Great Britain.
Great Britain.
Thc British Isles consist of two main islands: Great Britain and Ireland. These and over five thousand small islands are known collectively as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Their total area is about 94, 250 square miles. Great Britain proper comprises Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The southern part of the isle of Ireland is the Republic of Eire.
Britain is comparatively small, but there is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery can be found in so small a compass. There are wild desolate mountains in the northern Highlands of Scotland - the home of the deer and the eagle - that are as lonely as any in Norway. There are flat tulip fields round the Fens ' - a blaze of colour in spring, that would make you think you were in Holland. Within a few miles of Manchester and Sheffield you can be in glorious leather-covered moors.
Once the British Isles were part of the mainland of Europe - the nearest point is across the Strait of Dover, where the chalk cliffs of Britain are only twenty-two miles from those of France.
The seas round the British Isles are shallow. This shallowness is in some ways an advantage. Shallow water is warmer than deep water and helps to keep the shores from extreme cold. It is, too, the home of millions of fish, and more than a million tons are caught every year.
You have noticed on the map how deeply indented the coast line is. This indentation gives a good supply of splendid harbours for ships; and you will note, too, that owing to the shape of the country there is no point in it that is more than seventy miles from the sea - a fact that has greatly facilitated the export of manufactures and has made the English race a sea-loving one.
On the north-west the coasts are broken by high rocky cliffs. This is especially noticeable in north-west Scotland, where you have long winding inlets (called "lochs") and a great many islands.
In Scotland you have three distinct regions. There is, firstly, the Highlands, then there is the central plain or Lowlands. Finally there are the southern uplands, "the Scott country," ' with their gently rounded hills where the sheep wander. Here there are more sheep to the square mile than anywhere in the British Isles.
In England and Wales all the high land is in the west and north-west. The south-eastern plain reaches the west coast only at one or two places.
In the north you find the Cheviots separating England from Scotland, the Pennines going down England like a backbone and the Cumbrian mountains of the Lake District, one of the loveliest (and the wettest) parts of England. In the west are the Cambrian mountains which occupy the greater part of Wales.
The south-eastern part of England is a low-lying land with gentle hills and a coast which is regular in outline, sandy or muddy, with occasional chalk cliffs, and inland a lovely pattern of green and gold - for most of England's wheat is grown here - and brown plough-land with pleasant farms and cottages in their midst. Its rich brown soil "
is deeply cultivated - much of it is under wheat; fruit-growing is extensively carried on. A quarter of the sugar used in the country comes from sugarbeet grown there, but the most important crop is potatoes.
The position of the mountains naturally determined the direction and length of the rivers, and the longest rivers, except the Severn and Clyde, flow into the North Sea.
The rivers in Britain are of no great value as waterways and are not navigable for anything but small vessels.
Great Britain.
Great Britain.
The United Kingdom and Notheren Ireland are situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, of a great number of small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometers. The coasts of Great Britain are washed by the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the English Channel, which separate it from Europe.
Great Britain consists of three parts: England, Scotland and Wales. Notheren Ireland belohgs to the United Kingdom and borders on the independent Irish Republic, which occupies a bigger part of the island.
There are many rivers in the United Kingdom, the longest and the deepest of them are the Themes and the Severn.
The mountains of the islands are not very high.
Great Britain has some mineral resourses, first of all, the deposits of coal and iron ore, which were the basis fo British industrial revolution. Vast deposits of oil and gas were discovered in the North Sea.
The climate of the Great Britain is mild and humid because of the influence of the warm curremt, the Gulf Stream. Winters are not too cold and summers are rather cool. Tile weather is not stable and changes all the time. There are allways thick fogs and sudden rains in Britain.
The United Kingdom has a very long history. Many times it was invaged by conquerors from abroad: the Romans, the Vikings, et cetera. It was waged many wars, has had a very strong army and especially navy, and has always played an important part in world politics.
Now Great Britain is highly developed industrial country, one of the leading states of the world.
The population of United Kingdom is about sixty million people of various natiolalities. Besides the English, the Scottish, the Welsh and the Irish, there are many immigrants from numerous countries, including former British colonies in Africa, Asia and America.
The capital of the United Kingdom is London. Other big and important cities are: Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, et cetera.
Politically, Great Britain is a parlamentary monarchy with strong democratic traditions. Nominally, the country is ruled by the King or the Queen. But in fact, the real head of the state is the Prime-Minister.