SHROPSHIRE or SALOP

SHROPSHIRE or SALOP, an agricultural and mining county of England, on the Welsh border, facing Montgomery chiefly, between Cheshire (N.) and Hereford (S.); is divided into two fairly equal portions by the Severn, E. and N. of which is low, level, and fertile, excepting the Wrekin (1320 ft.), while on the SW. it is hilly (Clee Hills, 1805 ft.); Ellesmere is the largest of several lakes; Coalbrookdale is the centre of a rich coal district, and iron and lead are also found. Shrewsbury is the capital.