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Belfast is located between County Down and County Antrim in the River Lagan Valley. The River Lagan is surrounded by mountains and flows from Belfast Lough (Lake), an inlet of the Irish Sea in the east to Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles, in central Northern Ireland. The Lagan has two tributaries, the Blackstaff and Farset. The city was originally sited at the lowest convenient crossing of the Lagan, where it joins the Farset, from which its name originates. Béal Feirsde, in Old Irish, translates as "the approach to the sand-bank or crossing." The River Farset is named for this same topographical feature. Most of the city has been built on the level slob land at the mouth of the Lagan, a large majority of which has been added to the city's area through reclaimation. This process involves sectioning off muddy or flood-prone areas of the bay then draining and infilling them to create new land for development. While the increase in area, by the 1950s about 1,740 of 5,000 acres of mud slob or 11.4% of the total county borough, is a positive result, the land requires special treatment. Subsistence is a common problem due to the insecure foundation which requires expensive and somewhat untrustworthy support piles. The material used as infill primarily comes from two sources, silt gathered from scouring the Lagan and, since 1947, rubble from war-damaged buildings and demolished air-raid shelters. The major use of these new areas is industry, notably grain elevators. The soils near Belfast are predominantly clay which has provided the inhabitants with an easily accessible building material and export product, brick. The majority of buildings in Belfast, from houses to city facilities, are constructed of brick giving it a cohesive physical image. Belfast's climate is temperate, affected by polar, maritime polar, and tropical air masses. Its coastal location regulates the temperatures which average between 35deg and 66deg Fahrenheit. Queen's University, just south of the City Center, averages 38.4 inches of rain per year which falls over 220-260 days. High humidity is common, spring averages 61%, summer 74%, and winter is the most humid with averages 85-87%. Corresponding to these averages, the spring is driest and fall wettest, with the most rain falling in August. Cool temperatures limit the growing season to 4-5 months. For today's forecast, click here. |