United Kingdom/The Land
The United Kingdom covers most of an island group
called the British
Isles. The British Isles consist of two large
islands-Great Britain and
Ireland-and thousands of small islands. England,
Scotland, and Wales
occupy the island of Great Britain. Northern Ireland
occupies the
northeastern part of the island of Ireland. The
independent Republic of
Ireland occupies the rest of the island of Ireland.
Some Irish people object
to the term British Isles because it seems to imply
that Ireland is British.
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The island of Great Britain is the eighth largest
island in the world. It
covers 84,550 square miles (218,980 square
kilometers). The North Sea
on the east and the English Channel on the south
separate the island from
the mainland of Europe. The island of Ireland lies to
the west, across the
Irish Sea. The island of Great Britain is separated
from mainland Europe
by only about 20 miles (32 kilometers) of water at the
closest point. Most
of the coastline of Great Britain is so broken by deep
bays and inlets that
no point on the island is more than 75 miles (121
kilometers) from the
sea.
The United Kingdom can be divided into eight main land
regions. Seven of
these regions occupy the island of Great Britain. They
are (1) the Scottish
Highlands, (2) the Central Lowlands, (3) the Southern
Uplands, (4) the
Pennines, (5) Wales, (6) the Southwest Peninsula, and
(7) the English
Lowlands. Northern Ireland makes up the eighth region.
The Scottish Highlands cover the northern half of
Scotland. They are a
region of mountain ranges, plateaus, and deep valleys.
The highest point
in the United Kingdom, 4,406-foot (1,343-meter) Ben
Nevis, rises in the
Highlands. Many bays cut into the region's Atlantic
Ocean and North Sea
coasts. Some narrow bays, called sea lochs, are
flanked by steep
mountain slopes and reach far inland. Most of the
Highlands is a moor-an
area of coarse grasses, a few small trees, and low
evergreen shrubs called
heather. The soil of this rugged, windswept region is
thin and poor. Few
people live there. Most of them raise sheep, or they
fish in the seas.
The Central Lowlands lie south of the Scottish
Highlands, in the valleys of
the Rivers Clyde, Forth, and Tay. This region is a
gently rolling plain. It
has Scotland's best farmland and its richest coal
deposits. Most of the
Scottish people live there, and most of Scotland's
industry is in the
Lowlands.
The Southern Uplands rise gently south of the Central
Lowlands. This is a
region of rounded, rolling hills. Sheep graze on the
short grass that covers
much of the hills. Their fleece goes to Scotland's
woolen mills in the
region's Tweed Valley. In the south, the Uplands rise
to the Cheviot Hills,
which form the border between Scotland and England.
The Pennines are a region of rounded uplands that
extend from the
Scottish border about halfway down the length of
England. They are also
known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, and they
are often called the
backbone of England. Their flanks are rich in coal.
West of the Pennines
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lies the Lake District, a scenic area of clear, quiet
lakes and low
mountains. The Lake District is one of England's most
famous recreation
areas.
Wales lies southwest of the Pennines. It is separated
from the Pennines by
a narrow strip of the English Lowlands. The Cambrian
Mountains cover
most of Wales. These mountains are especially rugged
and beautiful in the
north and are more rounded in central Wales. Southern
Wales is largely a
plateau deeply cut by river valleys. Most of the
people live on the narrow
coastal plains or in the deep, green river valleys.
These are the best areas
for crop farming and raising dairy cattle. The rest of
the land is too steep
for raising crops and is used mostly for grazing sheep
and some beef
cattle. Wales has large deposits of coal in the south,
though most of its
mines have been closed. Much of the industry of Wales
is centered in the
large coastal towns.
The Southwest Peninsula lies south of Wales, across
the Bristol Channel. It
is a plateau whose surface is broken by great masses
of granite. Near
much of the coast, the plateau ends sharply in
magnificent cliffs that
tower above the sea. Tiny fishing villages lie in
sheltered bays along the
coast. The region has mild winters and summers that
are not too dry. This
climate helps make agriculture important in the
fertile lowland areas.
Farmers grow vegetables and raise dairy cattle.
The peninsula was once famous for its tin and copper
mines, but most of
these metals have been worked out. More important
today is the region's
fine white china clay, used to make pottery. The
Southwest Peninsula's
beauty and pleasant climate attract many artists and
retired people and
thousands of vacationers every year.
The English Lowlands cover all England south of the
Pennines and east of
Wales and the Southwest Peninsula. This region has
most of the United
Kingdom's farmable land, industry, and people. The
Lowlands consist
chiefly of broad, gently rolling plains, broken here
and there by low hills
and ridges. Much of the land is a patchwork of fields
and meadows,
bordered by tall hedges, stone fences, or rows of
trees.
A grassy plain called the Midlands lies in the center
of the English
Lowlands, just south of the Pennines. Parts of the
Midlands extend along
the western and eastern borders of the Pennines. The
Midlands are the
industrial heart of the United Kingdom. Birmingham and
the surrounding
communities form the country's chief manufacturing
center.
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South of the Midlands, a series of hills and valleys
crosses the land to the
valley of the River Thames. London, the United
Kingdom's capital and
great commercial and cultural center, stands on the
Thames. Most of the
land north of the Thames and up to a bay of the North
Sea called The
Wash is low and flat. This area has some of the
country's richest farmland.
A great plain called The Fens borders The Wash. In The
Fens, near Ely, is
the lowest point on the island of Great Britain. It
ranges from sea level to
15 feet (4.6 meters) below sea level, depending on the
tide of the North
Sea.
South of the Thames, low chalk hills and valleys cross
the land. Where the
hills reach the sea, they form great white cliffs. The
most famous cliffs are
near Dover. On clear days, people in Calais, France,
can look across the
Strait of Dover and see the white cliffs of Dover
gleaming in the sun.
Northern Ireland is a region of low mountains, deep
valleys, and fertile
lowlands. The land is lowest near the center and rises
to its greatest
heights near the north and south coasts. The chief
natural resources are
rich fields and pastures, and most of the land is used
for crop farming or
grazing.
Rivers and lakes. The United Kingdom's longest rivers
are the Severn,
which is 220 miles (354 kilometers) long, and the
Thames, which is 210
miles (340 kilometers) long. Many British rivers have
drowned, or sunken,
mouths called estuaries, up which the ocean tides
flow. These rivers
include the Clyde and Forth of Scotland; the Humber,
Mersey, and Thames
of England; and the Severn of England and Wales. The
estuaries of these
rivers make excellent harbors. Bristol, Hull,
Liverpool, London,
Southampton, and other cities on or near estuaries are
important ports.
Lough Neagh (pronounced lok NAY) in Northern Ireland
is the largest lake
in the British Isles. It is about 18 miles (29
kilometers) long and up to 15
miles (24 kilometers) wide. It covers about 150 square
miles (388 square
kilometers). Loch Lomond in Scotland is the largest
lake on the island of
Great Britain. It is 23 miles (37 kilometers) long and
5 miles (8
kilometers) wide at its widest point. England's
biggest lakes are in the
Lake District. The largest, Windermere, is about 10
miles (16 kilometers)
long and up to 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide.
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