I hey drew inspiration for much of their poetry from the scenery there.

William Wordsworth (J 770-1850) spent 60 years out of his 80 years in the Lake District. He was acknowledged head and founder of the Lake School of poets.

There are about thirty shallow inland lakes called the Broads in East Anglia. Many lakes are also found in the Snowdon country, Wales. Lake Bala in its eastern part is the largest lake in Wales.

Lakes occupy more than 2 % of the total territory of Scotland making it a country not only of rocks but also of lakes. Scotland's largest lake is Loch Lomond, NW of Glasgow. Loch Lomond is situated in the borderline between the Highlands and the Lowlands. Loch Lomond is in fact Britain's biggest and most beautiful inland water but the largest lake in the British Isles is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland West of Belfast. Some other big lakes in Scotland are Loch Ness, Loch Maree, Loch Shin, Loch Tay, Loch Rannoch, etc.

But the most popular and perhaps one of the most famous places on earth is Loch Ness, because of the monster which may live in the deep waters. The creature is familiarly known to millions as Nessie. In spite of various "sightings" the large prehistoric creature is not yet scientifically proved to exist. The first report of the monster in Loch Ness was in 565 A.D). Loch Ness is a long, narrow lake in the highland area of Scotland extending for 23 miles (36 km). In places, it is over /00 feet (213 m) in depth. The greatest depth is about 230 m. The average width of the lake is about 2 km. Loch Ness forms part of the Caledonian Canal.

The best known and one of the most picturesque lochs in the Southern Uplands is the wild and lonely Loch Skene.

Great Britain has large reserves of all the more widely used minerals: coal, iron, oil, natural gas, salt. Next to them, minerals found in Britain are marble, granite, slate, lead, tin, copper, zinc, china clay, gypsum. Sand, gravel, limestone, and Other crushed rocks are quarried for use in construction.

Coal was once the most vital fuel. Of late it has continued to decrease in importance. The peak year in coal production was 1913. Current output has fallen more than by two-thirds and is, in fact, almost non-existent. The industry has remained under considerable pressure; many pits have become uneconomic to operate and are closed. Coal was mined in Yorkshire, NE England, S. Wales, Scottish Lowlands, Lancashire, W. Midlands, Kent. Three major coal-fields were Yorkshire (which gave 60% of coal output in the 1970s), Northumberland-Durham (13%, with Newcastle as its centre), and South Wales (8%). Of the exposed British coal-fields the

South Wales coal-field is second in extent to the major Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire fields of England. The coal is of high quality there. This high quality and easy transportation because of the proximity of the sea made South Wales one of the biggest coal mining centres in the world. But its glory is in the past. The mines have all closed. South Wales has now a lot of modern industries to compesate for the loss.

Another important coal-mining area was North-Eastern part of England. Unfortunately, the resources of Newcastle coal are almost exhausted now. The popular saying to carry coals to Newcastle is now out of date.

The once-important extraction of iron ore has dwindled almost to nothing. Major iron deposits are found in central England (Northampton), S. Cumberland near Barrow-in-Furness and NE England (Cleveland at Teesside).

Other metals of importance that are still mined on a small scale include tin, which supplies about half of the domestic demand, and zinc. Tin is mined in S. Wales and Cornwall. Many mines were closed because it was more profitable to get Malayan tin from SE Asia.

SW England is also rich in kaolin, or china clay. China clay is the most important mineral resource of this region. It is used in the production of porcelain and also in medicine. China clay is quarried in open pits and the white spoil heaps are one of the striking features of the landscape of the peninsula.

Quarrying is an important occupation in the NW of Wales. There are large quarries for granite and slate. Granite is a very hard rock, used for building and making roads. The slates are of high quality and are exported to all parts of the world.

There is also granite quarrying at several points in Scottish Highlands. Granite polishing is a characteristic industry in Aberdeen. Since many of its buildings are made of local granite, a silver-grey or pink stone, Aberdeen's nickname in Granite City. Some granite quarrying is found in the Central Lowlands ((rreentown and the neighbourhood).

A few decades ago Britain experienced an exciting

adventure - North Sea oil discoveries (1964) which have

already changed the patterns of development on the east coast

of Scotland. The discoveries have reduced Britain's

dependence on the Middle East. From the start of production in

1975 the quantities brought ashore have grown each year,

milking the UK virtually self-sufficient in oil, and even an

exporter. With an average output of 2.6 million barrels per day,

the country is the world's sixth largest producer. Proven

reserves are estimated at 770 million tons. At present, oil comes

ashore by submarine pipelines (as well by tanker). There were

24 oilfields and 6 gas-fields under exploitation in the 1990s.

The most important oilfields are, e.g., Magnus, Forties,

Ekofisk, Piper, Brent, Beryl. Both The UK and Norway have

made a lot of money by selling North Sea oil.

Another important resource is North Sea gas which was

discovered in the 1960s. At present, most of the gas used in

Brilish homes and businesses come from the North Sea Natural

gas fields are found beneath the North Sea off the coast of East

Anglia and the east coast of Scotland, and the oilfields - off the

east coast of Scotland and NE coast of England. The most

important gas-fields are West Sole, Viking, Hewett, and

Indefatigable.

The North Sea oil and gas now can also be considered as a major mineral resource, having a fundamental effect on the economy of Great Britain.

14. Climate and weather.

Lying in middle latitudes, Britain has a mild and temperate climate which is largely determined by the eastern Atlantic. In the classification of climates Britain falls generally into the cool, temperate, humid type. The prevailing winds blow from a south-westerly direction. They bring a plentiful rainfall and keep the winter climate mild and moist. Winters are not as severe as they can be on theContinent but summers are not as warm as they generally are on the other side of the Channel. The winter is warmer the winter in Paris or Milan though they have all sorts of weather in winter. Sometimes it rains and sometimes it snows.But snow never lies on the ground. It melts quickly. The

rivers, lakes are seldom covered with ice and the coasts are never troubled by it.

The average London temperature is + 4° С in January and +18 in July.

The British climate is rather rainy. Rain is fairly well distributed throughout the year. Britain's rainfall depends to a great extent on topography and exposure to the Atlantic. In the mountanious areas there is more rain than in the plains of south and east. So the Western part is wetter than the Eastern. It is still wetter in Scotland, the Lake District and North Wales. The wettest and coldest are the islands round Scotland. The driest and warmest part of Great Britain is in the south-east of England.