The Lie of the LandKilkenny county lies inland and has an area of 796 square miles (509,431 acres) with direct access to the sea via Belview Port on the Suir Estuary and via New Ross on the Barrow River. The county consists of a highly fertile central plain with uplands in the North-East, the North-West and the South. The land is well drained by its river network, the river Nore bisects the county and the city on a north/south axis. The Rivers Barrow and Suir are natural boundaries to the east and south of the county respectively and their tidal estuaries converge at the extreme South-East of the county. | Stone of KilkennyThe county has borders with Tipperary, Wexford, Waterford, Laois and Carlow. Kilkenny city is sited on a bend in the River Nore at an ancient ford or crossing place. The alluvial soils of the river valley have provided fertile land for growing crops and the underlying limestone rock has yielded the raw material for the building of the city. Several miles outside the city are the Dunmore Caves, dramatic underground limestone formations that show signs of early dwellers thousands of years ago. |