (because the cars have only the shell of a production vehicle, stickers for headlamps, etc). -- User:Atombaby 5 November 2004

 * Transam was the US version of touring car. And as long as remember the regulation were similar to European Group 2 : the car were seriously tuned but had more than the shell in common with a production vehicle Ericd 22:24, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC)

 * Good point. I was uncertain of the regulations regarding Transam, just looked at the format (basically a tubular race-designed frame with a shell). Curious how both transam and stock car have developed similarly- from tuned production vehicles through to vehicles with only the engine and logo similar to the original.  Stock cars from the late 70's and early 80's looked a lot more like what you could buy, versus the modern era, with only the engine and logo that harken to the road-going car.

 * Anyway, thinking that road-racing is probably more appropriate. Unless there's any objections...

 * -- User:Atombaby 7 November 2004

 * Shouldn't Trans-Am be mentioned in the Sports Car section instead of the Touring car category, since that series involves (or represents, however you wish to say it) 2-door sports cars like the Corvette, Jaguar, and Mustang over 4-door sedans? - User:Captain Spyro - Feb, 2005

Maybe, but back in the day. Those family cars were NOT considered sports cars except by kids who drove there parents cars. Pony cars were really a seperate breed. Nobody put them in with MGB's and Triumphs. The racing versions did not have a back seat but the streetcar versions did. It’s not 4 door but more than two passenger that made a difference. Corvettes, Cobras, Jaguar sports cars were not 4 passenger cars. GT
 * Agree. Trans Ams aren't what I'd consider touring cars; the big Benzs now are. Trekphiler 03:19, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Agree, this really should be included. Trans AM racing has had a resurgence and should be included somewhere in this article. A good source for current information on the status of this racing class can be found at http://www.trans-amseries.com/Schedule.htm. Zenhog (talk) 00:37, 8 September 2008 (UTC)

Link suggestions
An automated Wikipedia link suggester has some possible wiki link suggestions for the Auto_racing article, and they have been placed on this page for your convenience. Tip: Some people find it helpful if these suggestions are shown on this talk page, rather than on another page. To do this, just add to this page. — LinkBot 00:54, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The first American automobile race
Some of the facts are a little mixed up as it is now written. A better writer than me will need to fix it. There was an exhibition race on November 2, 1896, from Jackson Park in Chicago to Waukegan and back (about 90 miles) but there were only two cars--the Duryea car and a German-built Benz. The Duryea crashed near Evanston and left only the Benz to finish. The actual race was on November 28 and scheduled for the same length but because of heavy snow was shortened from Jackson Park to Evanston and back (about 50 miles). Six cars started the race, two electric, three gasoline powered Benzs, and the gasoline powered Duryea. Only one of the German cars finished the race, and neither of the electrics. Duryea won the race, an hour and a half or so ahead of the remaining Benz. Of course all of this ignores the Great Steam Car Race of 1878.12.74.168.251 04:43, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Motorsport Wiki
If anyone is interested, there is a dedicated [Motorsport Wiki] currently under development. Any contributions from wikipedians is very much apreciated! MonkeyMumford 20:19, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Anglo-centric?
Parts of this article have a UK-centric feel, which is somewhat ironic considering the American-English title. Note the following sentences:

 * "Single-seater (open-wheel) racing is perhaps the most well-known form of motorsport." (That's not the case in the U.S., where NASCAR is far and away the best-known form of auto racing.)

 * "The best-known variety of single-seater racing is the Formula One World Championship." (Probably true worldwide, but in the U.S., it would be IRL or Champcars. Maybe it should say "Outside of the U.S.") Mwalcoff 04:41, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Formula One is still the best-known variety of single-seater racing in the U.S.

-oo0(GoldTrader)0oo- (talk) 01:14, 18 August 2011 (UTC)

 * "Stock car racing is the American variant of touring car racing." (Or is touring car racing the British variant of stock car racing?)

Should the article be adjusted to reflect a more-global view? -- Mwalcoff 04:41, 26 September 2006 (UTC)
 * This article as a whole sucks, as it is a merry muddled jumbled mess of mish-moshed sections which have little to no cohesion. But, this article is definitely not UK-centric, it is instead reflective of worldwide perspectives on motorsports. The best-known variety of motorsports worldwide is single-seaters, and the best-known variety of single-seater racing worldwide is Formula 1. NASCAR and IRL/Champ Cars, while big in the US, are decidedly small-time on the rest-of-the-world stage. FCYTravis 05:08, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

 * True, but I'm inclined to agree touring car is a variant of NASCAR, which dates to 1949, & not the reverse. Trekphiler 03:19, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

 * i don't think many people would agree touring car racing is a variant of NASCAR (i would consider both to be too fundamentally different to be considered a variant of the other), even if it were a desendant, which i am not aware of. I think Mwalcoff's very suggestion is terribly US-centric, there always seems a need to point out any difference where the US position is different to that of the rest of the world, but not from any other country.

i wouldn't be so sure of the 'correctness' of the statement brought into question however; is F1 coverage/following (which, surely represents 90%+ of single-seater racing following, atleast in EU), greater than the combined following of Rally racing + touring car + NASCAR, and the various other lesser two+ seater racing forms.. ~ Bungalowbill —Preceding signed but undated comment was added at 06:20, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Please add an article on auto racing rules
Dear Sir/Madam: I'd like to understand auto racing rules (about which I know nothing at present). You seem to have no article on the subject, and the one about FIA lists no rules.

So please add an article explaining the rules of this sport.

Thank you very much! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.41.31.53 (talk) 20:42, 29 December 2006 (UTC).

Whoever crosses the finish line first usually wins.

-oo0(GoldTrader)0oo- (talk) 01:15, 18 August 2011 (UTC)

New pages for driver and car
There should be two articles for race car driver and race car. The racing driver article should include descriptions of what does one and how they have evolved along the history, and the race car needs all the car types and the history of their evolution. What do you say? -- NaBUru38 19:01, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

error?
Under the drag race section the following is included, "Average street cars cover the ¼ mile (400 m) anywhere from 15 to 20 seconds..." I am not an expert at all but that seems like a real long time. Just checking. Rugz 16:25, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
 * It's not. That's about typical. And recall, cars that can't run 13s don't even require helmets under NHRA rules. Trekphiler 03:19, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

What is an Average street car?

-oo0(GoldTrader)0oo- (talk) 01:20, 18 August 2011 (UTC)

Why motorsport redirects to Auto racing?
Please see more on my old question: Talk:Motorsport SharShar 21:51, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Open road
I added the tag: the Monte Carlo Rally is still run, & on open highways AFAIK. (Unless the marshals close them for the duration...but I don't think so. Trekphiler 03:19, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
 * While stage rallies such as the Monte Carlo Rally still use public roads, the roads are always closed to the public during the timed speed sections of such events. There are no sanctioned and legitimate speed contests conducted on open public highways, because of the clear and present safety issues posed to competitors and non-competitors alike. It would not do to come flying around a corner at 150 mph only to encounter a local motorist's family sedan traveling at 45 mph - the results would be catastrophic for both vehicles.
 * There are time-speed-distance rally events conducted on open public highways, but these rallies are invariably judged on the driver's ability to precisely navigate routes between checkpoints within fixed time limits, rather than outright speed. TSD rallies must be timed within legal speed limits. FCYTravis 03:36, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Requested Move 1 : "Motor racing"

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the . Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

no consensus to move the page, per the discussion below. Dekimasu よ! 05:46, 13 October 2007 (UTC) auto racing is an american term, and motor racing did not originate in the US. motor racing is used to refer to 'car racing' (or, 'auto racing') and not racing of anything with a motor (including watersports etc), as stipulated in the article here. ~ Bungalowbill

