page_title: West Midlands (county)
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: West Midlands (county) / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: The map area was inhabited by 3.3 mln people in 2011, 2.7 mln in West Midlands county. Population density computed from 2011 Output Area (OE) data and there is on 2020 map so new neighbourhoods are visible in the grey zone. Values sometimes are not representative because: sometimes a whole nonresidential area is contained in one from a few adjacent OEs. sometimes OEs encompass only building, sometimes only part of it, to keep up stiff household count limit, what gives very high density. OE boundaries are visible, especially in red and pink. Polski: Obszar mapy był zamieszkany przez 3,3 mln. ludzi w 2011, 2,7 mln w hrabstwie West Midlands. Gęstość zaludnienia obliczona jest z danych Output Area (OE) z 2011 i jest na mapie z 2020, tak więc widać nowe osiedla w szarej strefie. Wartości czasami nie są reprezentacyjne ponieważ: czasami cały obszar bez budownictwa mieszkaniowego jest zawarty w jednym z kilku sąsiadujących OE czasami OE obejmuje tylko budynek, albo tylko jego część, żeby utrzymać sztywny limit domostw, co daje bardzo dużą gęstość. Granice OE są widoczne, szczególnie w czerwieni i w różu.
context_page_description: The county of West Midlands is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in western-central England with a 2018 estimated population of 2,916,458, making it the second most populous county in England after Greater London. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county itself is a NUTS 2 region within the wider NUTS 1 region of the same name. The county consists of seven metropolitan boroughs: the City of Birmingham, the City of Coventry and the City of Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall.
  The metropolitan county exists in law and as a geographic frame of reference, and as a ceremonial county it has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff. Between 1974 and 1986, the West Midlands County Council was the administrative body covering the county; this was abolished on 31 March 1986, and the constituent metropolitan boroughs effectively became unitary authorities. A new administrative body for the county, the West Midlands Combined Authority, was created in June 2016.
context_section_description: The West Midlands is a landlocked county that borders the counties of Warwickshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south, and Staffordshire to the north and west.
  The West Midlands County is one of the most heavily urbanised counties in the UK. Birmingham, Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Solihull together form the third most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom with a combined population of around 2.44 million. However, the West Midlands is not entirely urban; Coventry is separated from the West Midlands conurbation by a stretch of green belt land roughly 15 miles (24 km) across, known as the "Meriden Gap", which retains a strongly rural character. A smaller piece of green belt between Birmingham, Walsall and West Bromwich includes Barr Beacon and the Sandwell Valley.
  The highest point in the West Midlands is Turners Hill, with a height of 271 m (889 ft). The hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Barr Beacon is another hill in the West Midlands, located on the border of Birmingham and Walsall, with a height of 227 m (745 ft).
  There are 23 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the county. One of these SSSIs is Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield, which has an area of 970 hectares (2,400 acres). As a result, it is one of the largest urban parks in Europe, and the largest outside of a capital city in Europe. The park also has national nature reserve status.
  There are numerous rivers that pass through the county, including the River Tame. The river basin is the most urbanised basin in the United Kingdom, with approximately 42% of the basin being urbanised. The River Tame is fed by the River Rea, River Anker, and the River Blythe, which in turn is fed by the River Cole. The River Sowe and River Sherbourne both flow through Coventry. The River Stour flows through the west of the West Midlands county.
  Like other metropolitan counties, the West Midlands is divided into districts called metropolitan boroughs. There are seven boroughs in the West Midlands, six of which are named after the largest settlement in their administrative area. The West Midlands is unusual amongst the metropolitan counties in that three of its boroughs have city status; Coventry is a city by ancient prescriptive usage, Birmingham was granted city status in 1889, and Wolverhampton in 2000 as a "Millennium City".
caption: Population density map
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