18. Geographical position and islands.

4 parts—England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland.

5 000 islands: G. B. , Ireland-the biggest.

To the southwest of England are the Isles of Scilly, and to the south is the Isle of Wight. The Orkney and Shetland islands lie to the north of Scotland, and the Hebrides lie to the west. Off northwestern Wales is the island of Anglesey. Waters that wash the islands: the Atlantic ocean, the Irish Sea, St. George's channel, the North Sea, the Strait of Dover, the English Channel.

The area of the United Kingdom is 94, 251 square miles (244, 110 square kilometres). From the top of Scotland to the southern coast of England it is about 600 miles. No part is more than 75 miles from the sea.

The isle of Wight England's largest offshore island. Since 1800 - famous as a holiday resort. A separate administrative county.

Orkney Islands. Consist of a group of > than 60 islands, off the northern coast of Sc-d. 25 are inhabited. People - Arcadians. 17 out of 25 have > than 1 house farm or 1 light house. All are farmers. They grow oats, grass root-crops (vegetables) and produce beef, poultry, eggs.

Shetland Islands - Zetland. A Scottish county. > than 100 is-ds. People-farmers or fisherman. Cultivate land, own flocks of sheep or cattle, raise Shetland ponies. Famous Shetland knitwear (fine and soft). 1588 - Spanish gallern from the Armada was wrecked on Fair Isle, the survivors taught the islanders to knit the patterns (Fair Isle patterns). Zetland - from the Norse word "high land". "Up-Helly-A!" - the fire festival, was a Viking celebration of the end of winter and the return of the sun. Now - ritual fires and feasting every year at the end of January, burn a replica of a Viking galley.

18. Geographical position and islands.

Anglesey. Welsh name - Mon (the mother of Wales), once a rich grain-producing county, sustained and nourished the nation. Agriculture-the most important industry. Dairy farming, sheep and cattle raising. Climate-mild, receives less rain than any other county in Wales. Teach English as a 2nd L. 3 of 4 people speak welsh. Was the home of Tudor family (grandfather of Henry VII came from it). Tourist industry rivals agriculture in economic importance. Many bird sanctuaries. The Isle of Man. Its own parliament-the Tynwald, j passes laws on domestic matters. Consists of the Legislative Council partly elected and partly appointed and the House of Keys consisting of 24 people elected every 5 years. The Lord of Man (lietenant-governor) represents the sovereign, controls such matters as police and prisons, since 1800s-a famous holiday resort for the people from the British Isles. Manx-tailless cats.

19. Surface features, minerals, rivers, lakes, flora, fauna.

Relief The traditional division: into a Highland and Lowland zone. The Highland zone altitudes, compared with European equivalents, are low, with the highest summit, Ben Nevis, only 4, 406 feet (1343 metres) above sea level. Scotland's 3 main topographic regioas: the northern Highlands and the Southern Uplands, the Central Lowlands.

The core of die Highlands - the Grampian Mountains, 1, 000-3, 500 feet above sea level, with the Cairngorm Mountains rising to over 4, 000 feet. Numerous wide valleys, or straths, and occasional large areas of lowland, often fringed with long lines of sand dunes, add variety to the east, freshwater lochs. the Soathern Uplands present a >subdued relief, the land rising above 2, 800 feet. The main hill masses are the Cheviots (rise to 2, 676 feet), Mount Merrick and Broad Law reach above the 2, 700-foot contour line. Broad plateau surfaces, separated by numerous dales.

The Central Lowland* are bounded by great regular structural faults. The northern boundary with the Highlands is a wall-like feature, but the boundary with the Southern Uplands exhibits a linear topographic form only near the coast.