 * According to the article, auto/motor racing originated in France so should the article be moved to Compétition automobile? WP:ENGVAR says: "In the early stages of writing an article, the variety [of English] chosen by the first major contributor to the article should be used, unless there is reason to change it on the basis of strong national ties to the topic." —   AjaxSmack   05:33, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

 * note "In the early stages of writing an article,". this is not "In the early stages". Furthermore, France is in the EU, this is en.wikipedia, and british english represents the english language of the EU. ~ Bungalowbill
 * You missed the point. The guideline is that we leave articles in the form of English in which they were originally created, so as to avoid pointless arguing over which variety of English is The Wrong Version (tm). FCYTravis 18:21, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I should leave this alone but I can't help it. The first auto/motor race occurred in 1895 in France followed by one the same year in the USA.  However, WP:ENGVAR should be thrown out because the EU (established 98 years later), which includes France, also includes the UK?  Interesting premise but oppose the move. —   AjaxSmack     18:48, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

 * Oppose The FIA is not the International Motormobile Federation. 132.205.44.5 03:32, 9 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Oppose per AjaxSmack. Vegaswikian 22:49, 12 October 2007 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the . Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

This section is confusing as it is not mentioned anywhere what the proposed new article name was. Same for Requested Move 2. --Falcadore (talk) 21:59, 2 November 2008 (UTC)

Requested Move 2 : "Motor racing"

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the . Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

WITHDRAWN, please debate in request 3 below! ~ nov 5 2007

firstly i appologise for re-opening the debate, however i did not visit soon enough to reply to anything, and so i belive this is the proper procedure.

in responce to AjaxSmack; "Europe" then. "EU" and europe are often interchanged so i used eu. And yes, i believe the fact that France is in Europe with Britain to be a better reason to chose the article's langauge than the fact that the article was started by an american. I used to be under the impression that wikipedia did not support american collonialisation of the internet. i don't see WP:ENGVAR to be conclusive in favour of not changing it. it also states "European Union institutions—(British English)" as an example of "strong ties" where the language should be chosen.

Furthermore, (and perhaps more importantly) "auto racing" does not make sense in anything but american-english, the phrase "auto" means "automatic" not automobile in english-english. So 'auto racing' could quite easily refer to robot races or something. The phrase "motorsport" however is not so ambiguous, as far as i can tell. (please speak up if otherwise)

WP:ENGVAR states: "Use an unambiguous word or phrase in preference to one that is ambiguous because of national differences. For example, use alternative route (or even other route) rather than alternate route, since alternate means only "alternating" to a British English speaker." i belive auto racing is a stronger case than even this example.

Similarly, the (french) "automobile" in FIA is not "auto" so that point is moot. ~ Bungalowbill Nov 1, 2007

 * Oppose Motorsport is ambiguous, as things that are not cars have motors, such as speedboats. And racing anything with a motor for motive force is a motorsport. 132.205.99.122 19:28, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Oppose per the discussion the last time. I'll also request that this be closed reviewing the previous discussion where there was 75%-80% opposed to moving.  Don't see how this is a no consensus.  Vegaswikian 03:49, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

 * ok, since there is clearly opposition still (motorsport is viewed as ambiguous?+) i am going to withdraw the requested move and create another to move it to "Automobile racing". This is even used at the start of the article so i don't see how there can be much arguement against that.. vegaswikian; i agree that the last one was a consensus of 'opposed' but that is irrelivant, this is a NEW request opened, with a new arguement (primarily ambiguity), it should not be ignored because of the previous one. +i must disagree that speedboat racing tends to be refered to as 'motorsport' however i appreciate your arguement, and atleast motorbikes could fall under the title. ~ Bungalowbill Nov5 2007

 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the . Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Requested Move 3 : "Automobile racing"

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the . Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

no consensus to move the page, per the discussion below. Dekimasu よ! 08:19, 16 November 2007 (UTC) Proposed move to Automobile racing on the following grounds;
 * quotes from WP:ENGVAR:
 * In choosing words or expressions, especially for article titles, there may be value in making choices that avoid varying spellings, where possible. In extreme cases of conflicting names, a common substitute (such as fixed-wing aircraft) is favored over national varieties (fixed-wing aeroplanes [British English], and fixed-wing airplanes [American English]).
 * Use an unambiguous word or phrase in preference to one that is ambiguous because of national differences. For example, use alternative route (or even other route) rather than alternate route, since alternate means only "alternating" to a British English speaker.

 * "Auto racing" is ambiguous for non-american-english speakers. Auto refers to "automatic" in british-english etc. (as above). It is also just not a phrase which is used or immediately understood/recognisable. automobile racing is clear in all variants of english, and specific to the article (arguably unlike motorsport). It is also used as the primary phrase in the main body of the article. Automobile racing does not favour one variety of english, unlike auto racing, which is US-EN, or motorsport/racing which may be predominantly GB-EN. therefore should avoid and further issues with the article title. ~ Bungalowbill Nov 5 2007

 * I'd argue that "Automobile racing" is also US-ENG, and so the same problem would persist.  E LIMINATOR JR  15:20, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

 * Oppose - Choosing a name that is used neither in the US nor the UK would not be an improvement. --EncycloPetey 04:16, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the . Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Drag Racing Objective
I'm not highly knowlegable about drag racing, but I think this opening statement is misleading.

"In drag racing, the objective is to complete a certain distance — traditionally ¼ mile (400 m), though 1/8 mile {200m} has become popular since the 1990s — in the shortest possible time."

As I understand it, the objective of drag racing is to beat the other car to the finish the line. Depending on reaction time, in a professional class, the winning car could have a longer ET than the losing car. Or, in the case of sportsman racing, the winning car could take longer to complete the distance. I think it would be more clear to say this:

"In drag racing, the objective is to complete a given straight-line distance, from a standing start, ahead of a vehicle in a parallel lane. This distance is traditionally ¼ mile (400 m), though 1/8 mile {200m} has become popular since the 1990s. The vehicles may or may not be given the signal to start at the same time, depending on the class of racing."--Tedd 18:01, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

 * That doesn't quite do it either - it doesn't take into consideration dial-your-own-time racing. A vehicle crossing the line first may break out (go faster than the dialled-in time), therefore lose, even if the other car is much, much slower. I'd suggest removing most of the info about drag racing as it has its own wiki entry.

Motorracer (talk) 23:18, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

RENAME - "Motorsport" - or create "Motorsport" category
This article should be renamed to Motorsport, as typing Motorsport actually re-directs here to Auto racing.

As others have stated, the term "motorsport" applies to any vehicle which is powered by an engine. This is well-established, and includes car racing in its' various forms, motorcycle racing, truck racing, powerboat racing, and could even include the relativly new sport of air racing (such as the Red Bull Air Race series).

Alternatively, leave this section for "four-wheel" racing, and create another page, or category, called Motorsport which covers all aspects of racing as mentioned above. -- Teutonic Tamer 11:30, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

 * I don't know if I'd buy into your definitions as to the scope of either term. But I'd say leave this article as it is.

 * The Category:Motorsport already exists.

 * I don't have any big objection if you
 * Create a new Motorsport (disambiguation) page (you can click on the redlink to start it), and add a disambiguation link here along the lines of "Motorsport redirects here; for other uses, see Motorsport (disambiguation).
 * Replace the redirect at Motorsport with a disambiguation page so that anybody who links to that or types it in the "Go" box gets the disambiguation page instead of this article.
 * Write a more fleshed-out article there instead. Just open the redirect page and start typing to write either a disambiguation page or an article.  You can use the "main article" templates and summarize existing articles for most of the various sports involved.  Gene Nygaard (talk) 12:07, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

Infobox picture
Do we really need a picture like this in the infobox? I believe the infobox picture should represent what is immediately thought of when the term "Auto racing" is brought to mind and should represent auto racing is an as generalized form as possible -- while this current WRC picture may be neat in many ways, it does not in any way represent the majority of racing! Rally cars do not represent the majority of racing, and rally cars flipping over and worse, driving on two wheels (!) is very rare indeed. This is not a circus or stunt article! Why is this picture there? Is it some kind of joke? Or did some fanboy of WRC and the Peugeot 206 put it there?

