Merseyside, United Kingdom

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England that takes its name from the River Mersey, as it encompasses the area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary. It comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool, with a combined population of 1.38 million. The county was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act of 1972. Merseyside spans 249 square miles (645 km2) of land which border Lancashire (to the north-east), Greater Manchester (to the east), Cheshire (to the south and south-east) and the Irish Sea to the west. North Wales is across the Dee Estuary.