In Northern Ireland, generally rugged mountain scenery, die peat-covered summits of the 2, 241-foot Sperrin Mountains. The uplands in Northern Ireland rise over 500 feet only in limited areas; the exception is the Mourne Mountains, a cluster of granite summits the loftiest of which, Slieve Donard, rises to 2, 789 feet within two mites of the sea. The Highland zone of England and of Wales consists of 4 broad upland masses: the Pen-nines, the Cumbrian Mountains, the Cambrian Mountains, and the South West peninsula. The general surface of the Pennine* is smooth. The Cumbrian Mountains include the Lake District. The Cambrian Mountains form the core of die principality of Wales. The mountain areas above 2, 000 feet are most extensive in North Wales, in Snowdonia and its southward extensions, Cader Idris and the Berwyn mass. The Lawbad tone

starts around the Solway Firth in the northwest, with a strip of low-lying ground extending up the fault-directed Eden Valley. Southward, the narrow coastal plain bordering die Lake District broadens into die flat Lancashire Plain, with its slow-flowing rivers. West of die North York Moors lies die wide Vale of York. The lowland , Bristol-Mendip upland, die extensive and flat plain of Somerset, the Cotswolds, part of die discontinuous outcrop of limestones and sandstones that arcs from die Dorset coast in southern England, continuing in die Cleveland Hills as far as the coast of North Yorkshire. The flat, often reclaimed landscapes of the Fens, die western-facing chalk outcrop (cuerta). Only die main valleys contain rivers, while the other valleys remain dry.

The natural vegetation of the British Isles is deciduous summer forest dominated by oak. Nearly all fine moorlands and heathlands show varying degrees of adjustment to grazing, swaling (controlled buming Xetc. Woodland covers less than 10 percent of the country, nearly two-thirds of this woodland remains in private hands. The moorlands and heathlands occupy about a fourth of total area of the United Kingdom

Most of the formerly abundant larger mammals—such as boars, reindeer, and wolves—have become extinct, but red deer survive in the Scottish Highlands and in Exmoor Forest, and roe deer in the wooded areas of Scotland and southern England. The carnivores (badgers, otters, foxes, stoats, and weasels) thrive in most rural areas; also widely distributed are the rodents (rats, squirrels, mice) and in-sectivores (hedgehogs, moles, shrews). Rabbits are widespread, and their numbers are increasing. The brown hare is found in open lowland country, while the mountain hare is native to Scotland.

Amphibians: 3 species of newt, S of frogs and toads, reptiles: 3species of snakes (only the adder is venomous), 3 species of lizard. There are no snakes in Northern Ireland.

the British Isles - an ornithologist's paradise. The focal point of a migratory network, the coastal, farmland, and urban habitats for birds are diverse. 200 species of more than one-half are migratory. The most common game birds are the wild pigeon, pheasant, and grouse. Most numerous are the sparrow, blackbird, chaffinch, and starling.

Many of the British rivers - polluted, decline in inland fisheries. Freshwater fishing is now largely for recreation and sport. The Dogger Bank in the North Sea, one of the richest fishing grounds in the world. Other good waters for fishing are those of the Irish Sea and those off the western coast of Scotland. Chief offshore species are cod, haddock, whiting, mackerel, coalfish, turbot, herring, and plaice. Resources The range of mineral resources of economic value - limited. Metals of importance that are mined include tin, which supplies about half of the domestic demand, and zinc. There are adequate supplies of nonmetallic minerals, including sand and gravel, limestone, dolomite, chalk, slate, barite, talc, clay and clay shale, kaolin (china clay), ball clay, fuller's earth, celestite, and gypsum. Sand, gravel, limestone, and other crushed rocks are quarried for use in construction. Larger energy resources: oil, natural gas, and coal. Coal, the fuel has continued to decrease in importance. Discovery of oil in the North Sea - rapid development of oil exploitation. With an average output of 2. 6 million barrels per day, the country is the world's sixth largest producer.

Drainage The main watershed in Great Britain runs from north to south, keeping well to the west until the basin of the River Severn, the Clyde in Scotland, the Eden and Mersey in north western England, and the Dee, Teifi, and Tywi in Wales are the only significant rivers. The fast-flowing Spey, Don, Tay, Forth, and Tweed of eastern Scotland run generally across im permeable rocks, and their discharges increase rapidly after rain. From the northern Pennines the Tyne, Wear, and Tees flow independently to the North Sea. A number of rivers, including the Trent, drain into the Humber after they leave the Pennines. The large drainage complex of the Thames dominates southeastern England; its source is in the Cotswolds, and, after being joined by many tributaries as it flows over the Oxford Clay. The total drainage converging on the Thames estuary is nearly 4, 000 square miles. The important rivers flowing into the English Channel are the Tamar, Exe, Fowey, Avon, Test, Arun, and Ouse The major rivers in North- em Ireland are the Erne, Foyle, and Bann.