Presentation. 6th grade. The Geography of Great Britain

The Geography of Great Britain

The Geography of Great Britain

The  United Kingdom  is a  sovereign state  located off the north-western coast of  continental Europe . With a total area of approximately 248,532 square kilometres (95,960 sq mi), the UK occupies the major part of the  British Isles   archipelago  and includes the island of  Great Britain , the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of  Ireland  and many smaller surrounding islands. It is the world's 7th largest  island country . The mainland areas lie between latitudes 49°N and 59°N (the  Shetland Islands  reach to nearly 61°N), and longitudes 8°W to 2°E. The  Royal Observatory, Greenwich , in south-east London, is the defining point of the  Prime Meridian .

The UK lies between the  North Atlantic  and the  North Sea , and comes within 35 km (22 mi) of the north-west coast of  France , from which it is separated by the  English Channel . It shares a 499 km international land boundary with the  Republic of Ireland .The  Channel Tunnel  bored beneath the English Channel now links the UK with France.

Nature

Great Britain is situated in the temperate zone of Europe. The nature of Great Britain is greatly af­fected by the sea: there is no place situated more than 100-120 km from the seashore, in the northern parts only 40-60 km.

The territory of Great Britain can be divided into three natural regions:

1)  Scotland with highland and upland relief and coniferous and mixed forests;

2)  Wales and mountainous England with upland considerably cut by ravines and valleys and covered with meadows, moorland and cultivated farmland, with patches of broadleaf forest;

3)  South-east England with plain landscape, fer­tile soils, the predominance of cultivated farmland, with patches of broadleaf forest.

Coasts

The coastline of Great Britain is greatly indented, especially in the west and north-west where the moun­tains come close to the coast.

The coasts of Scotland, as well as the coasts of the Hebrides, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands, are cut by numer­ous fiords.

In the south and east the land gradually slopes down towards the sea, and the coasts are sandy aid gentle, here and there interrupted by the ends of hill-ranges, which form low cliffs.

Climate

Great Britain enjoys the humid and mild marine West-Coast climate with warm winters and cool sum­mers and a lot of rainfall throughout the year.

The prevailing winds blow from the south-west. As these winds blow from the ocean, they are mild in winter and cool in summer, and are heavily charged with moisture at all times. As they approach the moun­tainous areas near the west coasts, they rise up the mountain slopes. Their temperature drops, which causes condensation of moisture in the form of rain. Therefore the wettest parts of Britain are those areas where high mountains lie near the west coast: the western Highlands of Scotland, the Lake District and North Wales. The eastern part of Britain is said to be in the rain-shadow, as the winds lose most of their moisture in their passage over the highlands of the west.

All parts of the British Isles receive rain at any time of the year. Still autumn and winter are the wettest seasons, except in the Thames District, where most rain falls in the summer half of the year. Ox­ford, for example, has 29 per cent of its rain in summer and only 22 per cent in winter.

As to temperature, Great Britain has warmer win­ters than any other district in the same latitude. It is due in large measure to the prevalence of mild south­west winds. Another factor is the Gulf Stream1, which flows from the Gulf of Mexico and brings much warmth from the equatorial regions to north-west­ern Europe.

Area

The total area of the United Kingdom according to the  Office for National Statistics  is 248,532 square kilometres (95,960 sq mi), comprising the island of  Great Britain , the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland) and many smaller islands. This makes it the 7th largest  island country  in the world. [2]   England  is the largest  country of the United Kingdom , at 132,938 square kilometres (51,330 sq mi) accounting for just over half the total area of the UK.  Scotland  at 80,239 square kilometres (30,980 sq mi), is second largest, accounting for about a third of the area of the UK.  Wales  and  Northern Ireland  are much smaller, covering 21,225 and 14,130 square kilometres (8,200 and 5,460 sq mi) respectively. [5] The  British Antarctic Territory , which covers an area of 1,709,400 km 2  is geographically the largest of the British Overseas Territories followed by the  Falkland Islands  which covers an area of 12,173 km 2 . The remaining twelve overseas territories cover an area 5,997 km 2 .

Other countries with very similar land areas to the United Kingdom include  Guinea  (slightly larger),  Uganda ,  Ghana  and  Romania  (all slightly smaller). The UK is the world's 80th largest country by land area and the 10th largest in Europe (if European Russia is included).

