WAVENEY

district, administrative and historic county of Suffolk, England. It is bounded on the east by the North Sea and on the northwest by the River Waveney. The interior is rich farmland. Along the river are the small industrial communities of Beccles and Bungay, and near its mouth is Lowestoft, the main population and service centre in the district. Erosion by the sea has for centuries been eating away the land from the Waveney section of the Suffolk coastline. Of several small former ports, only Lowestoft has survived into the modern era, to become a major fishing port and a producer of prepared frozen foods. The other old settlements, if not washed away by the sea, have lost their harbours to silt and today function primarily as holiday resorts. Area 143 square miles (371 square km). Pop. (1998 est.) 108,200.