Geography of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is composed of four countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is made up England, Scotland and Wales; it is the largest island of Uk. Ireland comprises Northern Ireland (called Ulster) and Irish Republic (called Eire). Scotland and Wales have different customs, traditions of England. Scotland has a different regal and educational system.
People of Britain are called British but people from England are English, people from Scotland are Scottish and people who lives in Wales are Welsh.

People from northern Ireland is Irish. The main language is English but in Scotland people speak Scottish Gaelic, in Wales is spoke Welsh and in Ireland the Irish Gaelic.
Britain has a lot of scenery, Green Field, forests, hills, mountains..
The UK’s area is 244, 103 sq m and has got 57, 121, 000 habitants. UK has a constitutional monarchy and the main religion is the protestant.
The British Isles.
The British Isles are a lot of islands situated in the northwest corner of Europe. The two largest are Great Britain and Ireland. There are a lot of Irelands:
- The Isle of Wight opposite Southampton.
- The Isles of Scilly off the southwest coast of Cornwall.
- The Isle of Anglesy off the coast of North Walles.
- The Isle of Man in the middle of Irish sea.
To the northwest of Scotland is a group of Islands called Hebridesand to the northeast are the Shetland and Orkney Islands.

Seas

Britain is surrounded by water; the Atlantic ocean to the west, the north sea to the east and the English channel to the south. Great Britain and Ireland are separated by the North Channel, the Irish Sea and St, George’s Channel.
Coasts
The coastline is really irregular. The coast of Britain are deeply indented and provide many good harbours. The western coast is more indented that the eastern coast. Most important are the white Cliffs of Dover, people standing here can see the white cliffs of France. The channel tunnel, built under the water, links England and France.
The weather
The British Isles are located in the northern temperate zone, here is never so hot and cold. There is always a current of warm water from the gulf of Mexico (the gulf stream). Winters are seldom cold and on the other hand the influence of the sea makes summers cool and weather changeable. The winters nights never go under 15° and summer day is never over 30°C in the south and west. The winds blow from the west and they bring rain. Owing to the moisture is frequently foggy in autumn and winter. Winters are mild and the British do not suffer, for example, the disastrous hurricans which occur in tropical regions.

Relief and Plains

The UK has different physical characteristics. Britain has no very high mountains but Scotland, Wales are mountainous. Britain has 4 major groups of mountains: the Scottish Highlands, the Pennines, The Cumbrian Mountains and the Cambrian Mountains.
- The Scottish Highlands (in Scotland) can be divided in to the Northern Highlands and the Grampains are the highest mountains of Britain. They include Ben Nevis the highest mountain in the country (1,392 m)
- In the south of Scotland are the Southern Uplands which run across the border between England and Scotland. They are linked by the Cheviot Hills to the Pennines. In west of Pennines are beautiful hills of the Cumbrian Mopuntains. Scafell is the third highest mountain in Britain (978 m). Mount Snowdon is 1,085 m high.
Rivers and Lakes
The rivers are not very long but someone is navigable, some of them has got important ports like Hull, Newcastle, Liverpool and Bristol (in England): Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland. The most important river in Britain is the Themes which flows in London; it rises in the Cotswold and flows into the North Sea. The Severn, the longest river in great Britain flows form Wales into the Bristol Channel. The Humber formed by the Ouse and the Trent flows into the North Sea. The Tyne runs from the Pennines to the North Sea flows along Newcastle. The Mersey begins in pennines and flows into the Irish Sea in Liverpool. The Tay, the Forth and the Clyde are the most important rivers in Scotland. The Shannon is the most important river of Ireland.
The most important lakes in Britain are located in the Lake District in the northwest of England. It has 12 lakes, the best know is Windermere, Derwentwater and Ullswater. This place is famous also because here lived a lot of poets like Wordsworth and Coleridge. The most famous lakes of Scotland is Loch Lomond and Loch Ness. The largest lake in the island and in the British Isles is Lough Neagh