Lecture 2 phisical geography of the united kingdom
List of questions:
Geographical position territory
The seas
The relief: the Highlands and the Lowlands
Rivers, Lakes
The mineral resources
The climate
Literature:
Нестеров Н.М. Страноведение: Великобритания. Ростов на Дону, «Феникс», 2006.
Михайлов Н.Н. Лингвострановедение Англии. М., «Академия», 2003.
Артемова А.Ф. Великобритания. Книга для чтения по страноведению. М, «АСТ: Восток-Запад», 2006.
Томахин Г.Д. По странам изучаемого языка. М., «Просвещение», 1998.
M. Vaughan-Rees In Britain. Lnd., 1999.
Geographical position territory
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK for short) is situated on a group of islands lying off the north – west coast of Europe. The total area of the country is 94217 sq. miles (244021 sq. km.) of which nearly 99% is land and remainder inland water. The UK is a small country. It is twice smaller than France and Spain. The UK’s territory is 2% of the inhabited territory of the world, claiming the 75th place among other countries.
The
prime meridian of 0
(or the zero longitude line) passes through the old Observatory of
Greenwich in London. The time in every country in the world is
calculated from this line.
Of all the islands comprising the territory of the UK, Great Britain is the largest, being the biggest island in Europe and the 7th largest in the world. It is 300 miles (483 km) across its widest, 60 km. at its narrowest and 600 miles (966 km) long at its longest.
The second largest island is Ireland, which lies to the west of Great Britain and separated from it by the North Channel and the Irish Sea. The total area of 6 counties, making Northern Ireland, covers 5452 sq. miles (14120 sq. km). among the smaller coastal islands forming administrative counties of the UK are the Isle of White, situated off the southern coast of England , the Isles of Scilly – off the extreme south-west and Anglesey – of north of Wales.
Western Scotland is fringed by numerous islands – the Hebrides. To the north and far north of Scotland are the important groups of the Orkneys and the Shetlands. All these islands have administrative ties with the mainland. But two islands the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands in the English Channel, lying south of England and forming archipelago, have a large measure of administrative autonomy and strictly are not part of the UK but are dependencies of the Crown.
The seas
Great Britain is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the north, north-west and south-west. From the Europe continent it is separated by the North Sea, the Strait of Dover and the English Channel. The North Sea and the English Channel are often called the Narrow Seas. On the west Great Britain is separated from Ireland by the Irish Sea, the North Channel and St. George Channel. The most important sea routes pass through the English Channel and the North Sea linking Europe with America.
Great Britain is very irregular shaped, being deeply indented by numerous gulfs of the sea. Owing to the numerous bays and inlets no point in Great Britain is as much as 75 miles (121 km) from the sea.
The seas surrounding the British Isles are rather shallow – less than 91 m. because the islands lie on the continental shelf. It can be proved by the fact that to the north-west along the edge the sea floor plunges abruptly from 183 m to 914 m. the shallow waters are important because they provide excellent fishing grounds as well as breeding grounds for fish.
The original connection of the British Isles with the continent can be further proved by the fact that the chalk ridge which ends in the cliffs of Dover reappears on the coast of France opposite, and the position and quality of the coal layers beneath the chalk in Kent have very much in common with those in France.
Still further proof of the continental origin of the British Isles is the remains of elephants and extinct species of other animals and plants found in Britain. They help to establish the dates when the British Isles became separated from the continent. The remains of elephants prove that the English Channel was formed after these animals had reached the continent. Obviously, in the Ice Age the first human inhabitants of Britain were able to migrate from the continent on foot long before man learned boat making.
THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
The English Channel which separates Great Britain from France stretches 350 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea. It is 120 miles and its widest point and only 21 miles (36 km) at its narrowest. One can see the white cliffs of Dover from the French coast on a clear day. This may explain the origin of the Old Romantic name given to Britain – Albion.
The British Channel is one of the busiest and most dangerous shipping routes in the world. Half of all the world’s ship collisions take place between the Western end of the Channel and the Baltic. There is a strong tide running up the Channel from the south, and other coming down from the north. These two tidal movements meet near the mouth of the Thames, creating very strong currents.
Also there is a huge mountain called the Goodwin Sands in the Channel. It is 30 km long and 13 km wide. The mountain of sand constantly moves and sucks ships into it. For centuries the Channel has been Britain’s defence against invaders. And it has also been the way to the Continent, a highway crowded with ships.
Several armies of swimmers have crossed the Channel by balloon, canoe, rowing boat, parachute water-skis and swimming. It presents a challenge even to the strongest swimmers as the tides and currents make it difficult for a swimmer to stay on course and swim in a straight line. The maneuvers to avoid the currents more than double the distance. The first person to swim the Channel in 1875 was captain Matthew Webb. He landed in France 21 hours and 45 minutes after entering the water at Dover. Since then 4000 people have tried to cross the Channel, but less 400 have succeeded. The water in the Channel is usually cold, there is oil on the surface and there are a lot of jelly fish under the water. The Channel swimmers cover their bodies with grease to protect their bodies. The swimmer loses 7 kg of his weight during the swimming. But swimming enthusiasts are not stopped by the difficulties. Their purpose is not only to cross the Channel, but to set a new record. An Englishman called Michael Read swam the Channel 31 times. The fastest time was 7 hours 40 minutes. The youngest person to swim was 11-year-old boy. It took him 12 hours to swim across in September 1998.
