Great Britain. geographical location Great Britain is located in the north-west of Europe and includes four countries: England, Scotland, Wales

England is not an independent state. This is a large administrative and political part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The largest cities in England are Sheffield, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. It also includes the capital of Great Britain, London.

Geographic characteristics

England is located on the island of Great Britain and occupies 2/3 of its territory. Its area is 130,395 square kilometers. The neighbors of the administrative part of the country are Scotland and Wales.

The total population of England is 53 million people. This is 84% ​​of all UK residents. Of the entire ethnic composition of England, 76% are native Englishmen.

Nature

Rivers and lakes

The largest river in England is the River Severin. The length of its channel in the territory of the administrative part of Great Britain is 350 km. The source of the river is located in Wales. There are several beautiful waterfalls in the channel, which are tourist attractions.

In the northern part of England flows the River Tees, which flows into the North Sea. It shares the historical counties of England Yorkshire and Zarine. Another longest river in England is the Ex. It has several large tributaries and flows into the English Channel. At one time, the river was of great economic importance.

The lakes of England are particularly picturesque. Ullswater is formed by the movement of a glacier. Lake Windermere is one of the largest. On its territory of 15 square kilometers there are several groups of islands ...

The seas around England

The shores of England are washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the seas belonging to its basin, namely, the Irish and North Seas. The distance from England to mainland Europe is 34 km. It is separated from France by a pair of straits: the Pas de Calais and the English Channel.

This situation provides direct access to any world routes and has a direct impact on the country's economy. In the coastal regions of England, passenger and cargo ports are equipped ...

Plants and animals of England

The flora of England is represented mainly by shrubs: wild rose, hawthorn, honeysuckle, heather and many others. Among herbs, clover, foxglove, buttercup, geranium are common. Cereals grow in England, and in wetlands you can find ferns, reeds, sedges and more.

As a result of human activity, many animals on the territory of modern England have become extinct. In the present, you can meet squirrels, rabbits, hares, etc.

Waterfowl populations are declining due to the drying of wetlands, and pheasants and partridges can be found in the northern English counties...

Climate of England

A significant influence on the climate of England has a close location of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. It is softened by sea winds blowing from the western and south-western sides. In the southern part, due to this influence, there is a slight fluctuation in summer and winter temperatures, and on the west coast of England there is a greater amount of precipitation than in the eastern part. Another interesting feature of England is the saturation of air currents with moisture.

In general, the weather is characterized by high variability. Cold and warm fronts quickly replace each other. During one day, there can be torrential cold rain and hot, sunny weather...

Resources

UK industry and agriculture

The main industrial branch of England is the extraction and subsequent export of coal. Also on the territory of the administrative part of the UK, mineral deposits are being developed that serve as building materials: sandstone, limestone, etc.

A significant part of England's income comes from the sports industry. Its indicators exceed the income of the sphere of jurisprudence, communication services, advertising and marketing, and other things.

Approximately 40% of the territory of England is occupied by fields with grain crops. Another quarter of the land is high-quality pastures, which contributes to the breeding of animals that supply the region with milk and meat.

The main part of the electricity in England is produced by thermal power plants ...

culture

Peoples of Great Britain

Most of the population of England are parishioners of the Anglican Church. The British are often conservative, but carefully honor their traditions. Despite the fact that the majority of the population of England communicates in their native English, there are many dialects and, at times, difficulties arise in communication between people within the region ...

geographical uk rural resource

Features of the geographical location

Great Britain is an irregularly shaped archipelago with a very diverse landscape and nature. The latter is a consequence of the fact that the British Isles were once part of Europe, but were cut off from the mainland after the flooding of the lowlands that are now the bottom of the North Sea and the English Channel. Northern Ireland, which politically complements the United Kingdom, is located on the second largest island, Ireland, and is the western extension of the Scottish mountains. These mountainous areas are separated from each other by a narrow Northern Canal. The western shores of the island of Great Britain are rocky and steep, the eastern ones are more gentle.

The area of ​​Great Britain is about 240,842 sq. km. Most of it is land, and the rest is rivers and lakes. The area of ​​England is 129634 sq. km., Wales - 20637 sq. km., Scotland - 77179 sq. km. and Northern Ireland - 13438 sq. km. Thus, England is much larger than other countries in the United Kingdom and has the largest population. These factors explain the dominance of England in British history.

The southern tip of the island of Great Britain, the Cornwall peninsula, is located at 50 N, and the northernmost part of the Shetland Islands archipelago is at 60 N.