The picture should NOT be Rally of any kind, Rally is one of the few genres of auto racing where the cars do not actually compete simultaneously.

The picture should be of the starting grid of e.g. F1, GP2, Indy Car, Nascar, GT, JGTC or something like that.

Why starting grid? Because in the majority of racing race cars compete simultaneously against each other.

Please remove this picture and put something even remotely appropriate there, it just looks silly.

Posix memalign (talk) 04:09, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

 * Absolutely agree, and moreover, the picture of an accident in progress is a very negative representation of the sport. Would an article on football contain a picture of a footballer lying on the ground after a successful tackle? --Falcadore (talk) 09:58, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Ban
There should be an article about motor racing bans, such as that imposed by the Swiss until 2007 and the one proposed by Italy (which made Ferrari withdraw from some competitions). Anyone fancy making it? 91.110.130.32 (talk) 19:13, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

. It could be a section in this article. See Auto racing. 75.208.176.27 (talk) 04:51, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

History and classifications sections: Woefully inadequate
The above sections should have more detail on how the various classes and flagship races came about. It should also be clear on what the differences are. This lack of info has led to a lot of merger moves on the daughter articles Vinay84 (talk) 03:59, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

racecar
race car redirects here, but little is said about the actual cars, shouldn't it have its own article? 98.206.155.53 (talk) 16:58, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

Possible rename
A discussion is in progress at WP:MOTOR about possibly renaming this article. Please contribute any views you may have at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Motorsport. DH85868993 (talk) 02:28, 2 June 2011 (UTC)

First formal race
Re: this sentence about the 1895 race:
 * the Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race is sometimes considered the first formal automobile race since all competitors started together.

This is confusing, even if they were racing against the clock it would still be a real race. Many races are clock based. The 1894 race really does seem to be the first formal race, as a spectator sport and not a gentleman's bet. Green Cardamom (talk) 03:47, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

The text was changed to: "The Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race of June 1895 has sometimes been erroneously described as the first motor race, despite the 1894 event being decided by speed and finishing order of the eligible racers." [emphasis mine]. This is obviously a disputed point of view. It expresses an opinion without source or rationale. If some authority describes it as the first, that should be mentioned. If some authority lists an earlier race as the first, the it should be mentioned ahead of this one. The 1894 contest was not judged on speed alone. The "winner" was subsequently disqualified. The text in the article lists two manufacturers as the winner, not a particular car. 75.208.176.27 (talk) 04:41, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

First Played?
Surely there is a more appropriate title for this in the infobox at the top. I can't think of one off the top of my head but "first played" doesn't seem to me to be the correct term for motorsport. Bigdon128 (talk) 20:51, 19 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I've changed it to "first contested". DH85868993 (talk) 14:10, 29 January 2012 (UTC)
 * That's the word I was looking for, thank you very much. Bigdon128 (talk) 21:32, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

Paris–Rouen: the world's first motoring contest
I do not agree with the conclusion that detaining the victory to de Dion vehicle was caused by it's need of a stoker. While it is often heard that it was not easy to handle (gasoline cars at this time weren't, either), it in fact didn't need a stoker. One of the prime achievements of the patented boiler (invented by Bouton and Trépardoux in 1882-1883) was, that it allowed handling by a single person. Anyway, it is somewhat strange that a vehicle needing a forbidden stoker was allowed to start at all; already the pre-selection run (which was, iirc, also won by de Dion) should have proved it's irregularity. Is it possible that it was an act of arbitrary by Giffard? He and the count de Dion had developed a deep antagonism over the Dreyfuss affair, which was settled quite publicly before.--Chief tin cloud (talk) 12:58, 2 June 2014 (UTC)

My last undo
questioned my last edit to the page where I undid their change of some numbers. They changed the length of the race from 127km to 126 km and 25 drivers were selected to 21 were selected. I reverted it back to the original numbers after checking the source that is at the end of the paragraph.

The source says: 102 cars were registered. Mr Giffard required a first 50km heat to select the cars which were able to run the 127km between Paris and Rouen. Indeed, there were real and serious manufacturers like Peugeot, Panhard or De Dion but there were also... let’s say dreamers. At last, 69 out of 102 entrants were present at the selection heat and only 25 were selected after the 50km..

Unless I am missing something the original that I reverted back to agrees with the source. -- GB fan 13:54, 23 November 2014 (UTC)

 * , your source is not exact.you have an article on your wiki but otherwise this event was organised by the newspaper "Le Petit Journal", read publisning of monday july 23(result of sunday), I'm french, You can trust me — Preceding unsigned comment added by Camulogene77 (talk • contribs) 14:59, 23 November 2014
 * , the current problem is the source that is currently in the article for this information disagrees with the information that is in the article. Either replace the source with a source that has the information you believe is correct or restore the information to what the current source says.  It doesn't make any difference what nationality you are, Wikipedia articles are written based on what the sources provided say.  The provided source agrees with what I have put in not your changes.  Your edits are bordering on vandalism.  -- GB fan 17:38, 23 November 2014 (UTC)
 * , I inform you that your source is wrong and you have an article that details the event and has the right source. You prefer retained wrong sources (and distribute). You must surely have your reasons.
 * If you have a better source, add it to the article. Don't change information so that it disagrees with the source in the paragraph.  You are the one wanting to change the information, change it and the source.  -- GB fan 18:41, 25 November 2014 (UTC)
 * Keep your mistakes, you are right
 * I don't want to keep information that is wrong, you say you have better sources but you do not present them. Not much I can do if you don't present the sources.  -- GB fan 00:43, 26 November 2014 (UTC)

Drag Racing Section
I've created a wiki page regarding the Race Wars events occurring in Royal City, Washington. The section on drag racing may be a good place to include a link to Race Wars-let me know what you think! --Rachbr95 (talk) 08:55, 8 November 2015 (UTC)

Please help with AfD
I don't know too much about this field, but was wondering if some more knowledgeable users can comment at Articles for deletion/Ed Bolian. I'm getting concerned since the AfD hasn't generated any real discussion and there was just a round of anon ip edits which appear to be bordering on WP:MEAT violations. Users with knowledge of auto-racing would be welcome for their comments. -O.R.Comms 17:49, 15 March 2016 (UTC)
 * I have advertised the AfD at the Motorsport WikiProject and the Automobiles WikiProject. DH85868993 (talk) 20:07, 15 March 2016 (UTC)

Draft outline
There's a draft outline for this topic at WikiProject Outlines/Drafts/Outline of auto racing. There's a RM request on the talk page as well about moving the page to draftspace if anyone cares. -- Ricky81682 (talk) 08:40, 23 June 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Two sports?
From the first sentence: "Auto racing ... is a motorsport."

Does this mean auto racing is a sport itself, distinct from motorcycle sport, and if so what is the relation to the sport, motorsport, if that is a sport? It's not clear. Thanks. Rally Wonk (talk) 19:30, 19 January 2024 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Auto racing


text:
Delaware River

The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for 282 mi along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before emptying into Delaware Bay.

The river has been recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as one of the country's Great Waters and has been called the "Lifeblood of the Northeast" by American Rivers. Its watershed drains an area of 13539 sqmi and provides drinking water for 17 million people, including half of New York City via the Delaware Aqueduct.

The Delaware River has two branches that rise in the Catskill Mountains of New York: the West Branch at Mount Jefferson in Jefferson, Schoharie County, and the East Branch at Grand Gorge, Delaware County. The branches merge to form the main Delaware River at Hancock, New York. Flowing south, the river remains relatively undeveloped, with 152 mi protected as the Upper, Middle, and Lower Delaware National Scenic Rivers. At Trenton, New Jersey, the Delaware becomes tidal, navigable, and significantly more industrial. This section forms the backbone of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area, serving the port cities of Philadelphia, Camden, New Jersey, and Wilmington, Delaware. The river flows into Delaware Bay at Liston Point, 48 mi upstream of the bay's outlet to the Atlantic Ocean between Cape May and Cape Henlopen.

