Geography
of Great Britain
The United Kingdom consists of Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and Northern Ireland
(including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland). The islands are located between the North
Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France.
England, in the southeast part of the British Isles, is separated from Scotland on the north by the
granite Cheviot Hills; from them the Pennine chain of uplands extends south through the center of
England, reaching its highest point in the Lake District in the northwest. To the west along the border
of Wales - a land of steep hills and valleys - are the Cambrian Mountains, while the Cotswolds, a
range of hills in Gloucestershire, extend into the surrounding shires.
General data:
Area: 244 800 km2
Capital city: London (8 mln)
Water: 1,3% Important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Thames, Humber, Tees, and Tyne. In
the west are the Severn and Wye.
Lands under cultivation: 25 %
Wild pasture lands: 46 %
Forests: 12 %
Min. height: - 4 m (Fenland)
Max. height: 1344 m (Ben Nevis)
Other large cities: Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Bradford,
The United Kingdom is made up of:
1. England
2. Scotland
3. Wales
4. Northern Ireland
Did you know?
Great Britain is the largest island of the British Isles, the largest island in Europe and the
eighth-largest island in the world. See more
England
England is sometimes, wrongly, used in reference to the whole United Kingdom, the entire island of
Great Britain (or simply Britain), or indeed the British Isles. This is not only incorrect but can cause
offence to people from other parts of the UK.
It is the largest and most populous part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total population of the United Kingdom.
England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore
islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of
Britain, divided from France only by a 52 km sea gap. The Channel Tunnel directly links England to
the European land. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel.
Much of England consists of hills, but it is generally more mountainous in the north with a chain of low
mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. Other hilly areas in the north and Midlands are the
Lake District, the North York Moors, and the Peak District. England has a temperate climate, with
plentiful rainfall all year round, although the seasons are quite variable in temperature.
The capital of England is London, the largest urban area in Great Britain, and the largest urban zone
in the European Union.
Size: 130,422 km2
Population: 58 million
Capital city: London
Major cities: London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham.
Did you know?
Most of England consists of rolling hils, but it is more mountainous in the north with a chain of
low mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. There is also an area of flat, low-lying
marshland in the east, much of which has been drained for agricultural use. See more
Scotland
The geography of Scotland is highly varied, from rural lowlands to barren uplands, and from large
cities to uninhabited islands. It is a very small country.
441 kilometers. The coastline is so jagged that it adds up to 3218 kilometers. At its widest point it is
248 kilometers. At its narrowest it is only 40 kilometers. Because of Scotland’s narrowness and its
deep inlets, it is never possible to get far away from the sea. The Atlantic Ocean, which fringes the
coastline of western and northern Scotland and its islands, influences the temperature, maritime
climate of the country.
Scotland occupies the northern third of the islands of Great Britain. The river Tweed and the Cheviot
Hills form Scotland’s southern border with England. The Northwest Channel separates southwestern
Scotland from Northern Ireland. The northwest coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. East faces the North
Sea. The east coast faces the North Sea, which separates Scotland from the mainland of Europe.
Scotland has three main land regions. They are, from north to south, the Highlands, the Central
Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands.
Rivers and Lakes
The river Clyde is Scotland’s most important river. Ships from the Atlantic Ocean can sail up the Clyde
to Glasgow. The Tay, 193 kilometers long, is the largest river in Scotland. It carries more water than
any other river in the United Kingdom. Most of Scotland’s lakes (which are called lochs) lie in deep
Highland valleys.
Islands
Scotland has some 790 islands, most of which are located off the northern and western coast of the
country. A large group of islands called the Hebrides lie off the west coast of Scotland’s mainland.
The Orkney and Shetland groups lie north of the mainland and form the boundary between the North
Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Nearly 100 of Scotland's islands are inhabited, the most populous being
Lewis with 16,782 people resident in 2001. Other island populations range down to only 1 on certain
small isles.
Mountains
Scotland contains the most mountainous terrain in Great Britain. Much of the highest uplands lie to the
north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault in the Northwest Highlands and Grampian ranges.
Located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains, at an altitude of 1344 m (4409 ft), Ben Nevis
is the highest mountain in Scotland and Great Britain. Ben Macdui and Braeriach are the second and
third tallest peaks in Scotland.
Size: 441 kilometers long
Highest point:Ben Nevis1 344 m
Longest river: River Tay 193 km
Climate: temperate
Population: 5,116,900 (under 9 % of the population of the United Kingdom)
Density: 64 people per square kilometre
Capital city: Edinburgh
Biggest cities: Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Stirling
Did you know?
The geography of Scotland is highly varied, from rural lowlands to barren uplands, and from
large cities to uninhabited islands. Scotland comprises the northern one third of the island of
Great Britain and over 790 surrounding islands and archipelagoes. See more
Wales
Wales, lying in the western part of Great Britain, is a country of green forests and mediaeval villages.
It is mainly rural, but there are several large cities such as Swansea and the capital Cardiff.
Wales is located on a peninsula in central-west Great Britain. The area is about 20,779 sguare
kilometres . Wales has over 1,200 km of coastline. There are several islands off the Welsh mainland,
the largest being Anglesey in the northwest.
The main population and industrial areas are in South Wales, consisting of the cities of Cardiff,
Swansea and Newport and surrounding Southles Valleys.
Much of Wales's beautiful and diverse landscape is mountainous, particularly in Snowdonia and the
central Cambrian Mountains. The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia, and include
Snowdon.
Wales has many waterfalls, including some of the most striking waterfalls of the United Kingdom. The
highest and most famous waterfall in Wales is Pistyll Rheadr. The name of the falls is Welsh for
"spring of the waterfall" and is located near the village of Llanrhaedr-ym-Mochnant.
Size: 20,779 km2
Population: 3 mln
Capital city: Cardiff
Wales has three designated national parks:
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

Brecon Beacons
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Snowdonia National Park
Did you know?
The Seven Wonders of Wales is a traditional list of seven geographic and cultural landmarks in
Wales: Snowdon, the Gresford Bells, the Llangollen Bridge, St Winefride's Well, the Wrexham
steeple, the Overton yew trees and Pistyll Rheadr. See more
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is composed of 26 districts, derived from the boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry
and the counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, and Tyrone. Together they are
commonly called Ulster, though the territory does not include the entire ancient province of Ulster.
Northern Ireland lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 14,139 km 2, about a sixth of
the island's total area. In 2001 its population was 1,685,000, between a quarter and a third of the
island's total population.
Northern Ireland consists of six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster. In the UK, it is generally
known as one of the four Home Nations that form the Kingdom. Some of these terms have
controversial implications in relation to political ideologies concerning the constitutional status of
Northern Ireland.
Population : 1,688,600
Capital and largest city: Belfast, 484,800
Monetary unit: British pound sterling (£)
Language: English
Did you know?
The centrepiece of Northern Ireland's geography is Lough Neagh, at 392 km² the largest
freshwater lake both on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles. A second extensive lake
system is centred on Lower and Upper Lough Erne in Fermanagh. The largest island of
Northern Ireland is Rathlin, off the Antrim coast. Strangford Lough is the largest inlet in the
British Isles, covering 150 km². See more
Bibliography
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B.C. Cayne, The New Lexicon Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary, USA 1988.
B. Rudnicki, Anglia, Warszawa, 2007.
K. Hadley, Discover Great Britain, Edgar 2007.
P. Norbury, Wielka Brytania, London 2007.
Praca zbiorowa,Collin’s London, HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.