Editing West Midlands (county) (section)

==Geography==
{{See also|List of places in West Midlands (county)|List of settlements in West Midlands (county) by population|List of areas in Birmingham|List of areas in Dudley|List of areas in Sandwell|List of areas in Walsall|List of areas in Wolverhampton|West Midlands Green Belt}}

[[File:West Midlands outline map with UK.png|thumb|Map of West Midlands, showing urban areas in grey and metropolitan district boundaries]]
[[File:West Midlands population density map, 2011 census.png|thumb|Population density map]]

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 [[List of urban areas in the United Kingdom|third most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom]] with a combined population of around 2.44 million.<ref name="BUA2011">{{cite web|url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/747.aspx|title=2011 Census – Built-up areas|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics|ONS]]|access-date=27 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921045319/http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/747.aspx|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> However, the West Midlands is not entirely urban; [[Coventry]] is separated from the [[West Midlands conurbation]] by a stretch of [[green belt (UK)|green belt]] land approximately {{convert|13|mi}} 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, West Midlands|Turners Hill]], with a height of {{convert|271|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book |last= Bathurst |first= David |year= 2012 |title= Walking the county high points of England |location= Chichester |publisher= Summersdale |isbn= 978-1-84-953239-6 |pages= 111–114}}</ref> 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 {{convert|227|m}}.

There are 23 [[List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the West Midlands|Sites of Special Scientific Interest]] in the county.<ref>{{cite web|title=SSSIs in the West Midlands|work=Natural England|url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/sssi/searchresults.cfm?sssi_name=&frmcounty=1043|access-date=2 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003311/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/Special/sssi/searchresults.cfm?sssi_name=&frmcounty=1043|archive-date=27 September 2007|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> One of these SSSIs is [[Sutton Park, West Midlands|Sutton Park]] in Sutton Coldfield, which has an area of {{convert|970|ha|acre}}.<ref>[http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite/suttonpark?packedargs=website%3D1&rendermode=live Introduction To Sutton Park] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100227034129/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite/suttonpark?packedargs=website%3D1&rendermode=live |date=27 February 2010 }} Birmingham City Council</ref> As a result, it is one of the largest urban parks in Europe, and the largest outside of a capital city in Europe.{{citation needed|date=March 2010}} The park also has [[national nature reserve (United Kingdom)|national nature reserve]] status.

There are numerous rivers that pass through the county, including the [[River Tame, West Midlands|River Tame]]. The [[river basin]] is the most urbanised basin in the United Kingdom, with approximately 42% of the basin being urbanised.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sediment Dynamics and the Hydromorphology of Fluvial Systems |author=John S. Rowan |author2=R. W. Duck |author3=A. Werritty |year=2006 |publisher=IAHS |pages=98 |isbn=1-901502-68-6}}</ref> The River Tame is fed by the [[River Rea]], [[River Anker]], and the [[River Blythe]], which in turn is fed by the [[River Cole, West Midlands|River Cole]]. The [[River Sowe]] and [[River Sherbourne]] both flow through Coventry. The [[River Stour, Worcestershire|River Stour]] flows through the west of the West Midlands county.

