Monmouth - Geography

Geography

Monmouth is located in an area of Devonian old red sandstone, at the point where the River Wye is joined by its tributary, the River Monnow, and immediately north of the point at which the smaller River Trothy flows into the Wye from the west. Immediately to the south, the Wye enters its gorge, incised into sandstone and, in particular, carboniferous limestone. The town is surrounded by wooded hills to its north, east and south, including Buckholt Wood (230 metres (750 ft)), The Kymin (260 metres (850 ft)), and The Graig (258 metres (846 ft)), with more gently undulating terrain to the west. The town centre itself is sited on a low-lying spur between the floodplains of the Wye and Monnow, and has frequently suffered from severe flooding. The water meadows to the north and south of the town centre, known respectively as Vauxhall Fields and Chippenham, have generally remained free of development.

In climatic terms, the town is located between those areas around the Severn estuary which show a maritime influence, and the cooler and drier conditions of the Midlands of England further inland. The nearby Ross-on-Wye weather station shows average daily maximum temperatures ranging from 7.3 °C (45.1 °F) in January to 22.0 °C (71.6 °F) in July, with 1504 hours of sunshine per year, and an average annual rainfall of 706 millimetres (27.8 in).