The republic of mari el

Take a map of Russia and find the blue ribbon denoting the Volga River. In its central reaches, on the left-hand bank you can find Yoshkar-Ola, the capital of Marl El. It was called Mari El on October 22 in 1990. It is included in the Russian Federation. Mari El is situated in the eastern part of the East European Plain in the basin of the middle flow of the Volga river. The Volga divides it into two parts: the Left-Bank Lowland and the Right-Bank Highland which occupies the lesser area. The Lowland is covered with sand and it is rich in lakes. The relief of the Right-Bank Highland is hilly.

The Republic has a favourable geographical position among such industrial centres as Nizhni Novgorod, Kazan and Kirov. The territory of the Republic stretches for 275 km from west to east and for 150 km from north to south. The total length of its borders is about 1,200 km. Mari El borders on the Nizhegorodsky Region in the west, on the Kirov Region in the north, on the Republic of Tatarstan in the south-west and on the Chuvash Republic in the south. The territory of Mari El is 23.3 thousand square kilometres. There are 14 administrative regions and four towns (Yoshkar-Ola, Volzhsk, Kozmodemyansk, Zvenigovo) in the republic.

The population consists of Maris, Russians, Udmurts, Chuvashes and people of other nationalities. The native population is Mari. The capital of the Republic of Mari El is Yoshkar-Ola (280 thousand people).

There are about 476 rivers in our republic. The total length of all the rivers is 7,144 km. The longest river is the Volga which runs across the territory of our republic for 155 km. Almost all large rivers are the tributaries of the Volga - the Vetluga, the Sura, the Kokshaga, the Kundysh, the Ilet.

Cleaned river water is used for everyday needs. The important sources of water supply are underground waters. There are also mineral waters in the valleys of the Ilet and Yashut. They are used in health resorts.

Our republic is called the lake land. We have about 200 lakes. Many of them are situated in picturesque places and in the forests in the Lowland. The biggest and deepest lake is the Yalchik. Its depth is 34 metres. It is famous for its clean water and rich vegetation. The Yalchik has become a resort and many people have a good rest on the lake in summer.

A few hundred years ago the territory of our republic was covered with wild, forests. Now the forests cover only half of it. They are the main treasure of Mari El. There are about 70 kinds of trees here. The most common trees are .pine, birch, fir, maple, oak and lime trees.

The forests are the places of living for many animals such as hare, fox, wolf, .bear, lynx, beaver and some others. There are 181 kinds of birds in our forests and 47 kinds of fish in our rivers and lakes.

Cities of the united kingdom

The population of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is more than 57 million people. It is mostly urban: nine tenth of it lives in towns and cities.

British’s largest cities are: London with the population of about 7 million people, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Sheffield, Edinburgh (all with the population less than one million).

London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is built on the River Thames. It is a world centre for business and money trading. It is also the country’s largest port and a cultural centre with numerous museums and theatres. London has got three parts: the City of London, the West End, and the East End.

The City of London is the oldest part of London. It is the financial centre of the UK. This is the district where most offices and banks are concentrated, for example, the Bank of England. The East End is the district for the working people. There are many factories, workshops and docks there. The West End is the centre of London. This is the rich man’s world of shops and theatres. There are many sights in the West End, for example, the Houses of Parliament with the clock bell “Big Ben”. The other interesting place is Westminster Abbey. Many great Englishmen were buried in the Abbey: Newton, Darvin and others. Trafalgar square is one of the London sights and it is in the centre of the West End. One can see the statue of Lord Nelson in the middle of the square. There are many museums, libraries and galleries in London. Among them are the Tate Gallery and the British Museum.

Birmingham is Britain’s second largest city and its engineering centre. It produces iron and steel for making cars, ships, airplanes and machinery. Leeds, the third largest city in the United Kingdom, produces woolen goods. Sheffield is a centre of producing steel goods.

Glasgow is famous for heavy industry. Besides, it is an important cultural centre. Glasgow has a strong artistic heritage. It is noted for its architecture and art galleries.

Edinburgh is the city of science. It is associated with science, beautiful historic buildings and the annual festival of arts. Edinburgh is called “the Athens of the North”.

There are a lot of small towns in Great Britain, too. Most towns have a busy shopping area in the centre. Now there are new suburbs around the edges of old cities and old towns. New buildings are planned to make the best use of space.