Before the arrival of European settlers, the river was the homeland of the Lenape native people. They called the river Lenapewihittuk, or Lenape River, and Kithanne, meaning the largest river in this part of the country.

In 1609, the river was visited by a Dutch East India Company expedition led by Henry Hudson. Hudson, an English navigator, was hired to find a western route to Cathay (China), but his encounters set the stage for Dutch colonization of North America in the 17th century. Early Dutch and Swedish settlements were established along the lower section of the river and Delaware Bay. Both colonial powers called the river the South River (Zuidrivier), compared to the Hudson River, which was known as the North River. After the English expelled the Dutch and took control of the New Netherland colony in 1664, the river was renamed Delaware after Sir Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and the Virginia colony's first royal governor, who defended the colony during the First Anglo-Powhatan War. George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River in 1776 led to the Americans winning the Battle of Trenton, which was a pivotal moment in the American Revolution.

Origin of the name

The Delaware River is named in honor of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (1577–1618), an English nobleman and the Virginia colony's first royal governor, who defended the colony during the First Anglo-Powhatan War. Lord de la Warr waged a punitive campaign to subdue the Powhatan after they had killed the colony's council president, John Ratcliffe, and attacked the colony's fledgling settlements. Lord de la Warr arrived with 150 soldiers in time to prevent the colony's original settlers at Jamestown from giving up and returning to England and is credited with saving the Virginia colony. The name of the barony (later an earldom) is pronounced as in the current spelling form "Delaware" and is thought to derive from French de la Guerre.

It has often been reported that the river and bay received the name "Delaware" after English forces under Richard Nicolls expelled the Dutch and took control of the New Netherland colony in 1664. However, the river and bay were known by the name Delaware as early as 1641. The state of Delaware was originally part of the William Penn's Pennsylvania colony. In 1682, the Duke of York granted Penn's request for access to the sea and leased him the territory along the western shore of Delaware Bay, which became known as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware". In 1704, the Lower Counties were given political autonomy to form a separate provincial assembly, but they shared Pennsylvania's provincial governor until the two colonies separated on June 15, 1776, and they remained separate as states after the establishment of the United States.

The name "Delaware" also came to be used as a collective name for the Lenape, a Native American people who inhabited an area of the basins of the Susquehanna River, Delaware River, and lower Hudson River in the northeastern United States at the time of European settlement, as well as for their language. As a result of disruption following the French and Indian War, American Revolutionary War, and the later Indian removals from the eastern United States, the name "Delaware" has been spread with the Lenape's diaspora to municipalities, counties and other geographical features in the American Midwest and Canada.

Watershed

The Delaware River's drainage basin has an area of 13539 sqmi and encompasses 42 counties and 838 municipalities in five U.S. states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. This total area constitutes approximately 0.4% of the land mass in the United States. In 2001, the watershed was 18% agricultural land, 14% developed land, and 68% forested land.

There are 216 tributary streams and creeks comprising an estimated 14,057 miles of streams and creeks, in the watershed. While the watershed is home to 4.17 million people according to the 2000 Federal Census, these bodies of water provide drinking water to 17 million people—roughly 6% of the population of the United States. The waters of the Delaware River's basin are used to sustain "fishing, transportation, power, cooling, recreation, and other industrial and residential purposes." It is the 33rd largest river in the United States in terms of flow, but is among the nation's most heavily used rivers in daily freight tonnage. The average annual flow rate of the Delaware is 11,700 cubic feet per second at Trenton, New Jersey. With no dams or impediments on the river's main stem, the Delaware is one of the few remaining large free-flowing rivers in the United States.

West Branch of the Delaware
The West Branch of the Delaware River, also called the Mohawk Branch, spans approximately 90 mi from the northern Catskill Mountains to its confluence with the Delaware River's East Branch at Hancock, New York. The last 6 mi forms part of the boundary between New York and Pennsylvania.

The West Branch rises in Schoharie County, New York at 1886 ft above sea level, near Mount Jefferson, and flows tortuously through the plateau in a deep trough. The branch flows generally southwest, entering Delaware County and flowing through the towns of Stamford and Delhi. In southwestern Delaware County it flows in an increasingly winding course through the mountains, generally southwest. At Stilesville the West Branch was impounded in the 1960s to form the Cannonsville Reservoir, the westernmost of the reservoirs in the New York City water system. It is the most recently constructed New York City reservoir and began serving the city in 1964. Draining a large watershed of 455 sqmi, the reservoir's capacity is 95.7 e9USgal. This water flows over halfway through the reservoir to enter the 44 mi West Delaware Tunnel in Tompkins, New York. Then it flows through the aqueduct into the Rondout Reservoir, where the water enters the 85 mi Delaware Aqueduct, that contributes to roughly 50% of the city's drinking water supply. At Deposit, on the border between Broome and Delaware counties, it turns sharply to the southeast and is paralleled by New York State Route 17. It joins the East Branch at 880 ft above sea level at Hancock to form the Delaware.

East Branch of the Delaware
Similarly, the East Branch begins from a small pond south of Grand Gorge in the town of Roxbury in Delaware County, flowing southwest toward its impoundment by New York City to create the Pepacton Reservoir, the largest reservoir in the New York City water supply system. Its tributaries are the Beaver Kill River and the Willowemoc Creek which enter into the river 10 mi before the West Branch meets the East Branch. The confluence of the two branches is just south of Hancock.

The East Branch and West Branch of the Delaware River parallel each other, both flowing in a southwesterly direction.

Upper Delaware Valley
From Hancock, New York, the Delaware flows between the northern Poconos in Pennsylvania, and the lowered shale beds north of the Catskills. The river flows down a broad Appalachian valley, passing Hawk's Nest overlook on the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway. The river flows southeast for 78 miles through rural regions along the New York-Pennsylvania border to Port Jervis and Shawangunk Ridge.

The Minisink
At Port Jervis, New York, it enters the Port Jervis trough. At this point, the Walpack Ridge deflects the Delaware into the Minisink Valley, where it follows the southwest strike of the eroded Marcellus Formation beds along the Pennsylvania–New Jersey state line for 25 mi to the end of the ridge at Walpack Bend in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The Minisink is a buried valley where the Delaware flows in a bed of glacial till that buried the eroded bedrock during the last glacial period. It then skirts the Kittatinny ridge, which it crosses at the Delaware Water Gap, between nearly vertical walls of sandstone, quartzite, and conglomerate, and then passes through a quiet and charming country of farm and forest, diversified with plateaus and escarpments, until it crosses the Appalachian plain and enters the hills again at Easton, Pennsylvania. From this point it is flanked at intervals by fine hills, and in places by cliffs, of which the finest are the Nockamixon Cliffs, 3 mi long and above 200 ft high.

The Appalachian Trail, which traverses the ridge of Kittatinny Mountain in New Jersey, and Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania, crosses the Delaware River at the Delaware Water Gap near Columbia, New Jersey.

Central Delaware Valley
In Easton, Pennsylvania, the Lehigh River joins the Delaware. At Trenton, the Delaware crosses the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line with a drop of 8 ft.

Lower Delaware and Tidewater
Below Trenton, the Delaware flows between Philadelphia and New Jersey before becoming a broad, sluggish inlet of the sea, with many marshes along its side, widening steadily into its great estuary, Delaware Bay.

