YORKSHIRE

historic county of England, in the north-central part of the country between the Pennines and the North Sea. Yorkshire is England's largest historical county. It comprises four broad belts each stretching from north to south: the high Pennine moorlands in the west, dissected by the Yorkshire Dales; the central lowlandsincluding the Vale of Yorkdraining into the River Humber estuary in the southeast; the North York Moors and Yorkshire Wolds in the east; and, in the far southeast, the Holderness plain along the North Sea. The historic counties bordering Yorkshire are Durham to the north, Westmorland to the northwest, Lancashire to the west, Cheshire and Derbyshire to the southwest, and Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the southeast. Yorkshire boar. also called Large White, breed of swine produced in the 18th century by crossing the large indigenous white pig of North England with the smaller, fatter, white Chinese pig. The well-fleshed Yorkshire is solid white with erect ears. Although originally a bacon breed, the Yorkshire rose to prominence in the lean-meat category during the 20th century in the United States. The boar is used considerably as a sire of crossbred litters out of coloured dams. The Yorkshire is probably the most widely distributed breed of pig in the world. See the Table of Selected Breeds of Pigs for further information.