The length of the island of Great Britain from north to south is 966 km, and its greatest width is half that. Located on the continental shelf, the British Archipelago is separated by the shallow North Sea from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Federal Republic of Germany and by the narrow English Channel (the British call it the English Channel) and the Pas de Calais from France.

Historically, the geographic features of Great Britain have influenced human settlement, population migrations, armed conquest and political union. They also determined the location and operation of industry, transport systems, agriculture, the fishing industry, forests, energy resources and communications. They continue to define British life today, and are also closely linked to public concerns about the environment and wildlife.

England (pop. 48.2 million) consists mainly of rolling or flat lowland terrain, with a few mountainous areas in the north and southeast. But low hills stretch across most of the country, interspersed with lowlands and plains.

The population is concentrated mainly around large cities: London and in general in the south-east of England, western Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield, north-western industrial Liverpool and Manchester and north-eastern Newcastle and Sunderland.

Wales (population - 2.9 million people) is a mountainous country with mountains and hills stretching throughout the territory, often breaking off into deep valleys created by riverbeds. These mountains gradually decrease and turn into high hills in the east of England. The highest mountains in Wales are located in the northwest, where Mount Snowdon reaches 1085 m in height.

The lowlands are bounded by narrow coastal belts and river valleys in south Wales, where two thirds of the Welsh population live. In the past, the highlands of Wales made war, agriculture and human settlement difficult.

Scotland

Scotland (population - 5.1 million people) can be divided into three main parts. The first part is the northwestern and central mountains, along with a large number of islands on the western and northern coasts. These lands are sparsely populated, and make up half of the entire territory of Scotland. The second part is the central lowlands, which make up one-fifth of the entire Scottish territory and three-quarters of the entire population of Scotland, most of the industrial and commercial centers and cultivated land. The third part is the southern uplands, which include a series of hills extending to the border with England.

The highest mountain in Scotland is Ben Nevis (1342 m), which is also the highest mountain in the UK.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland (population - 1.6 million people) is located only 21 km from the Scottish coast, which caused migrations of peoples in the distant past. Since the partition of Ireland in 1921, it has bordered the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. In the north there is a mountainous coast, in the center, towards the south, a fertile valley, and mountains in the west, northeast and southeast.

The British Isles lie off the northwest coast of Europe. The British Isles are surrounded by many small islands. To the southwest of the Isle of Britain are the Isles of Scilly, and to the north of Wales is the Isle of Anglesey. On the western and northern coasts of Scotland there are numerous small islands that are part of Great Britain. The most important of these are the Orkney Shetland Islands.

From the west, Great Britain is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and from the east - by the waters of the North Sea.

From the south, Great Britain borders on France - the closest and most developed neighbor, which has common water borders with it. The shortest distance to the northern coast of France is the Strait of Dover, but the main communication between the states is through the English Channel, called the English Channel by the British, along the bottom of which a high-speed rail tunnel was built at the end of the twentieth century. Prior to this, communication between the two countries was carried out by water or air.

Also, the closest neighbors of Great Britain are Belgium and the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Norway are located much further.

The variety of geographical features of Great Britain is the result of long geological and climatic changes. Over time, due to the movements of the earth's crust, mountain ranges rose from the bottom of the sea, which formed the oldest territories of Great Britain. Periods of warm subtropical weather gave way to new movements of the earth's crust, and huge marshy forests covered all the lowlands. The forests, in turn, were buried under sand, soil and mud, so that the petrified forests became the coal of modern Britain. Later, the climate changed from subtropical to arctic. During the Ice Age, almost the entire island was buried under the ice, with the possible exception of southern England.

The mountains gradually eroded due to ice, water and winds. This process rounded the mountain tops and moved the rocks to the lowlands, where they were compressed into new mountains, resulting in a smoother and softer landscape. Geological and weather changes determined the present appearance of the valleys and plains, and also "determined the location of the main rivers of Great Britain, such as the Clyde, Fort and Tweed in Scotland, Tyne, Trent, Humber, Severn and Thames in England and Wales, Bann and Logan in North Ireland."

The forces of nature also affected the coastlines as the sea receded and returned again. Parts of the coastal zone went under water, while others were exposed. These processes continue today, especially on the east and south coasts of England. Where the sea receded, chalk and limestone mountains formed, as well as sandy beaches all along the coast, while soil erosion caused the loss of land in some places.

Great Britain was originally part of the European mainland, but the melting of the glaciers after the end of the ice age led to a rise in sea levels, and the country was separated from the continent by the North Sea at its widest point and the English Channel at its narrowest. The distance between Dover in England and Calais in France is the shortest (32 km).