Physical Geography

The  physical geography  of the UK varies greatly.  England  consists of mostly lowland terrain, with upland or mountainous terrain only found north-west of the  Tees-Exe line . The upland areas include the  Lake District , the  Pennines ,  North York Moors ,  Exmoor  and  Dartmoor . The lowland areas are typically traversed by ranges of low hills, frequently composed of  chalk , and flat plains.  Scotland  is the most mountainous country in the UK and its physical geography is distinguished by the  Highland Boundary Fault  which traverses the Scottish mainland from  Helensburgh  to  Stonehaven . The faultline separates the two distinctively different regions of the  Highlands  to the north and west, and the  Lowlands  to the south and east. The Highlands are predominantly mountainous, containing the majority of Scotland's mountainous landscape, while the Lowlands contain flatter land, especially across the  Central Lowlands , with upland and mountainous terrain located at the  Southern Uplands .  Wales  is mostly mountainous, though  south Wales  is less mountainous than  north  and  mid Wales .  Northern Ireland  consists of mostly hilly landscape and its geography includes the  Mourne Mountains  as well as  Lough Neagh , at 388 square kilometres (150 sq mi), the largest body of water in the UK. [12]

The overall  geomorphology  of the UK was shaped by a combination of forces including  tectonics  and  climate change , in particular  glaciation  in northern and western areas.

The tallest mountain in the UK (and British Isles) is  Ben Nevis , in the  Grampian Mountains , Scotland. The longest river is the  River Severn  which flows from  Wales  into England. The largest lake by surface area is  Lough Neagh  in Northern Ireland, though Scotland's  Loch Ness  has the largest volume.

COMPOSITION OF THE COUNTRY

The territory of the United Kingdom of Great Brit­ain and Northern Ireland is historically divided into four parts:

1) England; 2) Scotland; 3) Wales; 4) Northern Ireland.

England

Of the four countries which make, up the United Kingdom, England is the largest. It occupies an area of 131,8 thousand sq. km.

England borders on Scotland in the north.. In the east it is washed by the North Sea. In the south it is separated from the continent by the English Chan­nel. In the west it borders on Wales and is washed by the Bristol Channel and by the Irish Sea.

The highest part of England is in the west, from where the land gradually slopes down to the east.

The Atlantic Ocean washes the rocky and broken west coast of England, Wales and Scotland and is gradually wearing it away, leaving caves and sandy beaches. On the east coast the land is low and sandy.

The rivers flowing to the east and emptying into the North Sea form deep estuaries well protected from the sea. The greatest port of the country Lon­don is conveniently situated in the Thames estuary.

The white chalk cliffs of the south coast washed by the English Channel can be seen from many mil Л out at sea.

As concerns the relief, England can be divided into Northern England mostly taken up by the low Pen nine Mountains, the Central Plain, lowland South east England, and hilly South-west England.

Scotland

Scotland is the most northern of the countries that constitute the United Kingdom. It occupies an are! of 78,8 thousand sq. km.

Scotland is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the north and west and by the North Sea in the east.

The coastline of Scotland is greatly indented. Ь many places deep fiords penetrate very far inland. I Geographically the territory of Scotland can be divided into three regions: the Northern Highlands! the Central Lowlands and the Southern Uplands.

The Highlands are the highest mountains in the British Isles.

Their average height does not exceed 157 m above sea level, though some peaks are much heftier, rising over a thousand meters. Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles, reaches the height of 1343 m.

The Lowlands are the cradle of the Scottish na­tion. They are densely populated.

The Southern Uplands seldom rise over 579 m above sea level.

It is one of the most sparsely populated districts in Great Britain.

Wales

Wales is a peninsula washed by the sea on three sides: the Bristol Channel in the south, the St. George's Channel in the west, and the Irish Sea in the north. Its territory is 20,8 thousand sq. km.

Geographically Wales may be considered part of highland Britain, the Cumbrian Mountains occupy­ing most of the land. It is an area of high mountains, deep valleys, waterfalls and lakes.

Wales is a region of heavy rainfall brought by the prevailing west winds from the Atlantic Ocean. The valleys are sheltered by the high mountains from cold east winds. The climate is rather mild. Wales has never been densely populated. The Welsh have kept their own language, but English is spoken in town as well.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland occupies the north-eastern part of Ireland, which is separated from the island of Great! Britain by the North Channel. In the south-west Northern Ireland borders on the Irish Republic) (Eire).

