Geographical identities

The countrys title for constitutional & political purposes is the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Britain comprises:
The British Isles (off the north west coast of continental Europe)
The mainland of England, Scotland & Wales forms the largest island
with the political title of Great Britain.
Northern Ireland shares the second-largest island with the Republic of
Ireland, which has been governed independently since 1921.
Smaller islands: Anglesey, the Isle of Wight, the Orkneys, Shetlands,
Hebrides & Scillies => are also part of the British political union

Physical features and climate

Britains geographical position is marked by:
-latitude 50N in southern England
-Latitude 60N across the Shetlands
Britains physical area covers some 93,025 square miles (242,842
square kilometers).
England has 50,052 square miles (129,634 sq km)
Wales has 7,968 (20,637)
Scotland has 29,799 (77,179)
Northern Ireland has 5,206 (13,438)

England has the biggest population (49,856,000 or 84%) in a UK

total of 59,600,000.
Britains varied physical characteristics are a source of
identification for many people, such as:
-The Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland
-The Cliffs of Dover in southern England
-The Highlands of Scotland
-The Welsh mountains

Britains major rivers:

-The Clyde in Scotland
-The Tyne, Trent, Severn & Thames in England and Wales
-The Bann & Lagan in Northern Ireland.
Britain was originally part of the European mainland.
Melting of the glaciers in the last Ice Age caused the sea level to
rise.
The country was separated from the continent by
-the North Sea
-the English Channel

The Strait of Dover between Dover (in the South) and Calais in
France (24 miles, 38 km) is the shortest stretch of water between
England & Europe.
Along the coast there are many:
-Bays
-Inlets
-Peninsulas
-Estuaries
Tides on the coasts & in inland rivers in addition to heavy rainfall
can cause flooding in many parts of the country.

National authorities provided substantial finance to construct

defense against flooding:
-In 1984 was completed a London flood barrier across the river
Thames
Flooding is tied to climate and weather change and continues to
affect many low-lying inland areas throughout the country.
The costal seas are not deep (less than 300 feet = 90 meters)
because they lie on the Continental Shelf.
Gulf Stream = the warm North Atlantic Current heats the sea and
air as it travels from the Atlantic Ocean across the Shelf.

UK has a temperate climate, with variations between coolness

and mildness. Altitude modifies temperatures which are lower in
the North than the South (32C in the summer and -10C in the
winter)
Britains physical relief is divided into:
-Highland (in the North and West)
-Lowland (in the South and East of the country, except for the
Scottish Lowlands and central areas of Northern Ireland.
There are fertile soils, which are cultivated and farmed.

ENGLAND
It covers two-thirds of the island of Great Britain
Eastern England (has low flat lands):
- Norfolk Broads
- Cambridgeshire
- Lincolnshire Fens
- Suffolk Marshes.
Low hill ranges stretch over much of the country:
-North Yorkshire Moors
-Cotswolds
-Kent
-Sussex Downs
-Chiltern Hills

Highland zones are marked by:

-the Cheviot Hills (between England and Scotland)
-the north-western mountain region of the Lake District and the
Cumbrian Mountains
-the northern plateau belt of the Pennines forming a backbone
across north-west England
-the Peak District (south of the Pennines)
-the south-western plateau of Devon and Cornwall.

The largest towns & cities have the heaviest population

concentrations:
-London, Birmingham,
-Yorkshire cities of Leeds, Bradford & Sheffield
-Liverpool & Manchester
-Newcastle & Sunderland.

WALES (population: 2,938,000) - Capital: Cardiff

-Is

a highland country
-Moorland plateau, hills & mountains (Cambrian Mountains; the
highest mountains are in Snowdonia (N-W) with the peak
Snowdon (1,085 m)
-Deep river valleys in south Wales (here live 2/3 of the Welsh
population.
-Bigger cities: Swansea & Newport.

SCOTLAND (population:5,100,000; capital: Edinburgh

There are 3 main areas:
1.The North-West & Central Highlands (Grampians) + some islands off
the west and north-east coast.
- 1/2 of the land mass
- less populated
- the highest point in the Central Highlands is Ben Nevis (1,343
m); it is the highest place in Britain.
2. The Central Lowlands (1/5 of the land area)
- three-quarters of the Scottish population
- industrial & commercial centres
- cultivated land
3. The Southern Uplands - hills

Important cities: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee.

