a province of the Prussian monarchy, lying between N. Lat., 50° 43. and 52° 30.; E. Long., 5° 55. and 9° 25.; bounded on the N. by the kingdom of Hanover, E. by the principalities of Waldeck and Lippe, the electorate of Hesse Cassel, the grand duchy of Hesse Darmstadt, and the duchy of Nassau; S.W. by the Prussian province of the Rhine; and N.W. by Holland. Its outline is very irregular, and its area is 7675 square miles. The Lippe, an affluent of the Rhine, flowing from E. to W., divides the province into two parts, which are very dissimilar in their character and productions. The northern portion is entirely flat, with the exception of some low hills in the E. It belongs to the great plain, which stretches out into the flat regions of Holland and of Northern Germany. South of the Lippe, on the other hand, the country is traversed by numerous small chains of hills, between which there are many beautiful valleys. The Sauerland mountains occupy Westphalia with their various chains, the whole S. of the province, as far N. as the Ruhr. These hills vary from 1000 to 2000 feet in height, and many of the summits exceed 2000. Between the Ruhr and the Lippe, a low chain called the Haar or Haarstrang extends from E. to W.; and in the extreme N.W. there are two chains—the Teutoburger Wald and the Sintelgebirge—both extending in a curve from S.E. to N.W. The latter has a narrow pass called Porta Westphalica, or the Westphalian Gate, through which the Weser flows into the flat country beyond. The principal rivers have been mentioned already. The Wupper, the Ruhr, and the Lippe, flow westwards into the Rhine; the Vechta rises in the N.W. of the province, and flows N. and W. into the Zuider Zee in Holland; the Ems enters the province from the duchy of Lippe, and flows in a N.W. direction into Hanover; and the Weser crosses the extreme N.E. of the province for a short distance. All these, except the Vechta, are navigable for some part of their course. Westphalia contains no lakes, but has many swamps and morasses—some of considerable size. The mineral riches of the country are very considerable; there is abundance of iron, as well as copper, lead, coal, and rock-salt. Mineral springs occur in several places. The climate is, on the whole, healthy and temperate. The air is purer and colder in the S. than in the N., where the marshes give rise to fogs and exhalations. The soil is far from being fertile, especially in the N. It is somewhat better in the S., and there are here extensive forests. All sorts of corn are raised, as well as potatoes, pulse, hemp, flax, hops, and tobacco. The rearing of live stock is much attended to, especially that of cattle and swine, the latter of which furnish the well known Westphalia hams. Manufactures are extensively carried on; the most important being those of linen, woollen, and cotton fabrics, silk, leather, hosiery, paper, iron, steel, and all kinds of hardware. An active trade is carried on, consisting chiefly in the exportation of the natural productions and manufactured goods of the country. The province is divided into three governments, as follows:

| Government | Area | Pop. (1850) | |------------|--------|-------------| | Munster | 2966 sq. m. | 433,837 | | Minden | 2013 " | 462,503 | | Arnaberg | 2796 " | 630,912 | | Total | 7675 " | 1,527,252 |

Westphalia was the name of an ancient circle of the German empire, much more extensive than the present province; for it comprised an area of 27,000 square miles. The kingdom of Westphalia, erected by Napoleon I. in 1807, comprised parts of Hanover and Prussian Saxony, with the intervening small states. It had an area of 14,000 square miles, and existed till the battle of Leipzig in 1813, after which the former governments were restored.