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GREAT BRITAIN.doc
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The land location

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island – informally known as Britain – constitutes the greater part of the islands known as the British Isles. The largest island is Great Britain proper comprising England, Scotland and Wales. The second largest island, Ireland, is shared by Northern Ireland (or Ulster) and the Republic of Ireland (also known as Eire, which is politically independent of the UK). These and over 5,500 smaller islands (such as Anglesey, the Hebrides, the Orkneys, the Shetlands, the Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly) are included in the British administrative and political union.

The total area of the country is 243, 000 sq. km. Thus, Britain is relatively small and compact when compared with many European countries, being, for example, half the size of France.

The British Isles are separated from continental Europe by the English Channel; the shortest stretch of its water (32 km.) between Dover in southern England and Calais in France is called the Strait of Dover.

The eastern coast reaches the waters of the North Sea. The Atlantic Ocean washes the coast in the west and north-west. Great Britain is separated from Ireland by the Irish Sea, the North Channel and St. George’s Channel.

The British coastlines are deeply indented with numerous bays, inlets, and estuaries. Consequently, no part of the country is more than 120 km from some type of tidal water. However, tides along the coasts and in inland rivers can cause frequent flooding in many parts, particularly on the English east coast. Substantial financial and other resources are needed to construct defenses against this threat, For example, a flood barrier was completed in 1984 across the river Thames in central London in order to protect the capital.

The seas around the coasts are not deep, often less than 90 meters, because the greater part of the British Isles lies on the continental Shelf. To the north-west edge of the Shelf (to the west of Ireland) there is a sudden deepening of the sea floor from 180 m to about 900 m.

For millions of years Britain was part of the European mainland. Remains of elephants and other extinct species of animals and plants helped establish that after the melting of the glaciers in the last Ice Age the British Isles became separated from the continent. Evidently, the first human inhabitants of Britain were able to migrate there on foot long before man mastered the skill of boat making.

Climate

The climate of the British Isles is generally mild. The warm North Atlantic Current (the Gulf Stream) heats the sea water and air as it travels from the Atlantic Ocean across the Shelf. The Gulf Stream also influences the shallow coastal waters that are important breeding grounds for various kinds of fish on which the national fishing industry is largely dependent.

There are no extreme contrasts in temperature anywhere in Britain, with temperatures normally ranging between cool and mild. In general, British temperature rarely rises above 32 Celsius in the summer or falls below minus 10 Celsius in the winter, though there are differences between those of the north and the south.

The temperature is also modified by altitude, so higher land is colder than the low-lying land. Consequently, much of Scotland, because of its height, is cooler in summer and colder in winter than most of England. Upward areas of Wales and England also tend to be colder than lowland areas.

The prevailing winds are south-westerly; they bring rain from the Atlantic to the hills and mountains of the west. This means that the western parts of Britain are wetter than the east. Contrary to the popular misconception, Britain’s weather is not particularly wet. London, for example, is drier than some continental cities such as Hamburg. Rain is fairly well distributed throughout the year, but on average, March to June tend to be the driest months and September to January – the wettest. As has been mentioned, the high ground in the west to a large degree protects the lowlands of the south and east, so annual rainfall there is moderate.

During May, June and July – the months with the longest daylight – the mean daily duration of sunshine varies from five hours in northern Scotland to eight hours in the Isle of Wight. During the months of shortest daylight – November, December and January – sunshine is at a minimum, with an average of an hour a day in northern Scotland and two hours a day on the southern coast of England.

Thus, it may be safely argued that the British climate has three dominant features: it is mild, humid and changeable. This means that winters are extremely mild and that the growing season is fairly long. The cattle are kept out in the fields virtually the whole year round.

Though Britain is fortunate to have warmer winters than other countries at the same latitude, the changeability of weather is the main disadvantage. The English often say that they have no climate but only weather, or that they have three types f weather: rain in the morning, rain in the afternoon or rain in the evening. The unpredictable weather has become a topic of daily conversation among the British. This uncertainty about the weather is argued to have had a definite effect on the Englishman’s character. It tends to make him both cautious (he always takes his umbrella and raincoat with him) and adaptable, too.

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