Geography of Great Britain

Great Britain is situated on the British Isles. It consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and is one thirtieth the size of Europe. Great Britain is surrounded by seas on all sides and is separated from the continent by the North Sea and the English Channel.

Landscape. The territory of Great Britain is flat, hilly and mountainous. There are many mountains in the north of England and in Scotland but they are not very high. The highest mountain in Great Britain is Ben Nevis.

Seas and rivers. Great Britain is a sea country — there is no place in the country farther than 120 km from the sea. There are many rivers in Britain. They are not long but some of them are deep. The longest river is the Severn. There are many lakes in Scotland. The most beautiful is Loch Lomond.

The climate in Great Britain is generally mild and temperate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The south-western winds carry the warmth and moisture into Britain. The climate in Britain is usually described as cool, temperate and humid. British people say: ‘Other countries have a climate, in England we have weather.’ The weather in Britain changes very quickly. One day may be fine and the next day may be wet. The morning may be warm and the evening may be cool. Therefore it is natural for the people to use the comparison ‘as changeable as the weather’ of a person who often changes his mood or opinion about something. The weather is the favourite topic of conversation in Britain.

Great Britain has a very good position as it lies on the crossways of the sea routes from Europe to the other parts of the world. There are many countries which are connected with Great Britain by sea. Thanks to Gulf Stream the climate of Great Britain is mild. It is often foggy and rainy. The summer is not very hot and the winter is not very cold.

Geography made the UK a highly developed industrial country. It lives by manufacture and trade. Its agriculture provides only half the food it needs, the other half of its food has to be imported. Britain is one of the most highly industrialised countries in the world: for every person employed in agriculture, eleven are employed in mining, manufacturing and building. The main branches of British economy are engineering, mining, ship-building, motor vehicle manufacturing, textile, chemistry, electronics, fishing and food processing. The industrial centres of Great Britain are London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and others.