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The United Kingdom. Geography, climate and industry.
To the west of the continent of Europe lie two large islands called the British Isles. The larger of these, consisting of England, Scotland and Wales, is known as Great Britain. The smaller island is Ireland, with Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. To the British Isles belong also some 5,500 smaller islands. The area of the British Isles is 121,600square miles. The population of Great Britain is 61,446,000.
The west coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, its east coast – by the North Sea, and the south coast – by the English Channel, the narrower part of which is called the Strait of Dover.
England is the southern and central part of Great Britain. Scotland is in the north of the island, and Wales in the west. Northern Ireland is situated in the north-eastern part of Ireland. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a total area of 94,212 square miles.
Mountains are an important part of the geography of a country. The British Isles have no high mountains. Scotland is a mountainous country, especially in the north. Here the main chain of mountains is called the Grampians and its highest peak is Ben Nevis, which is 4,400 feet high and is the highest peak in Britain. In the north we can see the Cheviot Hills, separating England from Scotland. The Lake District, in the north-west of England, is the most beautiful and the wettest part of Great Britain. There are sixteen lakes here, the largest being Windermere. In England the Pennine Chain runs down from the north through the center. In Wales there are the Cumbrian Mountains, the highest peak of which is Snowdon, in North Wales. It is 3,000 feet high. The Cumbrian Mountains is an area of high mountains, deep valleys, waterfalls and lakes. The largest lakes in Scotland are Loch Lomond and Loch Ness.
The British Isles have many rivers, but they are not very long. The longest of the English rivers is the Severn, which flows south-west into the Irish Sea. The Thames flows through rich agricultural and industrial districts. Scotland’s most important river is the Clyde, on which stands Glasgow. Many of the English and Scottish rivers are joined by canals, so that it is possible to travel by water from one end of Great Britain to the other.
There are no great forests in the British Isles today. Historically, the most famous forest is Sherwood Forest, in the east of England, north of London. It was the home of Robin Hood.
The climate of the British Isles is generally mild, not very cold in winter and never hot in summer. The rivers do not freeze in winter, and snow never lies on the ground for long, except in the north, especially in the highlands of Scotland. Sheep and cattle can find food in the meadows all the year round. All parts of the British Isles have a lot of rain in all seasons. Still autumn and winter are the wettest seasons, except the Thames district, where most rain falls in the summer half of year. In winter, thick fogs cover many parts of Britain. The British Isles are warmed by the Gulf Stream.
The mild and damp climate in the British Isles is very good for agriculture, especially for vegetable-farming, sheep and cattle-farming. Great Britain is more an industrial than an agricultural country. Britain is rich in coal, iron, marble, granite, slate, lead, tin, copper, zinc, salt and china-clay. Gas is found in the North Sea. London, Liverpool and Glasgow are the biggest English ports, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh are main industrial centers. Oxford and Cambridge are main university towns.
Economy
About 25% of Britain's land is arable, and almost half is suitable for meadows and pastures. Its agriculture is highly mechanized and extremely productive; about 2% of the labor force produces 60% percent of the country's food needs. Barley, wheat, rapeseed, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, and vegetables are the main crops. The widespread dairy industry produces milk, eggs, and cheese. Beef cattle and large numbers of sheep, as well as poultry and pigs, are raised throughout much of the country. There is also a sizable fishing industry, with cod, haddock, mackerel, whiting, trout, salmon, and shellfish making up the bulk of the catch.
Great Britain is one of the world's leading industrialized nations. It has achieved this position despite the lack of most raw materials needed for industry. It must also import 40% of its food suplies. Thus, its prosperity has been dependent upon the export of manufactured goods in exchange for raw materials and foodstuffs. Within the manufacturing sector, the largest industries include machine tools; electric power, automation, and railroad equipment; ships; aircraft; motor vehicles and parts; electronic and communications equipment; metals; chemicals; coal; petroleum; paper and printing; food processing; textiles; and clothing.
During the 1970s and 80s, nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs were lost, but in the 1990s over 3.5 million jobs were created in service-related industries. By the early 21st cent., banking, insurance, business services, and other service industries accounted for almost three fourths of the gross domestic product and employed 80% of the workforce. This trend was also reflected in a shift in Great Britain's economic base, which has benefited the southeast, southwest, and Midlands regions of the country, while the north of England and Northern Ireland have been hard hit by the changing economy.
The main industrial and commercial areas are the great conurbations, where about one third of the country's population lives. The administrative and financial center and most important port is Greater London, which also has various manufacturing industries. London is Europe's foremost financial city. Metal goods, vehicles, aircraft, synthetic fibers, and electronic equipment are made in the West Midlands conurbation, which with the addition of Coventry roughly corresponds to the former metropolitan county of West Midlands. The industrial Black Country and the city of Birmingham are in the West Midlands. Greater Manchester has cotton and synthetic textiles, coal, and chemical industries and is a transportation and warehousing center. Liverpool, Britain's second port, along with Southport and Saint Helens are part of the Merseyside conurbation. Leeds, Bradford, and the neighboring metropolitan districts are Britain's main center of woolen, worsted, and other textile production. The Tyneside-Wearside region, with Newcastle upon Tyne as its center and Sunderland as a main city, has coal mines and steel, electrical engineering, chemical, and shipbuilding and repair industries.
The South Wales conurbation, with the ports of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport, was historically a center of coal mining and steel manufacturing; coal mining has declined sharply, however, in many parts of the region. Current important industries also include oil refining, metals production (lead, zinc, nickel, aluminum), synthetic fibers, and electronics. In Scotland, the region around the River Clyde, including Glasgow, is noted for shipbuilding, marine engineering, and printing as well as textile, food, and chemicals production. The Belfast area in Northern Ireland is a shipbuilding, textile, and food products center.
Great Britain has abundant supplies of coal, oil, and natural gas. Production of oil from offshore wells in the North Sea began in 1975, and the country is self-sufficient in petroleum. Other mineral resources include iron ore, tin, limestone, salt, china clay, oil shale, gypsum, and lead.
The country's chief exports are manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, food and beverages, and tobacco. The chief imports are manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, and foodstuffs. Since the early 1970s, Great Britain's trade focus has shifted from the United States to the European Union, which now accounts for over 50% of its trade. The United States, Germany, France, and the Netherlands are the main trading partners, and the Commonwealth countries are also important.