EASINGTON

district, administrative and historic county of Durham, northeastern England, that extends north-south along the North Sea coast between the industrialized metropolitan areas of Tyne and Wear to the north and Teesside to the south. The district carries the name of the former mining village of Easington, located near its centre. Easington district covers a plateau 300 to 400 feet (90 to 120 metres) in elevation that descends to a narrow coastal plain lined with sandy and gravel beaches along the North Sea. Its thick glacial drift soils overlie dolomite that in turn covers coal deposits. Not until the 1820s did advances in mining techniques allow the deep-lying coal reserves to be worked. Easington's coal-mining industry peaked in the early 20th century and declined thereafter; by the end of the century, coal mining had ceased in the district. Seaham, founded in 1828, is the district's port. The new town of Peterlee, the administrative centre, was established in central Easington in 1948. Its original purpose was to replace the typical 19th-century housing of the nearby scattered mining villages and to create recreational and service facilities for the local inhabitants. With the subsequent decline of the coal industry, Peterlee became a centre of light industry. Dairying is the most important agricultural pursuit in the district, which comprises both urban and rural areas. Area 55 square miles (143 square km) Pop. (1998 est.) 93,500.