Physical Background

LECTURE 2

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION

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1. Physical Background

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an island state: it occupies the territory of the British Isles (the B.I.) composed of some 5,500islands, lying off the north-west coast of Europe. The largest islands are Great Britain (comprising the mainlands of England, Wales and Scotland) and Ireland (comprising Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic). Western Scotland is fringed by archipelago known as the Hebrides and to the north of Scotland are the Orkneys and the Shetland Isles. The biggest single isles are the Isle of Man and the Isle of Wight. All these have administrative ties with the mainland, but the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands situated between G.B. and France, have a larger measure of self-government (although these islands do recognize the Queen).

The UK is one of the world's smaller countries (it is twice smaller than France or Spain), with total area of some 244,100 square kilometres. However, there are only 14 other countries with more people (the population is over 67 mln), and London is the world's 7^thbiggest city.

The UK is situated between the Atlantic Ocean on the northwest and the North Sea on the east. It is separated from the European continent by the English Channel (or la Manche) the narrowest part of which is called the Strait of Dover (or Pas de Calais). G.B. and Ireland are separated by the Irish sea and the North Channel.

The seas surrounding the B.I. are shallow - usually less than 90 meters (300 feet) - because the islands lie on the continental shelf. These shallowness is a great advantage as it the shores from the extreme colds and provides excellent fishing grounds.

Britain has a great diversity of physical characteristics and, despite its small area contains rocks of nearly all the main geological periods. There's a contrast between the generally high relief of western and northern Britain and the lowland areas of south and east. Highland Britain consists of Scotland, most of Wales, the Pennines and the Lake District. The Highground of Highland Britain is not continuous but interspersed with valleys and plains. The rocks are rich in minerals and coal reserves that have been the foundation of Britain's industrial wealth.

England. Though England cannot be considered as a very hilly country still it's far from being flat everywhere. The most important range of the mountains is the Pennine range, regarded as the "backbone of England". Rainfall in the Pennines is abundant, and their swiftly flowing streams used to provide power for woolen mills. Today the area is used for water storage: reservoirs in the uplands supply water to the industrial towns on each side of the Pennines.

The Cheviot Hills serve as natural borderland between England and Scotland. The valleys that separate the various mountains from each other contain some beautiful lakes (Windermere, Grasmere, Coniston Water). This is the celebrated Lake District, where many tourists resort every year, and where the famous poets Wordsworth, Coleridge, Quincey lived and wrote.

Wales. It's the largest of the peninsulas on the western side of Britain. It consists of a complex of worn down mountain ranges. They are called the Cambrian Mountains. The highest and the most glaciated area occurs on the north, especially around Snowdon (1,085 km), and often the mountains approach close to the sea.

Scotland. It may be divided into three major physical regions: the Highlands, the Southern Uplands and the Central Lowlands.

Ireland. It is predominantly a rural land, with a generally low density of population and indeed few large towns other than those situated on the coast The regional geography of the island is simpler than that of Great Britain. The Central Plain of Ireland stretches west east across the country from coast to coast. Around the plain is a broken rim of mountains.

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