The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, or
UK, is a
sovereign state located off the northwestern
coast of
continental Europe.
It
comprises the island of Great Britain
(England
, Scotland
and Wales
) and the
northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland
(Northern
Ireland
), together with many smaller islands.
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 Greenwich Observatory
, 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 of the northwest coast of
France
, from which it is separated by the English
Channel
. Northern Ireland shares a 360 km
international land boundary with the Republic of Ireland
. The Channel Tunnel
("Chunnel") bored beneath the English Channel, now
links the UK with France.
Area
The total
area of the United
Kingdom
is approximately comprising of the island of
Great
Britain, the northeastern one-sixth of the island of
Ireland (Northern Ireland) and smaller islands. England is the largest country of the United
Kingdom, at accounting for just over half the total area of
the UK
. Scotland at , is second largest,
accounting for about a third of the area of the UK.
Wales and Northern Ireland
are much smaller, covering and
respectively.
The area of the countries of the United Kingdom is set out in the
table below.
Information about the area of England, the largest
country, is also broken down by region.
| Rank |
Name |
Area |
| 1 |
England |
130,427 km² |
- South West
- East of England
- South East
- East Midlands
- Yorkshire and the
Humber
- North West
- West
Midlands
- North East
-
London
|
23,837 km²
19,120 km²
19,096 km²
15,627 km²
15,420 km²
14,165 km²
12,998 km²
8,592 km²
1,572 km²
|
| 2 |
Scotland |
78,772 km² |
| 3 |
Wales |
20,778 km² |
| 4 |
Northern Ireland |
13,843 km² |
|
United Kingdom |
243,820 km² |
Physical geography
The
physical geography of the UK
varies greatly.
The Geography of England consists of
lowland terrain, with mountainous terrain north-west of the
Tees-Exe line including the Cumbrian Mountains
of the Lake District, the Pennines and limestone
hills of the Peak
District
, Exmoor
and Dartmoor
. The Geography of Scotland is distinguished
by the Highland Boundary
Fault a geological rock fracture
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
Geography of Wales is mostly
mountainous, though south
Wales
is less mountainous than north
and mid Wales
. The Geography of Ireland includes the Mourne Mountains
as well as Lough Neagh
, at , the largest body of water in the UK and
Ireland.
The overall
geomorphology of the UK
was shaped by the combined forces of
tectonics and
climate
change, in particular
glaciation.
The exact
centre of the island of Great Britain is disputed. Depending upon how it is calculated it
can be either Haltwhistle
in Northumberland
, or Dunsop
Bridge
in Lancashire
.
Geology
The
geology of the United Kingdom is varied
and diverse. This gives up to the wide variety of landscapes found
across the UK.
This variety, coupled with the early efforts
of UK based scientists and geologists to understand it, has
influenced the naming of many geological concepts, including many
of the geological periods (for
example, the Ordovician period is named
after the Ordovices, a people of early
Britain; the Devonian period is named after
the county of Devon
in
south-west England).
The
oldest rocks in the UK are gneisses which
date from at least 2,700 Ma ("Ma" means "millions of years
ago") in the Archaean Period, which are
found in the far north west of Scotland and in the Hebrides
, with a few small outcrops elsewhere. South
of the gneisses are a complex mixture of rocks forming the North
West
Highlands and
Grampian Highlands in Scotland. These are
essentially the remains of folded
sedimentary rock, deposited over the
gneiss, from 1,000 Ma, with a notable 7 km thick layer of
Torridon Sandstone being
deposited about 800 Ma, as well as the
debris deposited by an
ice
sheet 670 Ma.
The remains of ancient
volcanic islands
underlie much of central England with small outcrops visible in
many places. Around 600 Ma, the
Cadomian Orogeny (mountain building period)
caused the English and Welsh landscape to be transformed into a
mountainous region, along with much of north west
Europe.