The Delaware River constitutes the boundary between Delaware and New Jersey. The Delaware-New Jersey border is actually at the easternmost river shoreline within the Twelve-Mile Circle of New Castle, rather than at mid-river, mid-channel or thalweg, so small portions of land lying west of the shoreline, but on the New Jersey side of the river, are pene-exclaves under the jurisdiction of Delaware. The rest of the borders follow a mid-channel approach.

History

At the time of the arrival of the Europeans in the early 17th century, the area near the Delaware River was inhabited by the Native American Lenape people. They called the Delaware River "Lenape Wihittuck", which means "the rapid stream of the Lenape". The Delaware River played a key factor in the economic and social development of the Mid-Atlantic region. In the seventeenth century it provided the conduit for colonial settlement by the Dutch (New Netherland) and the Swedish (New Sweden). Beginning in 1664, the region became an English possession as settlement by Quakers established the colonies of Pennsylvania (including present-day Delaware) and West Jersey. In the eighteenth century, cities like Philadelphia, Camden (then Cooper's Ferry), Trenton, Wilmington and New Castle were established upon the Delaware and their continued commercial success into the present day has been dependent on access to the river for trade and power. The river provided the path for the settlement of northeastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, and northwestern New Jersey by German Palatine immigrants—a population that became key in the agricultural development of the region.

American Revolutionary War

The strategic Delaware River was the scene of several important campaigns during the American Revolutionary War. Perhaps the most famous event was George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River with the Continental Army on the night of December 25–26, 1776, leading to a successful surprise attack and victory against the Hessian troops occupying Trenton, New Jersey, on the morning of December 26.

During the Philadelphia Campaign control of the Delaware River was urgently needed by the British, allowing their naval fleet to supply troops occupying Philadelphia. To this end, the Battle of Red Bank and the Siege of Fort Mifflin were fought on and along the shores of the Delaware by the American and British navies, commanded by Commodore John Hazelwood and Admiral Francis Reynolds respectively. See historical map of that campaign.

Canals
The magnitude of the commerce of Philadelphia has made the improvements of the river below that port of great importance. Small improvements were attempted by Pennsylvania as early as 1771. Commerce was once important on the upper river, primarily prior to railway competition of 1857.

 * The Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, running parallel with the river from Easton to Bristol, opened in 1830.
 * The Delaware and Raritan Canal, which runs along the New Jersey side of the Delaware River from Bulls Island, New Jersey to Trenton, unites the waters of the Delaware and Raritan rivers as it empties the waters of the Delaware River via the canal outlet in New Brunswick. This canal water conduit is still used as a water supply source by the State of New Jersey.
 * The Morris Canal (now abandoned and almost completely filled in) and the Delaware and Hudson Canal connected the Delaware and Hudson rivers.
 * The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal joins the waters of the Delaware with those of the Chesapeake Bay.

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area came about as a result of the failure of a controversial plan to build a dam on the Delaware River at Tocks Island, just north of the Delaware Water Gap to control water levels for flood control and hydroelectric power generation. The dam would have created a 37 mi lake in the center of present park for use as a reservoir. Starting in 1960, the present-day area of the Recreation Area was acquired for the Army Corps of Engineers through eminent domain. Between 3,000 and 5,000 dwellings were demolished, including historical sites, and about 15,000 people were displaced by the project.

Because of massive environmental opposition, dwindling funds, and an unacceptable geological assessment of the dam's safety, the government transferred the property to the National Park Service in 1978. The National Park Service found itself as the caretaker of the previously endangered territory, and with the help of the federal government and surrounding communities, developed recreational facilities and worked to preserve the remaining historical structures.

The nearby Shawnee Inn, was identified in the 1990s as the only resort along the banks of the Delaware River.

American Rivers, an environmental advocacy group, named the Delaware River as the River of the Year for 2020, citing 75 years of progress in reducing pollution and restoring wildlife.

Wine regions
In 1984, the U.S. Department of the Treasury authorized the creation of a wine region or "American Viticultural Area" called the Central Delaware Valley AVA located in southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The wine appellation includes 96000 acre surrounding the Delaware River north of Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey. In Pennsylvania, it consists of the territory along the Delaware River in Bucks County; in New Jersey, the AVA spans along the river in Hunterdon County and Mercer County from Titusville, New Jersey, just north of Trenton, northward to Musconetcong Mountain. As of 2013, there are no New Jersey wineries in the Central Delaware Valley AVA.

Shipping
In the Project of 1885, the U.S. government undertook systematically the formation of a 26 ft channel 600 ft wide from Philadelphia to deep water in Delaware Bay. The River and Harbor Act of 1899 provided for a 30 ft channel 600 ft wide from Philadelphia to the deep water of the bay.

Since 1941, the Delaware River Main Channel was maintained at a depth of 40 ft. There is an effort underway to deepen the 102.5-mile stretch of this federal navigation channel, from Philadelphia and Camden to the mouth of the Delaware Bay to 45 feet.

The Delaware River port complex refers to the ports and energy facilities along the river in the tri-state PA-NJ-DE Delaware Valley region. They include the Port of Salem, the Port of Wilmington, the Port of Chester, the Port of Paulsboro, the Port of Philadelphia and the Port of Camden. Combined they create one of the largest shipping areas of the United States. In 2015, the ports of Philadelphia, Camden, and Wilmington handled 100 million tons of cargo from 2,243 ship arrivals, and supported 135,000 direct or indirect jobs. The biggest category of imports was fruit, carried by 490 ships, followed by petroleum, and containers, with 410 and 381 ships, respectively. The biggest category of exports was of shipping was containers, with 470 ships. In 2016, 2,427 ships arrived at Delaware River port facilities. Fruit ships were counted at 577, petroleum at 474, and containerized cargo at 431.

At one time it was a center for petroleum and chemical products and included facilities such as the Delaware City Refinery, the Dupont Chambers Works, Oceanport Terminal at Claymont, the Marcus Hook Refinery, the Trainer Refinery, the Paulsboro Asphalt Refinery,  Paulsboro Refinery, Eagle Point Refinery, and Sunoco Fort Mifflin. As of 2011, crude oil was the largest single commodity transported on the Delaware River, accounting for half of all annual cargo tonnage.

Crossings
The Delaware River is a major barrier to travel between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Most of the larger bridges are tolled only westbound, and are owned by the Delaware River and Bay Authority, Delaware River Port Authority, Burlington County Bridge Commission or Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.

New York City water supply
After New York City built 15 reservoirs to supply water to the city's growing population, it was unable to obtain permission to build an additional five reservoirs along the Delaware River's tributaries. As a result, in 1928 the city decided to draw water from the Delaware River, putting them in direct conflict with villages and towns across the river in Pennsylvania which were already using the Delaware for their water supply. The two sides eventually took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in 1931, New York City was allowed to draw 440 e6USgal of water a day from the Delaware and its upstream tributaries.

Pollution
The Delaware River has been attached to areas of high pollution. The Delaware River in 2012 was named the 5th most polluted river in the United States, explained by PennEnvironment and Environment New Jersey. The activist groups claim that there is about 7–10 million pounds of toxic chemicals flowing through the waterways due to dumping by DuPont Chambers Works. PennEnvironment also claims that the pollutants in the river can cause birth defects, infertility among women, and have been linked to cancer.

In 2015, the EPA saw the Delaware River as a concern for mass pollution especially in the Greater Philadelphia and Chester, Pennsylvania area. The EPA was involved after accusations that the river met standards made illegal by the Clean Water Act. In complying with the Clean Water Act, the EPA involved the Delaware County Regional Water Authority (DELCORA) where they set up a plan to spend around $200 million to help rid the waterway of about 740 million gallons of sewage and pollution. DELCORA was also fined about $1.4 million for allowing the Delaware River to have so much pollution residing in the river in the first place and for not complying with the Clean Water Act.

Part of the Clean Water Act explains how conditions of the river should be stable enough for human fishing and swimming. Even though the river has had success with the cleanup of pollution, the Delaware River still does not meet that standard of swimmable or fishable conditions in the Philadelphia/Chester region.

