Devon

Devon (/ˈdɛvən/ DEV-ən, historically also known as Devonshire /-ʃɪər, -ʃər/ -⁠sheer, -⁠shər) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west. The city of Plymouth is the largest settlement, and the city of Exeter is the county town.

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Devon
Ceremonial county
Clockwise from top: the Devon coast at Combe Martin; ponies on Dartmoor; and Smeaton's Tower, Plymouth Hoe
Devon within England
Coordinates: 50°43′N 3°43′W
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South West
Established	Ancient
Time zone	UTC±00:00 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (British Summer Time)
Members of Parliament	List of MPs
Police	Devon and Cornwall Police
Ceremonial county
Lord Lieutenant	David Fursdon[1]
High Sheriff	Richard Youngman[2] (2022–23)
Area	6,707 km2 (2,590 sq mi)
• Ranked	4th of 48
Population (2021)	1,194,166
• Ranked	11th of 48
Density	178/km2 (460/sq mi)
Ethnicity	94.9% White British[note 1] 0.4% Irish[note 2]
Non-metropolitan county
County council	Devon County Council
Executive	Conservative
Admin HQ	Exeter
Area	6,564 km2 (2,534 sq mi)
• Ranked	1st of 21
Population	814,440
• Ranked	11th of 21
Density	124/km2 (320/sq mi)
ISO 3166-2	GB-DEV
ONS code	18
GSS code	E10000008
ITL	UKK43
Website	www.devon.gov.uk
Unitary authorities
Councils	Plymouth City Council Torbay Council
Districts
Districts of Devon Unitary County council area
Districts	North Devon Torridge Mid Devon East Devon City of Exeter West Devon Teignbridge City of Plymouth South Hams Torbay

The county has an area of 6,707 km² (2,590 sq mi) and a population of 1,194,166. The largest settlements after Plymouth (264,695) are the city of Exeter (130,709) and the seaside resorts of Torquay and Paignton, which have a combined population of 115,410.[5] They all are located along the south coast, which is the most populous part of the county; Barnstaple (46,619) and Tiverton (22,291) are the largest towns in the north and centre respectively. For local government purposes Devon comprises a non-metropolitan county, with eight districts, and two unitary authority areas: Plymouth and Torbay.

Devon has a varied geography. It contains Dartmoor and part of Exmoor, two upland moors which are the source of most of the county's rivers, including the Taw, Dart, and Exe. The longest river in the county is the Tamar, which forms most of the border with Cornwall and rises in the Devon's northwest hills. The southeast coast is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, and characterised by tall cliffs which reveal the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous geology of the region. The county gives its name to the Devonian geologic period, which includes the slates and sandstones of the north coast. Dartmoor and Exmoor have been designated national parks, and the county also contains, in whole or in part, five national landscapes.

In the Iron Age, Roman and the Sub-Roman periods, the county was the home of the Dumnonii Celtic Britons. The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the kingdom of Wessex in the eighth and ninth centuries, and the western boundary with Cornwall was set at the Tamar by king Æthelstan in 936.