The Welsh
Skiddaw
slate deposits formed at
around 500 Ma, during the Ordovician
Period. At about this time, around 425 Ma,
north Wales (and south
Mayo
in Ireland)
experienced volcanic activity. The
remains of these volcanoes are still visible, for example Rhobell
Fwar, dating from 510 Ma.
Large quantities of volcanic lava and ash known as the Borrowdale Volcanics covered both Wales
and the Lake
District, still seen
in the form of mountains such as Helvellyn
and Scafell
Pike
.
In the
Silurian Period, between 425 and
400 Ma, the Caledonian fold mountains formed (the
Caledonian Orogeny), covering much of
what is now the UK to perhaps thick.
Volcanic ashes and
lavas deposited during this period are still found in the Mendip Hills
and in Pembrokeshire
.
Volcanic
deposits formed Ben
Nevis
in the Devonian
Period. Sea levels varied considerably, with the coastline
advancing and retreating from north to south across England, and
with the deposition of numerous sedimentary rock layers.
The
Old Red Sandstone of Devon gave the
period its name, though deposits are found in many other
places.
During
the Carboniferous Period, around
360 Ma, the UK was lying at the equator, covered by the warm
shallow waters of the Rheic Ocean,
during which time the Carboniferous limestone was deposited, still
found in areas such as the Mendip Hills and the Pennines.
The
coal measures were formed at this
time, in
river deltas,
swamps and
rain forests.
Coal can
be found in many areas of the UK, as far North as Sutherland and as
far south as Kent
, though it
has largely been mined in the Midlands
, northern England and Wales. Also formed
were the
Millstone Grits.
During the
Permian and
Triassic Periods, much of the UK was beneath
shallow seas, leading to the deposition of sedimentary rocks such
as
shale, limestone,
gravel, and
marl. The seas
finally receded to leave a flat desert with
salt pans.
At the
beginning of the Jurassic Period, the UK
was under-water again, leading to the deposition of sedimentary
rocks which now underlie much of England from the Cleveland Hills of Yorkshire
to the Jurassic Coast
in Dorset
, including
clays, sandstones, and the oolitic limestone of the Cotswold Hills
. The burial of
algae
and
bacteria below the mud of the sea
floor during this time resulted in the formation of
North Sea oil and
natural gas.
In the
Cretaceous Period, much of the UK
was again below the sea and
chalk and
flints were deposited over much of Great Britain.
These are
now notably exposed at the White Cliffs of Dover
, and form
Salisbury
Plain
, the Chiltern Hills
, the South
Downs
and other similar features.
The last
volcanic rocks in the UK were formed in the early Tertiary Period, between 63 and 52 Ma, with
the major eruptions that formed the Antrim
Plateau and the basaltic columns of the
Giant's
Causeway
. Further sediments were deposited over
southern England, including the London
clay, while the English Channel consisted of mud flats and
river deposited sands.
The major changes during the last few million years, during the
Quaternary Period, have been brought
about by several recent
ice ages, leaving a
legacy of U-shaped valleys in highland areas, and fertile (if often
stoney) soil in southern U.K.
Mountains and hills
The ten tallest
mountains in the UK are all
found in Scotland. The highest peaks in each part of the UK are:
The ranges of mountains and
hills in the UK
include:
- Scotland: Cairngorms
, Cheviot
Hills
, Scottish
Highlands, Southern Uplands,
Grampian
Mountains
- Wales: Brecon Beacons
, Cambrian Mountains
, Snowdonia
, Black Mountains
, Preseli Hills
- England: Chilterns
, Cotswolds
, Dartmoor, Lincolnshire Wolds
, Exmoor, Lake District, Malvern Hills
, Mendip
Hills, North
Downs
, Peak
District, Pennines, Salisbury Plain, South
Downs, Shropshire Hills
, Yorkshire
Wolds
- Northern Ireland: Mourne
Mountains, Antrim Plateau,
Sperrin Mountains
The
lowest point of the UK is in the Fens
of East
Anglia
, in England, parts of which lie up to 4 metres
below sea level.
