Editing East Anglia (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Guildhall, Cathedral Square, Peterborough.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Peterborough]], with an urban population of 217,000, is the largest settlement in East Anglia.]]
[[File:Norwich Skyline.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Norwich]], with an urban population of 210,000, is the second largest settlement in East Anglia.]]
[[File:The Ipswich Dock aerial image (19412961574).jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Ipswich]], with an urban population of 180,000, is the third largest settlement in East Anglia.]]East Anglia is bordered to the north and east by the [[North Sea]], to the south by the [[Estuary|estuaries]] of the rivers [[River Orwell|Orwell]] and [[River Stour, Suffolk|Stour]], and shares an undefined land border to the west with the rest of England. Much of northern East Anglia is flat, low-lying and marshy (such as [[the Fens]] of [[Cambridgeshire]] and [[Norfolk]]), although the extensive drainage projects of the past centuries actually make this one of the driest areas in the UK.{{clarify|date=August 2022}}{{Citation needed|date=March 2017}} Inland, much of the rest of Suffolk and Norfolk is gently undulating, with glacial moraine ridges providing some areas of steeper relief. The highest point in Norfolk is the {{convert|103|m}} [[Beacon Hill, Norfolk|Beacon Hill]];<ref>http://norfolk.gov.uk/-/media/norfolk/downloads/out-and-about/norfolk-trails/walking-routes/romancamp.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> the supposed flatness of Norfolk is noted in literature, including [[Noël Coward]]'s ''[[Private Lives]]'' – "Very flat, Norfolk".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coward |first1=Noël |title=Private lives : an intimate comedy in three acts |date=1947 |publisher=S. French |location=London |isbn=9780573013577 |edition=Acting |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uZ0XAAAAMAAJ |access-date=2 February 2022}}</ref>{{rp|23}}

On the north-west corner East Anglia is bordered by a bay known as [[The Wash]], where owing to deposits of sediment and [[land reclamation]], the coastline has altered markedly within historical times; several towns once on the coast of the Wash (notably King's Lynn) are now some distance inland. Conversely, over to the east on the coast exposed to the North Sea the coastline is subject to rapid erosion and has shifted inland significantly since historic times.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hanrahan |first1=Luke |title='Tearing this nation apart': Coastal erosion tears away homes in eastern England |url=https://www.euronews.com/2023/12/08/tearing-this-nation-apart-coastal-erosion-tears-away-homes-in-eastern-england |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=www.euronews.com |date=12 August 2023}}</ref>

Major rivers include the [[River Nene]] and Suffolk's [[River Stour, Suffolk|Stour]], running through country beloved of the painter [[John Constable]]. The [[River Cam]] is a tributary of the [[Great Ouse]] and gives its name to Cambridge, whilst Norwich sits on the [[River Yare]] and [[River Wensum]]. The [[River Orwell]] flows through Ipswich and has its mouth, along with the Stour at [[Felixstowe]]. The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads form a network of [[waterway]]s between Norwich and the coast and are popular for recreational boating. The Ouse flows into the Wash at King's Lynn.

Major urban areas in East Anglia include the cities of [[Norwich]], [[Cambridge]] and [[Peterborough]], and the town of [[Ipswich]]. Other towns and cities include [[Bury St Edmunds]], [[Ely, Cambridgeshire|Ely]], [[Lowestoft]], [[Great Yarmouth]], [[King's Lynn]], and [[Newmarket,_Suffolk|Newmarket]]. Much of the area is still rural in nature with many villages surrounded by a mixture of [[breckland]], [[The Fens|fens]], [[The Broads|broads]] and agricultural land.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/historic-farmsteads-preliminary-character-statement-east-of-england/historic-farmsteads-east-england-part1/|title=Historic Farmsteads Preliminary Character Statement: East of England Region|last=Landscape Access Recreation}}</ref>

===Climate===
{{main|Climate of East Anglia}}

The climate of East Anglia is generally dry and mild. Temperatures range from an average of 1–10&nbsp;°C in the winter to 12–22&nbsp;°C in the summer, although it is not uncommon for daily temperatures to fall and rise significantly outside these averages. Although water plays a significant role in the [[The Fens|Fenland]] and [[Broadland]] landscapes, the area is among the driest in the United Kingdom and during the summer months, tinder-dry conditions are frequently experienced, occasionally resulting in field and heath fires.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/heathland-fire-emergency-foxhall-road-1-6264859|title=Heathland fire prompts huge emergency response in Ipswich|last=Jefford|first=Will|website=Ipswich Star|date=11 September 2019|language=en|access-date=29 October 2019}}</ref> Many areas receive less than 700&nbsp;mm of rainfall a year and this is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. Sunshine totals tend to be higher towards the coastal areas.<ref name="climate">{{cite web |title=Eastern England: climate |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/uk-past-events/regional-climates/eastern-england_-climate---met-office.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122023605/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/uk-past-events/regional-climates/eastern-england_-climate---met-office.pdf |archive-date=2020-11-22 |url-status=live |website=Met Office |access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>