Almost all the area of Northern Ireland is a plain of volcanic origin, deepening in the centre to form! the largest lake of the British Isles, Lough Neagh.

The greatly indented coastline of Northern Ireland is abundant in rocks and cliffs.

Northern Ireland has a typical oceanic climate with mild damp winters (the mean temperature in January is +4, +5) and cool rainy summers (the mean temperature in July is +14, +15).

Forests are rather scarce, moors and meadows prevail.

Northern Ireland is mostly an agrarian district. On small farms they grow crops, especially oats, vegetables and potatoes. Large areas are taken up by meadows, where cattle graze. On the river banks and n the coasts the population is engaged in fishing.

The island of  Great Britain  is known for the global city of  London ,  England  as well as smaller cities like  Edinburgh ,  Scotland . In addition,  Great Britain  is known for its history, historic architecture and natural environment. The following is a list of  ten geographic facts  to know about Great Britain:

The island of  Great Britain  has been inhabited by early humans for at least 500,000 years. It is believed that these humans crossed a land bridge from continental  Europe  at that time. Modern humans have been on  Great Britain  for about 30,000 years and until the about 12,000 years ago archeological evidence shows that they moved back and forth between the island and continental Europe via a land bridge. This land bridge closed and Great Britain became an island at the end of the last glaciation.

Throughout its modern human history,  Great Britain  was invaded several times. For example in 55 B.C.E., the Romans invaded the region and it became a part of the  Roman Empire . The island was also controlled by various tribes and was invaded several times. In 1066 the island was a part of the  Norman Conquest  and this began the cultural and political development of the area. Throughout the decades following the Norman Conquest, Great Britain was ruled by several different kings and queens and it was also a part of several different treaties between the countries on the island.

The use of the name  Britain  dates back to the time of Aristotle, however the term Great Britain was not officially used until 1474 when a marriage proposal between Edward IV of England's daughter, Cecily, and James IV of Scotland was written. Today the term is used to specifically refer to the largest island within the United Kingdom or to the unit of England, Scotland and Wales.

Today in terms of its politics the name  Great Britain  refers to England, Scotland and Wales because they are on the United Kingdom's largest island. In addition,  Great Britain  also includes the outlying areas of  Isle of Wight ,  Anglesey , the  Isles of Scilly , the  Hebrides  and the remote island groups of Orkney and Shetland. These outlying areas are considered a part of  Great Britain  because they are parts of  England ,  Scotland  or  Wales .

Great Britain  is located to the northwest of continental  Europe  and east of  Ireland . The North Sea and the  English Channel  separate it from Europe, however the Channel Tunnel, the longest undersea

rail tunnel in the world,

connects it with continental Europe. The  topography  of  Great Britain  consists mainly of low gently rolling hills in the eastern and southern portions of the island and hills and low mountains in the western and northern regions.

The  climate  of  Great Britain  is temperate and it is moderated by the Gulf Stream. The region is known for being cool and cloudy during the winter and the western parts of the island are windy and rainy because they are more influenced by the ocean. The eastern parts are drier and less windy.  London , the largest city on the island, has an average January low temperature of 36˚F (2.4˚C) and a July average temperature

of 73˚F (23˚C).

  Despite its large size the island of  Great Britain  has a small amount of fauna. This is because it has been rapidly industrialized in recent decades and this has caused habitat destruction across the island. As a result there are very few large mammal species in  Great Britain  and rodents like squirrels, mice and beaver make up 40% of the mammal species there. In terms of Great Britain's flora, there is a large variety of trees and 1,500 species of wildflower.

Great Britai n has a population of about 60 million people (2009 estimate) and a population density of 717 persons per square mile (277 persons per square kilometer). The main ethnic group of Great Britain is British - particularly those who are Cornish, English, Scottish or Welsh.

There are several large cities on the island of Great Britain but the largest is London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. Other large cities include Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester.

Great Britain's United Kingdom has the third largest economy in Europe.

The majority of the  UK 's and  Great Britain 's economy is within the service and industrial sectors but there is also small amount of agriculture. The  main industries  are machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper products, food processing, textiles and clothing. Agricultural products include are cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables cattle, sheep, poultry and fish.