GEOGRAFIA UK

GENERAL INFO
- BRITISH ISLES = GREAT BRITAIN + IRELAND
- ZERO/PRIME MERIDIAN PASSES THROUGH LONDON (GREENWICH)
- BOUNDARIES: N - ORKNEY ISLANDS?
S – ENGLISH CHANNEL
E – NORTH SEA
W – ATLANTIC OCEAN

- GREAT BRITAIN = ENGLAND + SCOTLAND + WALES

- FULL TITLE: THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND
NORTHERN IRELAND

COASTLINE
- VERY IRREGULAR, MANY INDENTATIONS
- ESTUARIES: FUNNEL-SHAPED RIVER MOUTHS (resulted from flooding of
tidal areas). Ex: Severn, Thames
- FIRTHS: DROWNED GLACIATED ICE VALLEY
- RIA: DROWNED RIVER VALLEY (due to post-glacial rise in sea level)
- PENINSULAS: BODY OF LAND SURROUNDED BY WATER ON 3 SIDES.
Ex: Lizard? Cornwall? Not clarified anywhere, meh
- STRAITS AND CHANNELS: NARROW STRECHES OF WATER WHICH
SEPARATE TWO BODIES OF LAND. Ex: Strait of Dover, English Channel,
St George’s Channel

RELIEF
- SPLIT IN 2: HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS
- THE BRIANS: CAMBRIAN, CUMBRIAN MOUNTAINS
- IN NI: ANTRIM, SPERRIN, MOURNE MOUNTAINS
- THE DOWNS: N AND S
- EAST ANGLIA: RIVERS AND CANALS, VERY FERTILE SOIL
- THE PENNINES: BACKBONE OF THE COUNTRY, SERIES OF UPLANDS
FROM N TO S
 WEATHER AND CLIMATE
- CLIMATE = AVERAGE STATE OF THE METEREOLOGICAL ELEMENTS
OF A LARGE AREA OVER A LONG TIME
- WEATHER = AVERAGE STATE OF THE METEREOLOGICAL ELEMENTS
OF A SMALL AREA OVER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME

- FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE (THE 5 WE MUST KNOW FOR THE

TEST):
1) LATITUDE: THE FURTHER AWAY FROM THE EQUATOR A PLACE IS, IT
RECIEVES LESS ENERGY FROM THE SUN. THE HIGHER THE LATITUDE
(THE NEARER THE N OR S POLE), THE COLDER IT IS LIKELY TO BE
2) MARITIME EFFECT: THE SEA TAKES LONGER TO HEAT UP IN SUMMER
 SEA COLDER THAN LAND, IN WINTER IT IS THE OPPOSITE. SO
COASTAL AREAS ARE OFTEN WARMER IN WINTER AND BUT COOLER
IN SUMMER THAN PLACES INLAND, LOL!
3) OCEANIC CURRENTS: WARM OCEANIC CURRENTS (NORTH ATLANTIC
DRIFT) WARM UP COASTAL LOCATIONS
4) ALTITUDE: HIGHER ALTITUDE  COLDER,WINDIER,WETTER. SIMPLE.
5) AIR MASSES: UNIFORM BODIES OF AIR WHICH BRING EXTERNAL
WEATHER TO BRITAIN

THE CLIMATE IN BRITAIN IS VARIABLE BUT EQUABLE!

Driest Part: SE England, Wettest Part: NW Scotland

THE WATERS OF THE BRITISH ISLES

- THE ORIGIN OF A RIVER = THE SOURCE
- RIVERS THAT JOIN A LARGER RIVER = TRIBUTARIES
- THE POINT WHERE ALL THESE RIVERS MEET = CONFLUENCE
- POINT WHERE THE MAIN RIVER FLOWS INTO A SEA OR OCEAN =
MOUTH
- AREA DRAINED BY A RIVER = DRAINAGE BASIN
- MOUNTAINS AND HILLS SOMETIMES FORM A WATERSHED. IT
SEPARATES TWO DRAINAGE BASINS
- BRITAIN’S RIVERS ARE SHORT BUT HAVE A GREAT FLOW BECAUSE
OF THE ABUNDANT RAINFALL!