This mainly urban division stretches along a coastal strip with the Antrim Hills to the west, and Belfast Lough to the south.
At the top of the constituency are picturesque villages, and part of the Glens of Antrim, while the southern half is dominated by the busy ferry port of Larne and Carrickfergus in the southern half of the constituency.
Larne is known as the 'Gateway to Northern Ireland', with the port being used by people travelling between Northern Ireland and Scotland, as well as those wishing to import and export goods.
Much of the area outside of the town is designated an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Carrickfergus has a growing population, despite having suffered severely in the 1980s from the closure of ICI and Courtaulds.
It is a popular tourist town, dominated by a 12th century Norman castle, below the walls of which William of Orange landed in 1690 on his way to the Battle of the Boyne.
Neither Sinn Féin nor the SDLP were able to retain their deposits at the 1997 election.
At the 1998 Assembly election, the Ulster Unionists topped the poll, albeit with a reduced proportion of the vote due to the larger number of Unionist candidates standing; on that day Roy Beggs' son Roy (Jnr) and Alliance Party Leader Sean Neeson were amongst those elected for this seat.