Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a <a href="/facts/Ceremonial_counties_of_England/ly0Ck7nY">ceremonial county</a> in the <a href="/facts/East_of_England/FJT2AWYl">East of England</a> and <a href="/facts/East_Anglia/ywWSX5qw">East Anglia</a>. It is bordered by <a href="/facts/Lincolnshire/RqAUXE0F">Lincolnshire</a> to the north, <a href="/facts/Norfolk/eHSNIRud">Norfolk</a> to the north-east, <a href="/facts/Suffolk/r8dueSv7">Suffolk</a> to the east, <a href="/facts/Essex/cuUqAlzH">Essex</a> and <a href="/facts/Hertfordshire/TcBlCoSp">Hertfordshire</a> to the south, <a href="/facts/Northamptonshire/UbFu0Vjj">Northamptonshire</a> to the west, and <a href="/facts/Bedfordshire/zlyMvSWP">Bedfordshire</a> to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of <a href="/facts/Peterborough/eaA3Px0k">Peterborough</a>, and the city of <a href="/facts/Cambridge/gNRdbmwK">Cambridge</a> is the county town.
The county has an area of 3,389 km2 (1,309 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 906,814 in 2022. Peterborough, in the north-west, and Cambridge, in the south, are by far the largest settlements. The remainder of the county is rural, and contains the city of <a href="/facts/Ely,_Cambridgeshire/mJA7kN5u">Ely</a> in the east, <a href="/facts/Wisbech/od5E4Mjm">Wisbech</a> in the north-east, and <a href="/facts/St_Neots/pt2PP95p">St Neots</a> and <a href="/facts/Huntingdon/RKavbTWF">Huntingdon</a> in the west. For <a href="/facts/Local_government_in_England/W23quv4Y">local government</a> purposes Cambridgeshire comprises a <a href="/facts/Non-metropolitan_county/AFoDpL1C">non-metropolitan county</a>, with five <a href="/facts/Districts_of_England/4X8En6To">districts</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Unitary_authorities_of_England/kwEpTwby">unitary authority</a> area of <a href="/facts/City_of_Peterborough/eaA3Px0k">Peterborough</a>; their local authorities collaborate through <a href="/facts/Cambridgeshire_and_Peterborough_Combined_Authority/3XGxeJMs">Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority</a>. The county did not <a href="/facts/Historic_counties_of_England/kuRDeWsA">historically</a> include <a href="/facts/Huntingdonshire/jtHS8bfs">Huntingdonshire</a> or the <a href="/facts/Soke_of_Peterborough/d6395zIs">Soke of Peterborough</a>, which was part of Northamptonshire.
The north and east of the county are dominated by <a href="/facts/The_Fens/2lKmACUu">the Fens</a>, an extremely flat, drained marsh maintained by drainage ditches and dykes; <a href="/facts/Holme_Fen/CfGeN2SN">Holme Fen</a> is the UK's lowest physical point, at 2.75 m (9 ft) below sea level. The flatness of the landscape makes the few areas of higher ground, such as that Ely is built on, very conspicuous. The landscape in the south and west is gently undulating. Cambridgeshire's principal rivers are the <a href="/facts/River_Nene/qINe1wpN">Nene</a>, which flows through the north of the county and is <a href="/facts/Canalised/jLfX5fJ4">canalised</a> east of Peterborough; the <a href="/facts/River_Great_Ouse/ahx4cNED">Great Ouse</a>, which flows from west to east past Huntingdon and Ely; and the <a href="/facts/River_Cam/G0MTRyCX">Cam</a>, a tributary of the Great Ouse which flows through Cambridge.

Cambridgeshire open-in-new

Cambridgeshire