Easington

Town in County Durham, England, 14 km/9 mi south of Sunderland; population (2001) 94,000. Easington was a centre of extensive coal mining in the region, but the colliery here was closed in the 1980s.

Because the coal seams at Easington and the surrounding area lie beneath thick strata of limestone, mining did not begin here until the 1820s; it reached its peak in the early 20th century. The mine galleries of Easington pit extended far out under the North Sea.