The full name of the country the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and a great number of small islands. Their total area is over 314 000 sq. km. The British Isles are separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland occupies one third of the island of Ireland. It borders on the Irish Republic in the south. The island of Great Britain consists of three main parts: England (the southern and middle part of the island), Wales (a mountainous peninsula in the West) and Scotland (the northern part of the island).

There are no high mountains in Great Britain. In the north the Cheviots separate England from Scotland, the Pennines stretch down North England along its middle, the Cambrian mountains occupy the greater part of Wales and the Highlands of Scotland are the tallest of the British mountains. There is very little flat country except in the region known as East Anglia. Most of the rivers flow into the North Sea. The Thames is. the deepest and the longest of the British rivers. Some of the British greatest ports are situated in the estuaries of the Thames, Mersey, Trent, T Clyde and Bristol Avon. Great Britain is not very rich in mineral resources, it has some deposits of coal and iron ore and vast deposits of oil and gas that were discovered in the North Sea.

The warm currents of the Atlantic Ocean influence the climate of Great Britain. Winters are not severely cold and. summers are rarely hot. The population of the United Kingdom is over 58 million people. The main nationalities are: English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish. In Great Britain there are a lot of immigrants from former British Asian and African colonies. Great Britain is a highly industrialized country. New industries have been developed in the last three decades. The main industrial centres are London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow and Bristol. The capital of the country is London. The United Kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy.

Great Britain

The official name of the country, we usually call England and occasionally Great Britain, is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The U. K. is situated on the group of islands, lying just off the mainland of northwestern Europe. The British Isles include Great Britain proper, Ireland and a number of smaller islands. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales. The southern part of Ireland is occupied by Great Britain and is called by native citizens the Republic of Eire.

Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel, the narrower part of which is called the Strait of Dover. The British Isles are surrounded by the shallow waters of the Irish Sea, on the west, the North Sea on the north and northeast, the Norwegian Sea on the east. Britain is comparatively small, but there is hardly a country, in the world where such a variety of scenery can be found.

There are wild desolate mountains in the northern Highlands of Scotland — the home of the deer and the eagles. Northern England Mountains and the Cambrian Mountains in Wales are much lower. In the extreme south of England are the famous chalk hills, some of which form the Dover Cliffs. The southern and southeastern parts of the island form lowlands. The rivers of the region are short and of no great importance as waterways. The biggest of them is the Thames, which is a little over 200 miles long. Britain’s principal ports are London, Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, and Glasgow. They have splendid harbours. Owing to the shape of the country, any point in Great Britain is no more than 70 miles from the sea. The warm currents in the Atlantic Ocean make the climate of Great Britain mild. The winters are not severely cold, while summers are rarely hot. The British Isles are well — watered throughout the year. The cloudiness is rather dense; fogs along the coast frequently hide the sun. The fogs of London with ci^y smoke have a worldwide reputation. The grass remains green all the year round. Thanks to climatic conditions, Britain looks like one great well-ordered park with its old trees and green meadows.