Hertfordshire (/ˈhɑːrtfərdʃɪər/ HART-fərd-sheer or /-ʃər/ -⁠shər; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For government statistical purposes, it forms part of the East of England region. Hertfordshire covers 634.366 square miles (1,643.00 km2). It derives its name – via the name of the county town of Hertford – from a hart (stag) and a ford, as represented on the county's coat of arms and on the flag. Hertfordshire County Council is based in Hertford, once the main market town and the current county town. The largest settlement is Watford. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)