In March 2023, a pipe rupture at a Trinseo chemical plant in Bristol, Pennsylvania, released over 8,000 gallons of latex finishing material into the Otter Creek tributary, leading to a water advisory in Philadelphia.

Flooding
With the failure of the dam project to come to fruition, the lack of flood control on the river left it vulnerable, and it has experienced a number of serious flooding events as the result of snow melt or rain run-off from heavy rainstorms. Record flooding occurred in August 1955, in the aftermath of the passing of the remnants of two separate hurricanes over the area within less than a week: first Hurricane Connie and then Hurricane Diane, which was, and still is, the wettest tropical cyclone to have hit the northeastern United States. The river gauge at Riegelsville, Pennsylvania recorded an all-time record crest of 38.85 ft on August 19, 1955.

More recently, moderate to severe flooding has occurred along the river. The same gauge at Riegelsville recorded a peak of 30.95 ft on September 23, 2004, 34.07 ft on April 4, 2005, and 33.62 ft on June 28, 2006, all considerably higher than the flood stage of 22 ft.

Since the upper Delaware basin has few population centers along its banks, flooding in this area mainly affects natural unpopulated flood plains. Residents in the middle part of the Delaware basin experience flooding, including three major floods in the three years (2004–2006) that have severely damaged their homes and land. The lower part of the Delaware basin from Philadelphia southward to the Delaware Bay is tidal and much wider than portions further north, and is not prone to river-related flooding (although tidal surges can cause minor flooding in this area).

The Delaware River Basin Commission, along with local governments, is working to try to address the issue of flooding along the river. As the past few years have seen a rise in catastrophic floods, most residents of the river basin feel that something must be done. The local governments have worked in association with FEMA to address many of these problems, however, due to insufficient federal funds, progress is slow.

Oil spills
A number of oil spills have taken place in the Delaware over the years.

 * January 31, 1975: around 11,172,000 USgal of crude oil spilled from the Corinthos tanker
 * September 28, 1985: 435,000 USgal of crude oil spilled from the Grand Eagle tanker after running aground on Marcus Hook Bar
 * June 24, 1989: 306,000 USgal of crude oil spilled from the Presidente Rivera tanker after running aground on Claymont Shoal
 * November 26, 2004: 265,000 USgal of crude oil spilled from the Athos 1 tanker; the tanker's hull had been punctured by a submerged, discarded anchor at the Port of Paulsboro. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Citgo had failed to provide a safe berth for the vessel and was therefore jointly responsible for clean up costs. The company was ordered to pay $143 million.

Atlantic sturgeon
The National Marine Fisheries Service is considering designating sixteen rivers as endangered habitat for the Atlantic sturgeon which would require more attention to be given to uses of the rivers that affect the fish.

National Wild and Scenic River
The river is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

General and cited references

 * Devastation on the Delaware: Stories and Images of the Deadly Flood of 1955 (2005, Word Forge Books, Ferndale, PA) The only comprehensive documentary of this weather disaster in the Delaware River Valley.
 * Devastation on the Delaware: Stories and Images of the Deadly Flood of 1955 (2005, Word Forge Books, Ferndale, PA) The only comprehensive documentary of this weather disaster in the Delaware River Valley.

Historical content

 * Marine Railway and Sectional Floating Dry Dock, Delaware River, Philadelphia, 1893 by D.J. Kennedy, Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * Winter on the River Delaware, 1856. Shows "U.S.S. Powhatan" by D.J. Kennedy, HSP
 * "Map of the South River in New Netherland" from c. 1639 via the World Digital Library
 * Socioeconomic Value of the Delaware River Basin in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania

title: Delaware River


text:
Morgannwg

Morgannwg may refer to:
 * Glamorgan, a historic county in south Wales, called Morgannwg in Welsh
 * Kingdom of Morgannwg, a medieval kingdom in the same area
 * Morgannwg (journal), the journal of the Glamorgan History Society
 * Iolo Morganwg (1747–1826), a Welsh antiquarian and poet

title: Morgannwg


text:
United Kingdom of the Netherlands

The United Kingdom of the Netherlands (Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; Royaume des Belgiques) as it existed between 1815 and 1830. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories that had belonged to the former Dutch Republic, Austrian Netherlands, and Prince-Bishopric of Liège in order to form a buffer state between the major European powers. The polity was a constitutional monarchy, ruled by William I of the House of Orange-Nassau.

The polity collapsed in 1830 with the outbreak of the Belgian Revolution. With the de facto secession of Belgium, the Netherlands was left as a rump state and refused to recognise Belgian independence until 1839 when the Treaty of London was signed, fixing the border between the two states and guaranteeing Belgian independence and neutrality as the Kingdom of Belgium.

Background
Before the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802), the Low Countries was a patchwork of different polities created by the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648). The Dutch Republic in the north was independent; the Southern Netherlands was split between the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège - the former being part of Habsburg monarchy, while both were part of the Holy Roman Empire. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, the War of the First Coalition broke out in 1792 and France was invaded by Prussia and the Holy Roman Empire. After two years of fighting, the Austrian Netherlands and Liège were captured by the French in 1794 and annexed into France. The Dutch Republic collapsed in 1795 and became a French client state.

Creation of the United Netherlands

In 1813, the Netherlands was liberated from French rule by Prussian and Russian troops during the Napoleonic Wars. It was taken for granted that any new regime would have to be headed by the son of the last Dutch stadhouder, William Frederik of Orange-Nassau. A provisional government was formed, most of whose members had helped drive out the House of Orange 18 years earlier. However, they realised that it would be better in the long term to offer leadership of the new government to William Frederik themselves rather than have him imposed by the allies. Accordingly, William Frederick was installed as the "sovereign prince" of a new Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands. The future of the Southern Netherlands, however, was less clear. In June 1814, the Great Powers secretly agreed to the Eight Articles of London which allocated the region to the Dutch as William had advocated. That August, William Frederik was made Governor-General of the Southern Netherlands and the Prince-Bishop of Liège, which combined are almost all of what is now Belgium. For all intents and purposes, William Frederik had completed his family's three-century dream of uniting the Low Countries under a single rule.

Discussions on the future of the region were still ongoing at the Congress of Vienna when Napoleon attempted to return to power in the "Hundred Days". William used the occasion to declare himself king on 16 March 1815 as William I. After the Battle of Waterloo, discussions continued.

In exchange for the Southern Netherlands, William agreed to cede the Principality of Orange-Nassau and parts of the Liège to Prussia on 31 May 1815. In exchange, William also gained control over the Duchy of Luxembourg, which was elevated to a grand duchy and placed in personal with the Netherlands, though it remained part of the German Confederation.

Constitution and government
Though the United Netherlands was a constitutional monarchy, the king retained significant control as head of state and head of government. Beneath the king was a bicameral legislature known as the States General with a Senate and House of Representatives.

From the start, the administrative system proved controversial. Representation in the 110-seat House of Representatives, for example, was divided equally between south and north, although the former had a larger population. This was resented in the south, which believed that the government was dominated by northerners. Additionally, the king had somewhat greater power than is the case for Dutch and Belgian monarchs today. Most notably, the ministers were responsible solely to him.

Provinces
The United Netherlands was divided into 17 provinces and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg which was constitutionally distinct. All of these provinces can trace their origin to a medieval lordship, county, duchy or bishopric, apart from Antwerp (previously part of Duchy of Brabant) and Limburg (previously part of Prince-Bishopric of Liège and Duchy of Gelderland). Their status changed when they came under French rule, when their administration was centralised, reducing their powers. They included:

 * Antwerp (part of modern-day Belgium)
 * Drenthe (part of the Netherlands)
 * East Flanders (Belgium)
 * Friesland (Netherlands)
 * Gelderland (Netherlands)
 * Groningen (Netherlands)
 * Hainaut (Belgium)
 * Holland (Netherlands)
 * Limburg (split between Belgium and the Netherlands)
 * Liège (Belgium)
 * Namur (Belgium)
 * North Brabant (Netherlands)
 * Overijssel (Netherlands)
 * South Brabant (Belgium)
 * Utrecht (Netherlands)
 * West Flanders (Belgium)
 * Zeeland (Netherlands)

The United Netherlands was also a colonial power with overseas colonies in the East Indies and elsewhere.