THE CHANNEL TUNNEL
The idea of a tunnel under the sea between Britain and France has been put forward a number of times over the last 200 years. Even Napoleon had a plan to dig a tunnel and conquer England. On several occasions constructions were actually started.
One of the first people who tried to dig a tunnel under the Channel was a French mining engineer, Albert Mathieu by name. His tunnel collapsed. In 1881 colonel Beamont and captain English from Britain also tried to dig a tunnel. Their tunnel went 6 km out into the Channel. Queen Victoria stopped them saying it was dangerous to have a link with France. It was a very good tunnel and it still survives.
The latest abandoned project was that of 1975. In 1987 a new Anglo-French group called Eurotunnel was chosen to construct a system which was to link the road and rail works of Britain and France. The Channel, as it is commonly known, was opened on May 6, 1994. It took 10 years to build it. There are two rail tunnels and a service and security tunnel, each nearly 50 km long. Lorry and car drivers take their vehicles onto special trains and stay inside their Lorries and cars for 20 minutes journey through the tunnel. Foot passengers sit in a normal train compartment. Direct trains already run from London to Paris and Brussels. Trains, which carry motor vehicles as well as passengers, can travel through the tunnel at speed as high as 160 km per hour (100 m\h). There is also a possibility that separates road tunnel for cars and Lorries will be built in the future. The tunnel is the largest undersea tunnel in the world.
RELIEF
HIGHLAND AND LOWLAND BRITAIN
Britain is varied in scenery. Despite its comparatively small area Great Britain contains rocks of all the main geological periods, making contrast between highland and lowland Britain. The new rocks, which are less resistant to weather, have been worn down to form lowland. They lie to the south and east forming bands of hills which alternate with areas of lowland. The hills of lowland are formed of chalk and limestone. The agricultural plain of England lies to the Channel and the continent of Europe. The soils are deeper and richer than in highlands. The climate is drier and better suited to farming. Communications are easier. Thus human settlement in these areas is dense and more evenly spread.
The rocks of most of the north and west of Britain are harder and older than those of the south and east. These older rocks are covered by large areas of moorland such as the Lake District, the Pennines and much of Scotland and Wales, where the soils are poor, thin and stony. These areas are wetter and harder to reach than the lower land to the south and east. As a result, these areas of Great Britain are thinly populated except where coal or iron has been discovered.
Highland Britain comprises all those mountain parts and uplands of Great Britain which lie above 1000 ft (305 m). Geologically these mountains are among the oldest in the world, more than 3500 million years old, formed by ancient hard rocks with traces of volcanic action.
The Cambrian is the mountain range running along the western coast, in Wales. Its highest point at the center of the range is Snowdon – 3560 ft (1085 m) above sea level. The Welsh call the “Eagles” Nestling place” The first men to conquer Everest trained in Snowdonia. He was Sir Edmund Hillary. With his team he made his famous expedition to the top of Mount Everest in 1953.
To the east of Cumbrian massif lies the broad central upland known as the Pennines – the backbone of Britain, a continuous stretch of high land expending to 890 km. the Pennines have few sharp peaks and chiefly consist of plateau situated at various levels. To the north of the Pennines are the Cheviot Hills. The Cheviots are the northerly extension of the Pennines proper and stretch to the Scottish border.
Scottish Highlands are formed by the Grampian Mountains and North-West Highlands. Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, 4406 ft (1343), towering above Fort William in Scotland, is granite mass more than 500 million years old. The oldest rocks dating back 2,6 billion years are found in the Scottish Highlands and the Outer Hebrides.
RIVERS
The rivers of Britain are short. Their direction and character are determined by the position of the mountains. Most of the rivers flow in the eastward direction since the west coast is mountainous.
Due to the humid climate the water level is always high. The rivers seldom freeze in winter, most of them remain ice-free but they are not navigable for ocean ships.
The most important rivers are the Severn (354 km), the Thames (346 km), the Trent, the Aire, the Ouse, the Clyde, the Tweed, the Tyne, the Tay, the Eden.
The Tay is the longest river in Scotland (118 km). Part of the border between Scotland and England is along reaches of the Tweed, near which the woolen fabric bearing the same name is produced. The Severn flows along the border between England and Wales. The longest river of Britain makes only 1/20 of the Amazon – the longest river in the world (3600 miles). One of the tributaries is the Avon with its Stratford, glorified by Shakespeare. The swiftest flowing river in the British Isles is the Spey flowing across the southern Highlands of Scotland.
LAKES
British lakes are rather small and remote with no outlets, so they afford limited economical possibilities in the system of the navigable water ways. The largest of them are Lough Neagh in north-east Ireland, Lough Lomond near Glasgow and Lough Ness near Inverness in Scotland.
Lakeland, or the Lake District, is the Pennine system in the north-west of England. The 16 major long and narrow lakes lie snugly among the steep slopes of the Highlands near Scotland. This remarkable place is known through the world for its beautiful deep lakes, its plunging waterfalls and emerald meadows. It is outstanding for walking, climbing, sailing and boating.
This district is also known for its association with the history of English literature and in the first place with the name of William Wordsworth (1770 – 1859), the founder of the Lake School of poets. His home and Lakeland scenes still inspire great poetry.
Wordsworth is frequently thought of as a “nature poet”: his pantheistic philosophy led him to believe that men should enter into communication with nature. Since nature was an expression of God and was charged with his presence, he believed it constituted a potential moral guide for those possessed of “a feeling heart”.
William Wordsworth
Sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching and in its majesty:
This city now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare
Ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky:
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendor, valley, rock or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still.