The entire coast is criss-crossed with bays, bays, deltas and peninsulas, so that most of Great Britain is at a distance of no more than 120 km from the sea. The sea off the coast is no deeper than 90 meters because most of the British Isles lie on the continental shelf, which is the raised seabed connected to the mainland. The warm Gulf Stream heats the sea and the air as it travels across the shelf. Therefore, the climate on the islands is much milder than it could be, given their northern location. The current also affects coastal waters, which are essential to the fishing industry.

Geographical position Great Britain is located in the northwest of Europe and includes four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea and includes the island of Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland and several small islands. Area: km² Capital: London Official language: English

Form of government: constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy Executive functions belong to the Government. The highest instance of the Government is the Cabinet, appointed by the monarch. The head of the Cabinet is the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister then selects the remaining Ministers, who both make up the Government and are the political heads of the Departments. Approximately 20 chief ministers make up the Cabinet of Ministers. The British monarch (Sovereign) is the head of state. Palace of Westminster (the building where the meetings of the British Parliament are held) Elizabeth II (since 1952)

The official London residence of the British monarchs is Buckingham Palace. Westminster Abbey The official London residence of the British monarchs is Buckingham Palace. The traditional place of the coronation of the monarchs of Great Britain and the burial places of the monarchs of England - Westminster Abbey Buckingham Palace Collegiate Church of St. Peter in Westminster (Westminster Abbey)

Population: The dominant and most numerous group of the population is the British. (83.6%). Next come the Scots, the Irish. More than 60 million people Official language: English Religion: predominantly Christian country. Catholicism and Anglicanism are professed Westminster Cathedral - the main Catholic church of England and Wales St. Paul's Cathedral - Anglican Cathedral dedicated to the Apostle Paul

Climatic conditions: Unstable weather prevails with gusty winds and thick fogs throughout the year. Winters are very wet and unusually mild, with extreme temperature anomalies. Here the grass is green all year round. In the eastern regions, winters are colder and less humid. Heavy rainfall adversely affects the growth of many crops, especially wheat and barley. Crops in the British Isles do well in drier years, but the grasses often burn out then. Natural resources, relief, climatic conditions, inland waters Resources: The plains of England have long been widely used for settlement and agricultural development. Later, mountainous areas began to be developed, where rich pastures were an important incentive, and later mineral resources. Almost all known minerals, except for diamonds, have been found in the bowels of the islands. Coal deposits are rich in the Pennines, on the Mid-Scottish Lowlands, in the foothills of South Wales. The largest iron ore deposit is in the East Midlands (60% of all reserves). Significant reserves of rock and potash salts found in Cheshire and Durham.

Inland waters: The largest lakes in Great Britain are Loch Neagh (about 400 sq. km) in northern Ireland, as well as Loch Lomond and Loch Ness in Scotland. Loch Ness and Loch Lochy, located in the Great Glen and connected by a canal, form a direct waterway between the east and west coasts of Scotland. Underground reservoirs have long served as the main source of high quality water for the population of the lowlands of England. The largest underground pool is located under the chalk limestones in the south-east of England The famous inhabitant of Loch Ness - the Loch Ness monster! Terrain: The territory of the United Kingdom can be divided into two main areas. High Britain, located in the north and west of the country, is underlain by ancient bedrock and presents highly dissected uplands and much less common lowlands. To the south and east extends Low Britannia, characterized by hilly terrain, low elevations, and a few mountainous regions; at its base lie younger sedimentary rocks. Ben Nevis (the highest point in the British Isles, 1344 m)

Economy, large industrial cities, ports Great Britain ranks 8th in the world in terms of GDP (as of 2011). Engineering and transport, manufactured goods and chemicals are the UK's main exports. Since the 1970s, oil production has not only reduced the import of petroleum products, but also brought significant profits in trade. British Petroleum is the largest industrial corporation in the UK and ranks second in Europe. Britain carries out 10% of the world's exports of banking, insurance, brokerage, advisory, and computer programming services. Currency: Pound Sterling Bank of England (London)

