Editing Staffordshire (section)

==Geography==
{{See also|Geology of Staffordshire}}
{{See also|List of reservoirs in Staffordshire}}
[[File:Mowcopcastle.jpg|thumb|right|230px|[[Mow Cop Castle]] on the [[Cheshire]] border]]
In the north and in the south, the county is hilly, with the southern foothills and uplands of the [[Pennines]] in the north, with parts of it in the [[Peak District]] National Park.<ref>[http://www.enjoystaffordshire.com/great-outdoors/Staffordshire-Peak-District.aspx] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919091708/http://www.enjoystaffordshire.com/great-outdoors/Staffordshire-Peak-District.aspx|date=19 September 2015}} Enjoy Staffordshire. Accessed 7 December 2015.</ref> Most of the northern upland terrain is in the [[Staffordshire Moorlands]] district. [[Cannock Chase]], an area of natural beauty, and part of the [[National Forest, England|National Forest]] are in the south. In the middle regions, the landscape is low and undulating. In parts of the county are once significant [[coalfield]]s, including the [[South Staffordshire coalfield]]. In the southern part, there are also rich iron ore deposits. The soil is chiefly clay and agriculture was not highly developed until the mechanisation of farms.

Staffordshire is home to the highest village in Britain, [[Flash, Staffordshire|Flash]]. The village, in the Staffordshire Moorlands, stands at {{cvt|1519|ft|m}} above sea level. This record was confirmed in 2007 by the [[Ordnance Survey]] after [[Wanlockhead]] in Scotland also claimed the record. The [[BBC]]'s ''[[The One Show]]'' investigated the case in a bid to settle the argument and Flash was confirmed as the higher of the two. The highest point in Staffordshire is [[Cheeks Hill]].<ref>''Staffordshire's 1,000-Foot Peaks'', Kent, Jeff, Witan Books, 2013, {{ISBN|978-0-9927505-0-3}}.</ref> The largest river is the [[River Trent]], which drains most of the county along with its tributaries. From its source, near [[Biddulph]], the Trent flows through Staffordshire in a southwesterly direction and meets the [[River Sow]] just east of Stafford. It then meets the [[River Tame, West Midlands|River Tame]] and turns north-east, exiting into [[Derbyshire]] immediately downstream of Burton upon Trent.

===Green belt===
{{further|West Midlands Green Belt|Stoke-on-Trent Green Belt|Burton upon Trent and Swadlincote Green Belt}}
Staffordshire contains sectors of three [[Green belt (United Kingdom)|green belt]] areas, two of which surround the large conurbations of [[The Potteries Urban Area|Stoke-on-Trent]] and the [[West Midlands conurbation|West Midlands]], and were first drawn up from the 1950s. All the county's districts contain some portion of belt.