district, administrative county of Cambridgeshire, east-central England. The district lies almost entirely within the historic county of Cambridgeshire, except for the area around Great Chishill, which belongs to the historic county of Essex. It encircles the administratively independent city of Cambridge. South Cambridgeshire lies generally within the drainage basins of the Cam and Granta rivers and is an area of low, rolling terrain that extends into the Fens, an extensive region of reclaimed marshland northeast of Cambridge. The villages and small towns of the district base their economic livelihood on the cultivation of cereals, sugar beets, and fruits, although many residents commute to work in Cambridge. Dairy cattle are also important. Jams and leather products are manufactured respectively at Histon and Sawston. Girton, a women's college of the University of Cambridge, is located in South Cambridgeshire. Cambridge is the district seat. Area 349 square miles (904 square km). Pop. (2001) 130,087.