Cumberland

Geography

The boundaries formed in the 12th century were not changed substantially over the county's existence. There are four English historic counties and two Scottish counties that it borders: Northumberland and County Durham to the east; Westmorland to the south, the Furness part of Lancashire to the southwest; Dumfriesshire to the north and Roxburghshire to the northeast. To the west the county is bounded by the Solway Firth and the Irish Sea. The northern boundary is formed by the Solway Estuary and the border with Scotland running east to Scotch Knowe at Kershope Burn. The boundary runs south from Scotch Knowe along the Cheviot Hills, then followed a tributary of the River Irthing and crossed Denton Fell to the River Tees. From Tees Head the boundary crosses the Pennines to descend Crowdundale Beck, from where it followed the rivers Eden and Eamont to the centre of Ullswater. The line follows Glencoin Beck to the top of Helvellyn ridge at Wrynose Pass and along the River Duddon (near Millom) to the sea . The highest point of the county is Scafell Pike, at , the highest mountain in England. Carlisle is the county town. The Earldom of Carlisle was partitioned into baronies. When the County of Cumberland was created, the baronies were subdivided as wards, a county sub-division also used in Durham, Northumberland and Westmorland. These originated as military subdivisions used to organise the male inhabitants for the county's defence from Scottish troop incursions. Each ward was composed of a number of parishes, areas originally formed for ecclesiastical administration. In common with other northern England counties, many ancient parishes in Cumberland were very large, often consisting of a number of distinct townships and hamlets. Many of these ancient parishes…

Most-observed species

• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  11,792
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  Poecile rufescens (J.K.Townsend, 1837) · Aves
  11,260
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  10,848
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  10,749
• Bald Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  9,627
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,227
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  8,922
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  8,347

Most recent

• M 3 — 2025-05-01
  19 km E of Ucluelet, Canada
• M 2.8 — 2025-04-05
  20 km ENE of South Pender Harbour, Canada
• M 4.9 — 2022-11-26
  18 km NW of Tofino, Canada
• M 2.77 — 2022-05-05
  Vancouver Island, Canada region
• M 3.1 — 2021-04-10
  23 km E of Ucluelet, Canada
• M 2.57 — 2021-03-03
  13 km SW of Ucluelet, Canada