Like other [[Metropolitan county|metropolitan counties]], the West Midlands is divided into [[Districts of England|districts]] called [[metropolitan borough]]s. 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 in the United Kingdom|city status]]; Coventry is a city by [[time immemorial|ancient prescriptive usage]],<ref>Home Office List of English Cities by Ancient Prescriptive Right, 1927, cited in {{cite book |title=City status in the British Isles, 1830–2002 |last=Beckett |first=J V |year=2005 |publisher=Ashgate |location=Aldershot |isbn=0-7546-5067-7
|page=12 }}</ref> Birmingham was granted city status in 1889,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/mayors |publisher=Birmingham.gov.uk |title=History of Mayoralty |access-date=17 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510232357/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/mayors |archive-date=10 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Wolverhampton in 2000 as a "Millennium City".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1074434.stm |title=City winners named |work=BBC News |date=18 December 2000 |access-date=17 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831075352/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1074434.stm |archive-date=31 August 2007 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable" style="border:0; text-align:left; line-height:150%;"
|-
!colspan="2" |Metropolitan borough ||Administrative centre ||Other settlements
|-
|[[Birmingham|City of Birmingham]] ||[[File:WMids-Birmingham.png|50px|link=Birmingham|alt=]]
|[[Birmingham]]
|[[Aston]], [[Bournville]], [[Edgbaston]], [[Erdington]], [[Great Barr]], [[Hall Green]], [[Handsworth, West Midlands|Handsworth]], [[Harborne]], [[Northfield, Birmingham|Northfield]], [[Quinton, Birmingham|Quinton]], [[Soho, West Midlands|Soho]], [[Sutton Coldfield]]
|-
|[[City of Coventry]] ||[[File:WMids-Coventry.png|50px|link=Coventry|alt=]]
|[[Coventry]]
|[[Allesley]], [[Binley, Coventry|Binley]], [[Keresley]], [[Stoke, Coventry|Stoke]], [[Tile Hill]]
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Dudley|Dudley]] ||[[File:WMids-Dudley.png|50px|link=Metropolitan Borough of Dudley|alt=]]
|[[Dudley]]
|[[Amblecote]], [[Brierley Hill]], [[Coseley]], [[Cradley, West Midlands|Cradley]], [[Gornal, West Midlands|Gornal]], [[Halesowen]], [[Kingswinford]], [[Lye, West Midlands|Lye]], [[Netherton, West Midlands|Netherton]], [[Sedgley]], [[Stourbridge]], [[Quarry Bank]]
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell|Sandwell]] ||[[File:WMids-Sandwell.png|50px|link=Sandwell|alt=]]
|[[Oldbury, West Midlands|Oldbury]]
|[[Bearwood, West Midlands|Bearwood]], [[Blackheath, West Midlands|Blackheath]], [[Cradley Heath]], [[Great Bridge, West Midlands|Great Bridge]], [[Old Hill]], [[Rowley Regis]], [[Smethwick]], [[Tipton]], [[Tividale]], [[Wednesbury]], [[West Bromwich]]
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Solihull|Solihull]] ||[[File:WMids-Solihull.png|50px|link=Metropolitan Borough of Solihull|alt=]]
|[[Solihull]]
|[[Balsall Common]], [[Bickenhill]], [[Castle Bromwich]], [[Chelmsley Wood]], [[Dorridge]], [[Elmdon, West Midlands|Elmdon]], [[Hampton in Arden]], [[Kingshurst]], [[Knowle, West Midlands|Knowle]], [[Marston Green]], [[Meriden, West Midlands|Meriden]], [[Monkspath]], [[Hockley Heath]], [[Shirley, West Midlands|Shirley]]
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Walsall|Walsall]] ||[[File:WMids-Walsall.png|50px|link=Metropolitan Borough of Walsall|alt=]]
|[[Walsall]]
|[[Aldridge]], [[Birchills]], [[Bloxwich]], [[Brownhills]], [[Darlaston]], [[Leamore]], [[Palfrey, West Midlands|Palfrey]], [[Pelsall]], [[Pheasey]], [[Shelfield]], [[Streetly]], [[Willenhall]]
|-
|[[Wolverhampton|City of Wolverhampton]] ||[[File:WMids-Wolverhampton.png|50px|link=Wolverhampton|alt=]]
|[[Wolverhampton]]
|[[Bilston]], [[Blakenhall]], [[Bushbury]], [[Compton, Wolverhampton|Compton]], [[Ettingshall]], [[Heath Town]], [[Oxley, Wolverhampton|Oxley]], [[Penn, West Midlands|Penn]], [[Tettenhall]], [[Wednesfield]]
|}