The climate, isolation and harsh physical conditions in much of
Scotland have made conquest, settlement and agriculture
difficult.

Northern Ireland (population: 1,700,000); capital: Belfast

- has since 1921 a 488 km border with the Republic of Ireland
(in the south and west)
-has a rocky coastline in the north
-fertile plain in the south
-mountains in the west, north-east & south-east (Mourne
Mountains: peak Slieve Donard (853 m)
-Lake Lough Neagh (396 sq km) is the largest freswater lake (it
lies at the centre of the country)

AGRICULTURE
-There

are 304,000 farm units that use 77% of the land area
-533,000 people (1,4% of the workforce) are engaged in farming.
-Provides 64% of all Britains food needs
-Many farms in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and northern
and south-western England specialize in dairy farming, beef
cattle and flocks of sheep.
-Some farms concentrate on pig production.

Poultry meat & egg industries are widespread with intensive

factory farming.
Other farms grow arable crops (wheat, barley, oats, potatoes,
oilseed rape, sugar beet.
Horticultural products: apples, berries and flowers are also
widely grown.
Agriculture is a significant industry
It is productive, intensive, mechanized and specialized

1996 Britains farming experienced a difficult period due to:

-a

fall in farm prices

-a series of disasters such as BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) in
cows -> animals were lost
-The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU, which accounts for 48%
of the EUs budget, has also affected British farmers.
CAP was simplified in 2005 when the Eastern European nations entered into
the EU
There were continued negotiations with the World Trade Organization
(WTO) over tariff barriers.
Farm subsidies are being reduced & are dependent upon environmental
protection, competition, a market-orientation, cuts in over-production, food
safety & animal health.
There continues to be conflict within the EU (between Britain & France)
over the extend of cuts in subsidies.

FISHERIES
Britain is one of Europes leading fishing nations and operates in
the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic.
Fishing industry is centred on ports around the coasts.
Fish catches: cod, haddock, whiting, herring, mackerel, plaice,
sole.
- There are 7,271 registered vessels of the fishing fleet

Fishing industry (salmon, trout and shellfish) is a large & expanding

business, particularly in Scotland.
Fishing industry was also affected by
-the EUs Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)
-British government policies
There

is the need to conserve fish resources & prevent overfishing.

There were taken measures to limit the time fishing vessels spend at
sea.
Without fish conservation, there will be reduced supplies in future.

FORESTRY
Woodlands cover 6.6 million acres (2.7 million hectares) of
Britain:
-9% of England
-17% of Scotland
-14% of Wales
-6% of Northern Ireland
35% of national forests are managed by the state Forestry
Commission or government departments
The rest of the forests are managed by private forestry industries

The government has encouraged tree planting programmes in

Scotland, Wales and the English Midlands, to combat global
warming and pollution.

Forestry policy is supposed to take conservation factors into

account in the development of timber facilities.

There are environmentalists campaign against the destruction

of woodland for road building and airport expansion

ENERGY RESOURCES
Primary energy resources:
-Oil
-Gas
-Nuclear power
-Hydro-power
-Coal
They

generate electricity (200,000 people work in energy production)

Britains largest companies: Shell, BP, British Gas.
Multinational companies operate under government licence and
extract fuels from the North Sea and Atlantic fields.

Alternative forms of renewable energy:

-Wind

power on land & at sea

-The use of tidal & wave power is being implemented on some
coasts
-Solar energy is already provided
-Biomass & excavating heat from rocks & earths core
They

(2015)

represent 15% of all energy & electricity production

Forecasters at the Department of Trade and Industry believe that

Britains
It

renewable energy market will grow by 2020

will become attractive to investors as the industry sells its

expertise on both the British and world markets.

TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATIONS

They

are divided between the public & private sectors of the

economy
The countrys transport system includes:
-roads, railways, shipping, civil aviation
Communication needs are supplied by:
- Telecom, telecommunication companies & Post Office.

