Natural England have designated the peninsula as national character area 156 and named it West Penwith.

[3] The Penwith peninsula sits predominantly on granite bedrock that has led to the formation of a rugged coastline with many fine beaches.

The contact between the granite and the adjoining sedimentary rock (mostly shales) is most clearly seen forming the cliffs at Land's End, the most westerly point in the district and this geology has resulted in the mining that has made Cornwall famous.

This is most evident on the north coast between St Just and Zennor where the remains of the ancient seabed of the Pliocene era are visible.

There are several deep valleys cut into this plateau such as Lamorna on the south coast, where sufficient shelter from the weather is gained for trees to establish and grow.

Penwith also contains an artificial lake, Drift Reservoir, which is located approximately 3 miles west of Penzance.

Two major transport routes terminate in the district, the A30 road and the Great Western Main Line railway.

Penwith has the 6th highest rate of divorce of any district in England and Wales at 13.4% of the over 16 population, and correspondingly also has one of the lowest percentages of married couple households.

[11] As such Penwith was listed as an Objective 1 area by the European Social Fund, however, this status expired in 2006 with the programme closing on 31 December 2008.

[12] Traditionally, like much of the rest of Cornwall, Penwith's economy relied heavily on mining and fishing and was badly affected by the decline of these industries.

Despite the decline in the number of people employed in the fishing industry, it still plays an important part in the district's economy.

[16] The Newlyn fleet utilises a variety of catching methods, however, the vessels are comparatively small and mostly owned by their skippers in comparison with the large factory boats of Spain and France with whom they share their fishing grounds.

Cornwall's mild climate and an absence of hard winter frosts mean that these cold-sensitive crops can be produced much earlier than in the rest of the country, and early Cornish new potatoes are a lucrative source of income.

Unfortunately this cash crop has come under pressure in recent years due to globalization, which means competition with cheap imports from Egypt.

This encourages farmers to seek out novel sources of income such as set-aside and organic and small scale specialist produce such as meat from rare breed animals.

A priority 4.6 grant from Objective One, plus funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs totalling more than £300,000 have ensured the centre’s future until September 2008.

Local attractions including the Minack Theatre, South West Coast Path, Land's End and the Blue Flag beach at Sennen Cove[19] ensure that tourism plays a major part in Penwith's economy.

Penzance failed to obtain parish status for the former borough and Charter Trustees were appointed to continue elections for the position of Mayor of the town.

From 1974 to the mid-1980s, Penwith District Council was dominated by independent members, only 4 out of the 34 councillors in 1981 held any political allegiance (a situation reflected in other Cornish Authorities at this time).