Rivers and lakes
- Main articles:
The longest river in the UK is the
River
Severn (220 mi, 354 km) which flows through both
Wales and England.
The longest rivers in the UK by country are:
The largest lakes in the UK by country are:
The
deepest lake in the UK is Loch Morar
with a maximum depth of 309 metres (Loch Ness
is second at 228 metres deep).
The
deepest lake in England is Wastwater
which descends to 79 metres (258 feet).
Artificial waterways
Main articles: Waterways in the United
Kingdom,
Canals of Great
Britain,
Reservoirs and dams in
the United Kingdom
As a result of its industrial history, the United Kingdom has an
extensive system of
canals, mostly built in
the early years of the
Industrial
Revolution, before the rise of competition from the
railways. The United Kingdom also has numerous
dams and
reservoirs to store water for drinking and
industry. The generation of
hydroelectric power is rather limited,
supplying less than 2% of British electricity mainly from the
Scottish Highlands.
Coastline
United Kingdom maritime claims
The UK has a
coastline which measures
about 12,429 km. The heavy indentation of the coastline helps
to ensure that no location is more than 125 km from tidal
waters.
The UK claims jurisdiction over the
continental shelf, as defined in
continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon
boundaries, an exclusive fishing zone of , and territorial sea of
.
Inlets
Headlands
The geology of the UK is such that there are many
headlands along its coast, here are some
of the most notable ones:
Coastal change
Islands
In total, it is estimated that the UK is made up of over one
thousand small islands, some being natural and some being man-made
crannogs, which were built in past times
using stone and wood and which were enlarged by natural waste
building up over time.
Climate
The
climate of the UK varies, but is generally temperate, though significantly warmer than some
other locations at similar latitude, such as central Poland
, due to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream. In general, the south is
warmer and drier than the north.
The prevailing winds are southwesterly, from the
North Atlantic Current. More than 50%
of the days are overcast. There are few natural hazards, although
there can be strong winds and floods, especially in winter.
Average
annual rainfall varies from over in the Scottish Highlands down to in Cambridge
. The county of
Essex is one of the driest in the UK, with an
average annual rainfall of around , although it typically rains on
over 100 days per year.
In some years rainfall in Essex can be
below , less than the average annual rainfall in Jerusalem
and Beirut
.
The
highest temperature recorded in the UK was at Brogdale
, near Faversham
, in the county of Kent, on 10
August 2003. The lowest was recorded at Braemar
in the Grampian Mountains, Scotland, on 11 February 1895 and 10 January
1982 and Altnaharra
, also in Scotland, on 30 December
1995.
Human geography
Demographics
Political geography
National government
The UK
is governed as a whole by the Parliament of the United
Kingdom
.
Of the
four countries that make the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland have devolved administrations and
parliaments/assembly:
England has no devolved system of government and is governed by UK
government ministers and legislated for by the UK parliament.
Within England, London has a devolved assembly but proposals for
elected
Regional
Assemblies in England were rejected in the first referendum
covering
North East England.
See Government of
England.
The UK
(specifically, Northern Ireland) has an international land boundary
with the Republic
of Ireland of 360 km. There is also a boundary
between the jurisdiction of France and of the UK on the Channel
Tunnel.
Local government
Each part of the UK is subdivided in further local governmental
regions:
Historically the UK was divided into counties or
shires: administrative areas through which all civil
responsibilities of the
government were
passed. Each county or shire had a
county
town as its administrative centre and was divided into
individual
parishes that were defined along
ecclesiastic boundaries.
Between 1889 (1890 in Scotland) and 1974, the political boundaries
were based on the traditional counties, but due to changes in
population centres, the traditional counties became impractical as
local government areas in certain highly urbanised areas. The
Local Government Act 1972
created a new system of administrative counties, designed to take
account of the widely differing populations across different parts
of the country.
In the 1990s further population growth led to more political
changes on a local level.
Unitary
authorities were formed across the entire of Scotland and
Wales, and in larger
cities in England. Many
unpopular administrative counties were also abolished at this time,
leading to a mixture of two-tier and single-purpose authorities.
