Great Britain Physical and Economical Geography

Physical Geography
Great Britain is situated on British Isles and is separated from European
continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. On the west the Irish Sea
and North Channel separate GB from Ireland.
The country has mild and rainy climate,, the coldest months are January and
February. The average temperature are about 16 degrees. During summer the
temperature occasionally rises 27 degrees in the south. The population is more
than 58 million people and it is one of the most densely populated countries in
the world. GB comprises of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, The
Isle of Man, The Channel Isles. In addition there are more than 5000 smaller
islands scattered along the north-west coast of Scotland such as the Shetlands,
the Orkneys and the Hebrides. Many of them attract visitors for their beautiful
scenery.
England occupies the largest southern part of GB. The south-west and west are
largely plains, hills and moors. The principal mountains are The Pennines
running from the midlands to the Scottish border; The Cornish Heights in the
south-west; Cambrian Mountains in the Lake District. The east is mainly an
open cultivated plain.
England has about 47 million inhabitants and is divided into 39 counties. The
largest and the most populated are Yorkshire, Kent, Essex and Sussex,
Lancashire.
England has a very rich architecture. Many of the greatest cathedrals and
churches were built between 1100 and 1500. They are mostly in towns which
have preserved their old character ( Canterbury Cathedral, Winchester, Salisbury
Cathedral which lies on Salisbury plain with Stonehenge-the beautiful historic
monument).
The English countryside is remarkable for its green fields and trees, small
villages and old market town look beautiful with their wellkept gardens and
houses. England has a long coastline-Brighton, Bournemouth, Eastbourne and
Torquay are the most famous towns of south coast. The most beautiful natural
scenery can be seen in north-west of England in the Lake District which inspired
many English romantic poets ( Wordsworth, Coleridge). There are many
national parks in Lake District.
The longest river is the Thames. England does not boast of high mountains.
Apart from the Lake District there are also other areas in England still unspoilt
by industry. We may find them in the south-western part.
The city of Exeter is the starting point for Dart moor. This area is full of national
parks and the beauty of this spots inspired A.C. Doyle when he was writing the
Hound of Baskerville and also A. Christie set the plot of some her detective

stories right here. The area around the second largest city Birmingham is mainly
industrial and is sometimes called a black country.
Wales is mainly mountainous country full of mystery and beauty sometimes
called the land of castles. Wales is famous for its long rivers, big lakes and high
hills in the north. The highest mountain is Snow done and the region is called
Snowdonia. The population of Wales is about 2.8 million. The majority of
people live in the coal-mining and industrial region around Cardiff, which is the
capital of Wales, and Swansea. There are 2 languages spoken in Wales English
and Welsh, which is Celtic language. Wales is rich in culture and history and the
Welsh people love music and poetry.
Scotland is situated to the north of England and is wonderful country full of
traditions, color and romance. More than 5 million people live there and it has
been a part of GB since 1707 but the Scottish people remain very independent
and proud of their culture. They speak English with regional accent and Gallic
language. It is a country of hills, lakes called lochs, rivers and deep valleys.
There are 3 main geographical areas Highlands, Lowlands and the Islands. The
most beautiful part is the region known as the Highlands. The highest peak is
Ben Nevis. The most famous lakes are Loch Lomond and Loch Ness. There are
4 big cites-Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen.
Edinburgh is 1 of the most beautiful cities of the world. It has become the
international centre of music and drama and is famous for its annual festival.
Aberdeen is a historic royal town and some of the oldest streets date back to the
13th and 14th centuries. Now it is a busy seaport.
Scotland is known for its traditions just like playing bagpipes and wearing kilts.
Some eating and drinking habits are different too. Scotland has whisky
distilleries with long traditions and Scottish whisky is world known.
Northern Ireland has population of over 1,5 million people and they speak
English. Nearly 0,5 million live in Belfast. There is the Queens University
which was founded in 1845. The city is the shopping, educational, commercial
and entertainment centre of Northern Ireland. It is also an important port. Ireland
had long been connected to Britain but the Irish republic became independent in
1922 and Northern Ireland remained a part of Great Britain. The life of people
and politics of Northern Ireland are dominated by religious and economic
problems. There are big disagreements between the protestant majority and the
catholic minority. There are not many cultural sightseeing but the country is
rather nice and it might be interesting to visit it as a tourist.

Great Britain - Economic geography

Great Britain is situated on British Isles and is separated from European
continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. On the west the Irish Sea
and North Channel separate GB from Ireland.
The country has mild and rainy climate,, the coldest months are January and
February. The average temperature are about 16 degrees. During summer the
temperature occasionally rises 27 degrees in the south. The population is more
than 58 million people and it is one of the most densely populated countries in
the world. GB comprises of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, The
Isle of Man, The Channel Isles. In addition there are more than 5000 smaller
islands scattered along the north-west coast of Scotland such as the Shetlands,
the Orkneys and the Hebrides. Many of them attract visitors for their beautiful
scenery.
England is highly industrialized. The development of industry started during the
period of Industrial Revolution in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many
important inventions such as the invention of steam engine by James Watt were
made by the Englishmen. The most important industrial areas are around
London, the Midlands( Birmingham, Leicester, Coventry) and Yorkshire
( Manchester, Liverpool).
London is the biggest port thanks to the river Thames which is deep enough for
ships to sail right up to the city. There is food industry, clothing, chemical
industry, light engineering, printing industry and production of furniture.
The development of industry has concentrated mainly in the north. Manchester
used to be a major industrial and commercial centre in the middle of the 19th
century. Now it has a variority of industries mainly engineering.
Liverpool is very important seaport, centre of ship building, food industry.
Coventry is famous centre of car industry.
Winchester is famous for its coal industry, chemical and pottery.
New Castle is famous for coal industry, iron, steel, ship building.
Sheffield is concentrated on production of iron, steel and ship building.
Birmingham is the centre of west Midlands and the 2nd largest city in England
where light engineering has developed. In this area also bikes and motorcycles
are made.
Wales
The most industrial part is in the south. There are mainly coal mines and Wales
is famous for metallurgy.

Scotland
There are some cities which are industrial e.g. Glasgow is known all over the
world for its ship building and heavy steel manufactures.
Edinburgh is famous for electronic, printing and engineering.
Aberdeen is a busy seaport and the main centre of the Scottish fishing industry.
Scotland has whisky distilleries with long traditions and Scottish whisky is
world known.
Northern Ireland chief exports of Northern Ireland are ships, aircraft, textiles
and also agricultural products. As the country is largely agricultural there are
small farms producing cattle, pigs, milk and eggs. The main crops are potatoes,
barley, oats.
Great Britain is an industrialized country and major industries include iron,
steel, engineering, textiles, electronics, ship building and food products. Coal is
Britains leading mineral resource and coal mining is the countrys most
important industry. Natural guards, large quantities of which have been
discovered in the North Sea, is another major mineral resource.
In general GB is self-sufficient in energy and there are also water power stations
especially in the north Scotland and nuclear power stations produce 18% of the
electricity. GB is one of the greatest producers of oil. Nowadays the biggest
growth has been also in banking, insurance, commerce , finance and advertising.