Editing Cardiff (section)

==Geography==
{{main|Geography of Cardiff}}
The centre of Cardiff is relatively flat and bounded by hills to the east, north and west. Its location influenced its development as the world's largest coal port, notably its proximity and easy access to the coalfields of the [[South Wales Valleys]]. The highest point in the local authority area is [[Garth Hill]], {{cvt|307|m|ft|0|abbr=off}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]].

Cardiff is built on reclaimed marshland on a bed of [[Triassic]] stones. This reclaimed marshland stretches from [[Chepstow]] to the [[Ely Estuary]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ObjView.asp?Object_ID=7004 |title=Cardiff Supplementary Planning Guidance: Archaeologically Sensitive Areas |date=20 July 2006 |publisher=Cardiff County Council |access-date=1 October 2008 |format=PDF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609181416/http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ObjView.asp?Object_ID=7004 |archive-date=9 June 2011 }}</ref> which is the natural boundary of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Triassic landscapes of this part of the world are usually shallow and low-lying, consistent with the flatness of the centre of Cardiff.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=2008 |title=Discussion on palaeoecology of the Late Triassic extinction event in the SW UK |journal=Journal of the Geological Society |publisher=Geological Society of London |volume=165 |issue=5 |pages=988–992 |url=http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/cgi/content/full/165/5/988 |access-date=1 October 2008 |doi=10.1144/0016-76492008-014 |last1=Radley |first1=J. D. |last2=Twitchett |first2=R. J. |last3=Mander |first3=L. |last4=Cope |first4=J.C.W |s2cid=129263471 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013221304/http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/cgi/content/full/165/5/988 |archive-date=13 October 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> The classic Triassic [[marl]], [[sand]] and [[conglomerate (geology)|conglomerate]] rocks are used predominantly throughout Cardiff as building materials. Many of these Triassic rocks are purplish, especially the coastal marl found near Penarth. One of the Triassic rocks used in Cardiff is "Radyr Stone", a [[freestone (masonry)|freestone]] which as its name suggests is quarried in the Radyr district.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.englishstone.org.uk/documents/dimension%20stone%208.html |title=Triassic building sandstone resources |access-date=7 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610061832/http://www.englishstone.org.uk/documents/dimension%20stone%208.html |archive-date=10 June 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cardiff has also imported some materials for buildings: [[Devonian]] sandstones (the [[Old Red Sandstone]]) from the [[Brecon Beacons]] has been used. Most famously, the buildings of [[Cathays Park]], the civic centre in the centre of the city, are built of [[Portland stone]] from Dorset.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.swga.org.uk/pdf/CathaysPark.pdf |title=Geological Walks in Wales: Cathays Park |publisher=Geologists Association South Wales |access-date=22 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029202443/http://www.swga.org.uk/pdf/CathaysPark.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A widely used building stone in Cardiff is the yellow-grey [[Early Jurassic|Liassic]] [[limestone]] rock of the Vale of Glamorgan, including the rare "Sutton Stone", a conglomerate of lias limestone and [[carboniferous]] limestone.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.castlewales.com/morgraig.html |title=Castell Morgraig |last=Iowerth |first=Dylan |journal=Castle Studies Group Newsletter |year=1998 |access-date=22 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907230838/http://castlewales.com/morgraig.html |archive-date=7 September 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cardiff is bordered to the west by the rural district of the Vale of Glamorgan, also known as the Garden of Cardiff,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gardenofcardiff.com/ |title=The Garden of Cardiff |access-date=20 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509082545/http://www.gardenofcardiff.com/ |archive-date=9 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to the east by the city of Newport; to the north by the [[South Wales Valleys]], and to the south by the [[River Severn|Severn Estuary]] and [[Bristol Channel]]. The River Taff winds through the city centre and together with the [[River Ely]] flows into the freshwater Cardiff Bay. A third river, the [[Rhymney River|Rhymney]], flows through the east of the city directly into the Severn Estuary.

Cardiff lies near the [[Glamorgan]] [[Heritage Coast]], stretching westward from Penarth and Barry – [[commuter town]]s of Cardiff – with striped yellow-blue [[Jurassic]] limestone cliffs. The Glamorgan coast is the only part of the [[Celtic Sea]] with exposed Jurassic ([[blue lias]]) geology. This stretch of coast with its reefs, sandbanks and serrated cliffs was a [[ship graveyard]]; many ships sailing to Cardiff during the industrial era were wrecked on this hostile coastline during west/south-westerly gales. Smuggling, deliberate shipwrecking and attacks on ships were also common.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kenfig.org.uk/smuggling.html |title=Smuggling Around Kenfig |publisher=Kenfig.org |access-date=19 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422181813/http://www.kenfig.org.uk/smuggling.html |archive-date=22 April 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>