Transport
There is a road network with motorways & trunk roads which
carry most of the passenger traffic & heavy goods vehicles.
The worlds first public passenger steam railway opened in 1825
between Stockton and Darlington in north-east England.
After 100 years of private operation, the railways became stateowned in 1947.
They were privatized in 1997.

After poor performance of the railway lines and infrastructure owned

by Railtrack, the government took control of it in 2001 and it was
renamed Network Rail.
It

continues in private hands with government subsidies.

Rail

passenger services consist of a fast inter-city network, linking all

the main British centres
Local
There

trains supply regional needs

are diesel trains (Inter-City travelling at a maximum speed of

201 km/h)

London underground system (the Tube) covers 408 km of railway

line in the capital (has been partly privatized).
The Channel Tunnel is privately run by a French/British
company (Eurotunnel) opened in 1994.
It

provides a drive-on, drive-off shuttle service for cars,

coaches, vehicles and passenger trains (Eurostar) from Waterloo
Station in London.

There are over 300 ports in Britain.

Bigger ports: Clyde, Dover, Hull, Grimsby, Southampton,
Felixstowe and Cardiff -> service most of the trade and travel
requirements.
The cargo market is dominated by a small number of large
private sector groups.
75% of Britains overseas trade is still carried by sea.

Britains civil aviation system accounts for 1% of passenger

mileage and is in the private sector following the privatization of
the former state-owned airline, British Airways, in 1987.
Other carriers:
British Midland International
Britannia Airways
Virgin Atlantic
They

run scheduled & charter passenger services on domestic

and international routes.

Cheap price airlines: Easy-Jet & others -> are controlled by the Civil
Aviation Authority (CAA). It regulates the industry and air traffic
control
There are 142 licensed civil aerodromes in Britain.
Heathrow and Gatwick Airports outside London are the largest.
Stansted in south-east England
Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen in Scotland
They

are all owned by the private sector BAA.

Regional airports:
Luton, Manchester, Birmingham, Belfast, Newcastle, East
Midlands
are controlled by local authorities
cater for the countrys remaining passenger and cargo needs.

Communications
Communications systems in Britain are also divided berween the
public and private sectors.
British Telecom (BT)
was privatized in 1984
has 71% of market share
provides
domestic
&
communications systems.

international

telephone

and

The private companies Vodafone and Cable and Wireless

compete fiercely with British Telecom.
Other competitors: cable networks NTL and Telewest provide:
telecommunications facilities
and the development of broadband services.
Mobile telephones and services provided over the Internet are
growing rapidly.

The Post Office was established in 1635

- is responsible for collecting, handling and delivering 80 million
letters and parcels every day.

Attitudes to the environment

There is public concern in Britain about
-Pollution

& traffic congestion

-The lack of an adequate public transport system
-The quality and exploitation of the natural habitat
-The use of energy sources
-The safety of agricultural products
-The effects of global warming
-The damage caused to personal health by environmental problems.

Research surveys and opinion polls regularly report that people

are worried about the future of the countryside and want to stop
housing development, building work and road/airport schemes
which damage the environment.
Air pollution in Britain is caused by
- factories
- power stations
- cars, buses, lorries
- domestic homes discharging carbon emissions into the
air.

Other forms of environmental damage:

- sea and beach pollution
Caused

by toxic industrial waste that are pumped into the sea by

commercial companies.
Only 90% of beaches meet EU quality standards.
Rivers are also polluted by industrial waste, toxic fertilizers,
pesticides.

Public concern surrounds the agricultural industry because of its

widespread use of fertilizers and pesticides, its methods of animal
feeding and the effects of intensive farming on the environment.
Cases of food poisoning have risen sharply and there are worries
about standards of hygiene in the food and farming businesses.
Recent polls reported that 82% of respondents favoured a return
to traditional farming methods, even if this meant paying more
for food.

A Good Housekeeping magazine poll found that:

-only

1 in 6 people trust the supermarkets to sell safe food

-0nly 3 in 4 were more concerned than ever before about the
safety of the food they buy.
-Although 97% of respondents buy most of their food from
supermarkets, their faith in them has suffered.