The county has an area of 2,625 km2 (1,014 sq mi) and a population of 1,053,316. The east of the county is more densely populated than the west, and contains the county's largest settlements: Derby (261,400), Chesterfield (88,483), and Swadlincote (45,000). For local government purposes Derbyshire comprises a non-metropolitan county, with eight districts, and the Derby unitary authority area. The East Midlands Combined County Authority includes Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council.
The north and centre of Derbyshire are hilly and contain the southern end of the Pennines, most of which are part of the Peak DistrictNational Park. They include Kinder Scout, at 636 m (2,087 ft) the highest point in the county. The River Derwent is the longest in the county, at 66 mi (106 km), and flows south until it meets the River Trent just south of Derby. Church Flatts Farm at Coton in the Elms, near Swadlincote, is the furthest point from the sea in the UK. (Full article...)
Most of the area falls within the Peak District National Park, whose designation in 1951 made it the earliest national park in the British Isles. An area of great diversity, it is conventionally split into the northern Dark Peak, where most of the moorland is found and whose geology is gritstone, and the southern White Peak, where most of the population lives and where the geology is mainly limestone-based. Proximity to the major conurbations of the Midlands, Yorkshire and Lancashire, coupled with easy access by road and rail, make it the most visited national park in the UK.
The Peak District forms the southern end of the Pennines and much of the area is uplands above 300 m, with a high point on Kinder Scout of 636 m. Despite its name, the landscape lacks sharp peaks, being characterised by rounded hills and gritstone escarpments (the "edges"). The area is surrounded by major conurbations, including Huddersfield, Manchester, Sheffield, Derby and Stoke-on-Trent.
The National Park covers 555 square miles (1,438 km2) of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and South and West Yorkshire, including the majority of the area commonly referred to as the Peak. The Park boundaries were drawn to exclude large built-up areas and industrial sites from the park; in particular, the town of Buxton and the adjacent quarries are located at the end of the Peak Dale corridor, surrounded on three sides by the Park. The town of Bakewell and numerous villages are, however, included within the boundaries, as is much of the (non-industrial) west of Sheffield. As of 2006, it is the fourth largest National Park in England and Wales.
(More on the Peak District...)
The following are images from various Derbyshire-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1At the Rhodeswood reservoir dam, we see the outflow canal from the Torside Reservoir dam, alongside the Rhodeswood Reservoir. The Torside dam can be seen in the distance. To the right is Shining Clough Moss and Bleaklow. To the left Bareholm Moss and Black Hill (from Longdendale Chain)
Image 91 High Peak 2 Derbyshire Dales 3 South Derbyshire 4 Erewash 5 Amber Valley 6 North East Derbyshire 7 Chesterfield 8 Bolsover 9 Derby (from History of Derbyshire)
The River Dove which runs through Dovedale is a famous trout stream. Here we see the iconic set of stepping stones near Thorpe Cloud. Good riverside paths make the whole Dovedale route accessible to and popular with walkers. On one August Sunday in 1990, a footpath count recorded 4,421 walkers on the Staffordshire side of the river and 3,597 walkers on the Derbyshire bank.