The British industry mainly uses imported raw materials and is more oriented towards the external market. On the one hand, the UK is characterized by the rapid growth of modern industries using progressive production technology and labor organization, the latest equipment and sophisticated management methods, on the other hand, the old traditional industries lag behind. The main part of the industrial enterprises of Great Britain is located in a densely populated industrial belt, including the counties from London to Lancashire and from West Yorkshire to Gloucestershire. The largest industrial areas outside this belt are South Wales, the northeast of England and the central part of Scotland. The oldest traditional industry in the UK is the textile industry. Woolen fabrics are produced mainly in West Yorkshire, rayon production prevails in the Yorkshire city of Silesden, and cotton fabrics in Lancashire, in small textile towns north-east of Manchester. The production of woolen fabrics, products, yarn is the oldest in the British Isles. The woolen products of British textile workers are still highly valued in foreign markets today. Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Since Great Britain is an island state, all its external transportation and trade are connected with sea and air transport. About 9/10 of the total cargo turnover is carried out for sea transport, including 1/4 for cabotage. All areas of Great Britain, except for the West Midlands, are in one way or another directly connected with seaports, which serve as the main transport hubs. The largest of them are London, Southampton, Liverpool, Hull and Harwich. Great Britain is connected with the continent by a tunnel under the English Channel, two railway ferries (Dover - Dunkirk and Harwich Ostend), and numerous sea car and passenger ferries - with Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Holland and France. Road transport plays the most important role in domestic freight transport. At the same time, the road network is being expanded and reconstructed. LGV Nord Europe High Speed ​​Line with Channel Tunnel

Agglomerations Urban agglomerationPopulationGreater London Region 8,278,251 Greater London, East England, South East England West Midlands2,284,093 West Midlands Greater Manchester 2,240,230 North West England West Yorkshire 1,499,465 Yorkshire and the Humber Tyneside879,996 North West16, Liverpool26 England Nottingham666,358 East Midlands Sheffield640,720 Yorkshire and the Humber Bristol551,066 South West England Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton461,181 South East England

UK Culture Sherlock Holmes Museum in London. In London, of course, there is the Sherlock Holmes Museum. It is located on Baker Street, however, contrary to popular belief, not at number 221b, but at number 239. The museum was opened in 1990 in a house built in 1815. Theoretically, of course, this house could see Sherlock Holmes. That's just the street on which the museum is located, at the time of Holmes was called not Baker Street, but Upper Baker Street. Above the door of the museum you can see the proud number 221b. And this is a great example of how naive tourists are being deceived. Since the Holmes House Museum bears the number 239, the number 221b could not have been placed on it. The solution was found simply - the museum officially registered a company called 221b Ltd. Thus, 221b on the Holmes House Museum does not mean the house number, but simply the name of the company.

Great Britain (full name - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is an island state in Western Europe (Fig. 1.1), the form of government is a constitutional monarchy. The capital is the city of London.

Rice. 1.1

The state in North-Western Europe, on the British Isles (the island of Great Britain and the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands), is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and its seas. The area is 241 thousand km 2.

Mountainous terrain prevails in the north and west of Great Britain - the North Scottish Highlands (up to 1344 m), the Pennines and the Cambrian Mountains; in the south and southeast there are hilly plains. The climate is temperate oceanic, humid. In January, the average air temperature is from 3 to 7°C, in July - about 11--17°C; rainfall up to 3000 mm per year in the west and 600--750 mm in the southeast. Major rivers: Thames, Severn, Trent, Mersey, Clyde. Forests (mainly beech, oak, birch) occupy about 9% of the UK.

Great Britain consists of four administrative and political parts (historical provinces): England (it includes 39 counties, 6 metropolitan counties and Greater London), Wales (it includes 9 counties, 3 cities, and 10 city-counties), Scotland ( consists of 32 regions) and Northern Ireland (includes 26 regions). Economic and social geography of neighboring countries: Ed. M.P. Ratanova. - M: Bustard. 2004. - 576 p.

The UK population over the last century is represented by the following census results:

• - 1900 - 35,405,900 people
• - 1949 - 50.3 million people.
• - 1959 - 51.9 million people.
• - 1976 - 55.9 million people.
• - 1998 - 59.1 million people.
• - 2004 - 59,834,900 people Simagin Yu. A. Territorial organization of the population: Textbook. - M.: Dashkov and K. - 2005. - 236 p.

Population dynamics can be represented on a graph (Fig. 1.2).

Rice. 1.2

The ethnic composition of the UK population is as follows:

• - British - 81.5%.
• - Scots - 12.4%.
• - Irish - 2.4%.
• - Welsh (or Welsh) - 1.9%.
• - Ulster - 1.8%. Shepetilov A.A. Economics of Western Europe. - K.: Higher school. - 2003. - 262 p.

The remaining ethnic groups make up a very low percentage in the UK. In addition, these ethnic groups are relatively constant and their share in the UK population is also always approximately the same. The rest of the ethnic groups are unstable and difficult to account for.

For a clearer perception, let's present the data on the ethnic composition of the UK population on a diagram (Fig. 1.3).