Economic policy
Economically, the United Netherlands prospered. Supported by the state, the Industrial Revolution began to affect the Southern Netherlands where a number of modern industries emerged, encouraged by figures such as John Cockerill who created the steel industry in Wallonia. Antwerp emerged as major trading port.

William I actively supported economic modernisation. Modern universities were established in Leuven, in Liège, and in Ghent in 1817. Lower education was also extended. The General Netherlands Society for Advancing National Industry (Algemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij ter Begunstiging van de Volksvlijt) was created in 1822 to encourage industrialisation in the south, while the Netherlands Trading Society (Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij) was created in 1825 to encourage trade with the colonies. William I also embarked on a program of canal building that saw the creation of the North Holland, Ghent–Terneuzen and Brussels–Charleroi canals.

Language policy
Willem I felt that one nation must have one language and began a policy of Dutchification in politics and education. In the southern provinces of Antwerp, East-, West-Flanders, Limburg (1819), and the bilingual South Brabant (1823); Dutch was made the sole official language. While in the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Liège, Namur; French was maintained as official language but Dutch was gradually introduced into education. Although French was still used to some degree in administration in both North and South. In the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, French was the de facto official language while German was used in education.

Regional tensions
Differences between Southern and Northern Netherlands were never totally resolved. The two were divided by the issue of religion because the south was strongly Roman Catholic and the north largely Dutch Reformed. The Catholic Church in Belgium resented the state's encroachment on its traditional privileges, especially in education. In French-speaking parts of the south, attempts to enforce the use of Dutch language were particularly resented among the elite. Many Belgians believed that the United Netherlands' constitution discriminated against them. Though they represented 62 percent of the population, they were only allocated 50 percent of the seats in the House and less in the Senate while the state extracted money from the richer south to subsidise the north. By the mid-1820s, a union of opposition had formed in Belgium, uniting liberals and Catholic conservatives against Dutch rule.

Belgian Revolution and secession

The Belgian Revolution broke out on 25 August 1830, inspired by the recent July Revolution in France. A military intervention in September failed to defeat the rebels in Brussels, radicalising the movement. Belgium was declared an independent state on 4 October 1830. A constitutional monarchy was established under King Leopold I.

William I refused to accept the secession of Belgium. In August 1831, he launched the Ten Days' Campaign, a major military offensive into Belgium. Though initially successful, the French intervened to support the Belgians and the invasion had to be abandoned. After a period of tension, a settlement was agreed at the Treaty of London in 1839. The Dutch recognised Belgian independence, in exchange for territorial concessions. The frontier between the two countries was finally fixed by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1843. Luxembourg became an autonomous state in personal union with the Dutch, though ceding some territory to Belgium.

title: United Kingdom of the Netherlands


text:
Gower Peninsula

Gower (Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula (Penrhyn Gŵyr) is in South West Wales and is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, Wales. It projects towards the Bristol Channel. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Until 1974, Gower was administered as a rural district. It was then merged with the county borough of Swansea. From 1974 to 1996, it formed the Swansea district. Since 1996, Gower has been administered as part of the unitary authority of the City and County of Swansea.

Since its establishment in 1999, the Gower Senedd constituency has only elected Labour members. The Gower constituency in Westminster had previously also elected only Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) since 1908; the longest run (with Normanton and Makerfield) of any UK constituency. This ended in 2015 when the Conservatives took the seat. In 2017, it returned to Labour. The area of both constituencies covers the peninsula and the outer Gower areas of Clydach, Gowerton, Gorseinon, Felindre, Garnswllt and encompasses the area of the historic Lordship of Gower apart from the city of Swansea.

Geography
About 70 sqmi in area, Gower is known for its coastline, popular with walkers and outdoor enthusiasts, especially surfers. Gower has many caves, including Paviland Cave and Minchin Hole Cave. The peninsula is bounded by the Loughor Estuary to the north and Swansea Bay to the east. Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers 188 km2, including most of the peninsula west of Crofty, Three Crosses, Upper Killay, Blackpill and Bishopston. The highest point of Gower is The Beacon at Rhossili Down at 193 metres (633 ft) overlooking Rhossili Bay. Pwll Du and the Bishopton Valley form a statutory Local Nature Reserve.

The southern coast consists of a series of small, rocky or sandy bays, such as Langland and Three Cliffs, and larger beaches such as Port Eynon, Rhossili and Oxwich Bay. The north of the peninsula has fewer beaches, and is home to the cockle-beds of Penclawdd.

The northern coast is mainly salt marsh, and is used for raising Gower salt marsh lamb which was registered as a Protected Designation of Origin in 2021 under UK law and in 2023 under EU law.

The interior is mainly farmland and common land. The population mainly resides in small villages and communities with some suburban development in eastern Gower; part of the Swansea Urban Area.

Stone Age
Wales is known to have been inhabited since at least the Upper Paleolithic period, and the Gower Peninsula has been the scene of several important archaeological discoveries. In 1823, archaeologists discovered a fairly complete Upper Paleolithic human male skeleton in Paviland Cave. They named their find the Red Lady of Paviland because the skeleton is dyed in red ochre, though later investigators determined it was actually a male. This was the first human fossil to have been found anywhere in the world, and is still the oldest ceremonial burial anywhere in Western Europe. The most recent re-calibrated radiocarbon dating in 2009 indicates that the skeleton can be dated to around 33,000 Before Present (BP). In 1937 the Parc Cwm long cairn was identified as a Severn-Cotswold type of chambered long barrow. Also known as Parc le Breos burial chamber, it is a partly restored Neolithic chambered tomb. The megalithic burial chamber, or "cromlech", was built around 6,000 BP. In the 1950s, members of Cambridge University excavating in a cave on the peninsula found 300–400 pieces of flint related to toolmaking, and dated it to between 14,000 and 12,000 BC. In 2010, an instructor from Bristol University exploring Cathole Cave discovered a rock drawing of a red deer from the same period. This may be the oldest cave art found in Great Britain.

Bronze Age
Gower is also home to menhirs or standing stones from the Bronze Age. Of the nine stones, eight remain today. One of the most notable of the stones is Arthur's stone near Cefn Bryn. Its 25-ton capstone was most likely a glacial erratic (a piece of rock/conglomerate carried by glacial ice some distance from the rock outcrop from which it came): the builders dug under it and supported it with upright stones to create a burial chamber. The remains of Sweyne Howes on Rhossili Down, Penmaen Burrows Tomb (Pen-y-Crug) and Nicholaston Long Cairn are three other well-known Neolithic chambered tombs. During the Bronze Age, people continued to use local caves for shelter and for burying their dead. Bronze Age evidence, such as funeral urns, pottery and human remains, has been found in Tooth Cave at Llethryd, Culver Hole (Port Eynon) and Cathole Cave. With the transition into the Iron Age, hill forts (timber fortifications on hill tops and coastal promontories) and earthworks began to appear. The largest example of this type of Iron Age settlement in the Gower Peninsula is Cilifor Top near Llanrhidian.

Roman era
Roman occupation brought new settlement. The Romans built Leucarum, a rectangular or trapezoidal fort at the mouth of the River Loughor, in the late 1st century AD to house a regiment of Roman auxiliary troops. Its remains are located beneath the town of Loughor. Stone defences were added to the earthen ditch and rampart by AD 110 and the fort was occupied until the middle or end of that century. However, it was later abandoned for a time and in the early 3rd century the ditch naturally silted up. It appears to have been brought back into use during the reign of Carausius who was worried about Irish raids, but was abandoned again before the 4th century. A Norman castle was later built on the site.