Further reorganisations are planned if and when regional assemblies
in England are revisited in the future.
Economic geography
The economic geography of the UK reflects not only its current
position in the global economy, but its long history both as a
trading nation and an
imperial
power.
The UK led the
industrial
revolution and its highly urban character is a legacy of this,
with all its major cities being current or former centres of all
forms of manufacturing. However, this in turn was built on its
exploitation of natural resources, especially
coal and
iron ore.
Primary industry
The UK's
primary industry was once dominated by the coal
industry, heavily concentrated in the north, the Midlands and south
Wales. This is all but gone and the major primary
industry is
North Sea oil.
Its
activity is concentrated on the UK
Continental Shelf to the north-east of Scotland.
Manufacturing
The UK's heavy manufacturing drove the industrial revolution.
A map of
the major UK cities gives a good picture of where this activity
occurred, in particular Belfast
, Birmingham
, Glasgow
, Liverpool
, London
, Manchester
, Newcastle
, Nottingham
.
Today there is no heavy manufacturing industry in which UK-based
firms can be considered world leaders.
However, the
Midlands in particular remains a strong manufacturing
centre.
More
recently, high technology firms have concentrated largely along the
M4 motorway, partly because of access to
Heathrow
Airport
, but also because of agglomeration
economies.
Finance and services
Once, every large city had a
stock
exchange.
Now, the UK financial industry is
concentrated overwhelmingly in the City of London
and Canary Wharf
, with back office and administrative operations
often dispersed around the south of England. London is one
of the world's great financial centres and is usually referred to
as a
world city.
There is also a
significant legal and ebusiness industry
in Leeds
.
Regional disparity
The combined effect of changing economic fortune has created the
so-called
North-South divide,
in which decaying industrial areas of the north of England contrast
with the wealthy, finance and technology led southern
economy.
This has led successive governments to develop
regional policy to try to rectify the
imbalance.
This is not to say that the south is uniformly wealthy: some of the
worst pockets of deprivation can be found in London.
Natural resources
Historically, much of the United Kingdom was
forested. Since
prehistoric times, man has
deforested much of the United Kingdom.
Agriculture is
intensive, highly
mechanised, and efficient by
European standards, producing about 60% of food needs
with only 1% of the labour force. It contributes around 2% of
GDP. Around two thirds of
production is devoted to
livestock, one
third to
arable crops.
In 1993, it was estimated that
land use
was:
The UK has a variety of natural resources including:
- Geological: coal, petroleum, natural gas,
limestone, chalk,
gypsum,silica, rock salt, china clay,
iron ore, tin, silver, gold, lead.
- Agricultural: arable land, wheat, barley, sheep
The UK has large
coal,
natural gas, and
oil
reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of
GDP, one of the highest shares of any
industrial nation. Due to the
island location of the UK, the country has great potential for
generating electricity from
wave power
and
tidal power, although these have not
yet been exploited on a commercial basis.
Environment
Current issues
The United Kingdom is reducing
greenhouse
gas emissions. It has met
Kyoto
Protocol target of a 12.5 % reduction from 1990 levels and
intends to meet the legally binding target of a 20 % cut in
emissions by 2010. By 2015, to recycle or compost at least 33 % of
household waste. Between 1998-99 and 1999-2000, household
recycling increased from 8.8 % to 10.3 %
respectively.
International agreements
The United Kingdom is a party to many international agreements,
including:Air Pollution, Air Pollution-
Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-
Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic
Seals,
Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity,
Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94,
Wetlands and
Whaling.
The UK has signed, but not ratified, the international agreement on
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants.
See also
References
External links
, 1,344 metres)
(Snowdonia
, 977 metres)
(Mourne
Mountains
(117 mi, 188 km)
(64 mi, 103 km)
(27.46 sq mi, 71.12 km²)
(5.69 sq mi, 14.74 km²)
(3.18 sq mi, 8.24 km²)
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