Political structure. Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy headed by a queen.

The legislature is a bicameral parliament, consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The government is headed by the prime minister.

Rice. 1.3

A distinctive feature of the British Constitution is the absence of any single document that could be called the fundamental law of the country; moreover, there is not even an exact list of documents that would relate to the Constitution. Sinitsyn O.I. Modern economy. Public course. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 2005. - 608s.

Economy. Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country, a major supplier of finished industrial products to the world market and a major exporter of capital (mainly to developed countries). GNP per capita $16,070 per year. Extraction of oil and natural gas (mainly on the shelf of the North Sea), coal. The most developed mechanical engineering (focused on the production of non-standard products, as well as various types and types of machines), including electrical and electronic, transport (including large aircraft, rocket, car and shipbuilding), machine tools, agricultural, industrial equipment, hoisting and transport equipment, etc., chemical and petrochemical (Great Britain occupies one of the leading places in the world in the production and export of synthetic fibers and dyes, plastics, detergents, fertilizers, etc.), pharmaceutical, oil refining, ferrous (high-quality steels) and non-ferrous ( tin, aluminum) metallurgy. The oldest branch of English industry - textile - has lost its former importance. Large food flavoring (traditional production of whiskey, beer; processing of imported agricultural raw materials) industry; production of footwear, knitwear; famous English porcelain. Dairy and meat and dairy cattle breeding and bacon pig breeding predominate in agriculture; meat and wool sheep breeding. They grow mainly barley, wheat, sugar beets, oats, and potatoes. Vegetable and fruit growing (large greenhouse and greenhouse farm), floriculture (daffodils, tulips).

The monetary unit is the pound sterling = 100 pence. Runova T.G. Economic Geography with the Basics of Regional Studies: Textbook (3rd ed., ster.). - M.: MGIU. - 2007. - 184 p.

British Armed Forces. British Armed Forces The Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces is the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The British Armed Forces are under the control of the Defense Council of the Ministry of Defence. The primary mission of the British Armed Forces is to protect the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, advance the UK's security interests and support international peacekeeping efforts. Also, the British Armed Forces are active and permanent participants in NATO operations and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kuskov A.S. Economic Geography in Questions and Answers: Textbook. - M.: League. - 2004. - 224 p.

The state is located on the British Isles (the island of Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, as well as a large number of smaller islands and archipelagos, including the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland Islands, Anglesey, Arran, White) in the Atlantic Ocean. It is washed by the Northern, Irish, Celtic and Hebrides seas. The southeast coast is located just 35 km from the northern coast of France, which are separated by the English Channel.

Major cities in the UK

The area of ​​Great Britain is 243,809 km², of which land - 240,579 km², inland waters - 3230 km². The coastline is 17,820 km long. The southern coast is connected to continental Europe through a 50 km long Eurotunnel (of which 38 km is under water). This is the longest underwater tunnel in the world. Northern Ireland shares a 360 km land border with the Republic of Ireland and is the only land border with the UK.

England occupies a little more than half of the entire territory of Great Britain, covering 130,395 km². Most of it consists of lowlands. Uplands are concentrated in the north (Pennines) and northwest (Cumberland Mountains). Among the latter, the highest peak in England is Scafell Pike (978 m). The longest rivers are the Thames, the Severn and the Humber. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest point in the British Isles.

Scotland occupies just under a third of the entire territory of Great Britain, covering 78,772 km². It includes about eight hundred islands, mainly in the west and north of the main territory.

Wales occupies only less than one tenth of the entire territory of Great Britain, covering 20,779 km². Wales is mostly mountainous, although South Wales is less mountainous than the rest. The main population and industrial zones are located in South Wales, including the coastal cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport. The highest mountains in Wales are located in Snowdonia (including Mount Snowdon 1085 m high). The coastline of Wales has a length of 1200 km. the largest island is Anglesey in the northwest.

Northern Ireland covers only 13,843 km² and is mostly hilly. Here is Loch Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles (388 km²). The highest point in Northern Ireland is Slieve Donard in the Morne Mountains with a height of 852 m.

Great Britain has a temperate oceanic climate with a lot of rain throughout the year. Temperatures vary seasonally but rarely fall below -11°C or rise above 35°C. The main winds come from the southwest and often bring cold and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean, but the eastern parts of the country are mostly protected from these winds, and since most of the precipitation falls in the western regions, the eastern ones are the driest. The Atlantic currents, heated by the Gulf Stream, bring mild winters, with occasional snowfalls in winter and early spring, although the snow usually does not last long.