Anglicisation
Following the Norman invasion of Wales the commote of Gŵyr passed into the hands of English-speaking barons, and its southern part soon became Anglicised. In 1203 King John (1199–1216) granted the Lordship of Gower to William III de Braose (died 1211) for the service of one knight's fee. It remained with the Braose family until the death of William de Braose, 2nd Baron Braose in 1326, when it passed from the family to the husband of one of his two daughters and co-heiresses, Aline and Joan. In 1215 a local lord, Rhys Gryg of Deheubarth, claimed control of the peninsula, but in 1220 he ceded control to the Anglo-Norman lords, perhaps on the orders of his overlord, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth.

As an Anglo-Norman peninsula isolated from its Welsh hinterland but with coastal links to other parts of south Wales and southwest England, it developed its own Gower dialect of English.

Glamorgan
In 1535, the Act of Union resulted in the Lordship of Gower becoming part of the historic county of Glamorgan with the southwest part becoming the hundred of Swansea.

Present day
Agriculture remains important to the area with tourism playing an ever-increasing role in the local economy. The peninsula has a Championship status golf course at Fairwood Park just off Fairwood Common, which twice hosted the Welsh PGA Championships in the 1990s. Meanwhile, the Gower Golf Club at Three Crosses hosts the West Wales Open, a two-day tournament on Wales' professional golf tour, the Dragon Tour. Gower is part of the Swansea travel to work area.

Landmarks
There are six castles on the Gower Peninsula: Landimore Castle—also known as Bovehill Castle—Oystermouth Castle, Oxwich Castle, Pennard Castle, Penrice Castle, Weobley Castle and numerous cairns and standing stones.

Four beaches have Blue Flag beach and Seaside (2006) awards for their high standards: Bracelet Bay, Caswell Bay, Langland Bay and Port Eynon Bay. Five other beaches have been given the Green Coast Award 2005 for "natural, unspoiled environment": Rhossili Bay, Mewslade Bay, Tor Bay, Pwll Du Bay, and Limeslade Bay.

Other beaches:

Llethryd Tooth Cave
The Llethryd Tooth Cave, or Tooth Hole cave, is a Bronze Age ossuary site in a limestone cave, about 1,500 yards (1.4 km) north north west of the Parc Cwm long cairn cromlech, on private land along the Parc Cwm valley, near the village of Llethryd. In 1961 the cave was rediscovered by cavers, who found human bones. An excavation was carried out by D.P. Webley & J. Harvey in 1962 revealing the disarticulated remains (i.e. not complete skeletons) of six adults and two children, dated to the Early Bronze Age or Beaker culture. Other finds are now held at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff: Early Bronze Age, or Beaker, collared urn pottery; flaked knives; a scraper; flint flakes; a bone spatula; a needle & bead; and animal bones – the remains of domesticated animals, cat and dog. Archaeologists Alasdair Whittle and Michael Wysocki note that this period of occupation may be "significant", with respect to Parc Cwm long cairn, as it is "broadly contemporary with the secondary use of the tomb". In their article published in The Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society (vol.64 (1998), pp. 139–82) Whittle and Wysocki suggest corpses may have been placed in caves near the cromlech until they decomposed, when the bones were moved to the tomb – a process known as excarnation.

At 1,525 m long (nearly 1 mile), the Tooth Cave is the longest cave in Gower. It has tight and flooded sections, and so is kept locked for safety.

Representation in the media

 * Mumbles set the scene for a six-part drama Ennals Point featuring Welsh actor Philip Madoc. The series focused on the local lifeboat crew (1982)
 * The Susan Howatch novel The Wheel of Fortune is primarily set in and near the Gower Peninsula, which plays an important part in the plot of the novel (1984)
 * The film, Gower Boy, by artist Gee Vaucher and musician Huw Warren—a gentle, contemplative exploration of the Gower Peninsula in Wales—debuted at the 14th Raindance Film Festival (2006)
 * Rhossili and Worm's Head feature in the Doctor Who episode New Earth (2006)
 * Rhossili Bay beach has been a location for the Lloyds Banking Group adverts featuring the iconic black horse galloping along the miles of sandy beach.
 * A fictional village in 1918, near The Worm's Head, is the location of a Charles Todd atmospheric mystery novel, "A Forgotten Place" (2018)

Library

 * Prehistoric Gower, The Early Archaeology of West Glamorgan, by J. G. Rutter, 1949 (published by Welsh Guides, York Street, Swansea)
 * Gower, by Olive Phillips, 1956 (published by Robert Hale Limited, London)
 * Gower Journey, by A. G. Thompson, c1960 (self published by the author, Principality Chambers, Swansea)
 * Portrait of Gower, by Wynford Vaughan Thomas, 1976 (published by Robert Hale Limited, London) (ISBN 0709155778)
 * The Gower Coast: A Coastline Walk And Guide To The History, Legends, Shipwrecks & Rescues, Smuggling, Castles & Caves, Including The Story Of The Dollar Ship, by George Edmunds, 1979 (ISBN 0906570018)
 * The Gower Peninsula, by Lawrence Rich (for The National Trust) (ISBN 9781843592754)
 * The Story of Gower, by Wendy Hughes, 1996 (ISBN 0863812171)
 * Historic Gower, by Paul Davies, 1997 (ISBN 0715407325)
 * Gower: A Guide to Ancient and Historical Monuments on the Gower Peninsula, by Diane M. Williams for Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, 1998 (ISBN 1 85760 073 8)
 * Images of Wales: Gower Peninsula, by David Gwynn, 2002 (ISBN 075242615X)
 * The People of Gower, by Derek Draisey, 2003 (ISBN 0954654404)
 * Gower Rogues, by Derek Draisey, 2006 (ISBN 0954654439)
 * Gower, by Jonathan Mullard (in The New Naturalist Library, HarperCollins) (ISBN 0007160666)
 * Gower in History: Myth, People, Landscape, by Paul Ferris, 2009 (ISBN 9780956233202)
 * Gower, by Nigel Jenkins & David Pearl, 2009 (ISBN 9781848510524)
 * Real Gower, by Nigel Jenkins, 2014 (ISBN 9781781722190)
 * Black Apples of Gower, by Iain Sinclair, 2015 (ISBN 978-1-908213-45-7)

title: Gower Peninsula


text:
Gower (electoral ward)

Gower (Gŵyr) electoral ward is an electoral ward in Britain. It is a ward of the City and County of Swansea, and comprises the western part of the Gower Peninsula. It lies within the UK Parliamentary constituency of Gower.

The electoral ward consists of some or all of the following villages and areas: Cheriton, Horton, Knelston, Landimore, Llandewi, Llangennith, Llanmadoc, Llanrhidian, Middleton, Oldwalls, Overton, Oxwich Green, Oxwich, Penrice, Port Eynon, Reynoldston, Rhossili, Slade, Scurlage.

It also includes the communities of Ilston, "Llangennith, Llanmadoc and Cheriton", Llanrhidian Lower, Penrice, Swansea, Port Eynon, Reynoldston and Rhossili.

Neighbouring wards are Penclawdd to the north east, Fairwood to the east and Pennard to the south-east.

2022 boundary changes
Following recommendations by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales the community of Ilston was transferred from the Gower ward to the Pennard ward, effective from the 2022 local elections.

2012 local council elections
Local council elections for Gower were held on 3 May 2012, along with wards in 21/22 local authorities in Wales. The turn-out for Gower was 47.51%. The results were:

Senedd
Gower Ward is part of the Gower constituency and returns one constituency Member of the Senedd to the Senedd. It votes in the South Wales West region, which elects four list members.

title: Gower (electoral ward)