15 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Every part of the United Kingdom lies within what is known as a historic county. The historic counties have formed geographic and cultural units since the Middle Ages, and even though they lack administrative power nowadays, historic counties remain important cultural units.

Climate, geography, nature

Modified by the warm Gulf Stream, it is not as cold as most places so far north. Mild summers, cool winters with temperatures close to freezing, except in the colder Scottish highland areas.

England, occupying most of southern Great Britain, includes the Isles of Scilly off the southwest coast and the Isle of Wight off the southern coast. Scotland, occupying northern Great Britain, includes the Orkney and Shetland islands off the northern coast and the Hebrides

off the north-western coast. Wales lies west of England and includes the island of Anglesey to the northwest.

Apart from the land border with the Irish Republic the United Kingdom is surrounded by sea. To the south of England, between the United Kingdom and France there is the English Channel. The North Sea lies to the east. The Irish Sea separates Great Britain from Ireland, while southwestern England, the north-western coast of Northern Ireland and western Scotland face the Atlantic Ocean.

The largest rivers are the Thames, the Severn and the Trent. Lakes are numerous in the Lake District, the largest being Windermere, and in the Highlands of Scotland. The lakes ('lochs' in Scotland, e.g. Loch Lomond, Loch Ness) are very attractive to tourists. However, the largest UK lake, Lough Neagh, is to be found in Northern Ireland. The country can be divided into two regions - Highland and Lowland.

The highland zone consists of the following groups of mountains:

• the Highlands of Scotland with the highest peak Ben Nevis (1,343 metres)

• the Cheviot Hills form the border between England and Scotland the Pennines occupy the central part of Northern England ("the backbone of the country")

• the Cumbrian Mountains, also known as the Lake District, were celebrated in poetry by William Wordsworth and the other Lake poets

• the Cambrian Mountains are the most extensive in North Wales. They include Snowdonia, which is named after Snowdon, the highest point in Wales with an elevation of 1,085 metres

• Exmoor in Cornwall is also known as "the English Riviera"

• Dartmoor is a wild upland in Devon

The lowland zone is generally flat or rolling with limestone or chalk hills.

The best known of these hills are the Cotswolds (SW England) and the chalk cliffs facing the European mainland 34 km from the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel.

National economy, industry

Agriculture - wool, beef cattle, horse breeding, potatoes, barley, sugar beet, wheat, oats

Manufacturing - food and beverages, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, electronic goods, clothing, motor vehicles

Mining - oil, coal, natural gas

Major exported goods: machinery, petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Major imported goods: food (esp. tea, coffee, fruit, vegetables), metals, paper