Geography of the United KingdomCoordinates:  54°0′N 2°30′W

United Kingdom

Satellite image of the United Kingdom

Location Western/NorthernEurope

Coordinates 54°0′N 2°30′W

Area

 - Total 243,610 km2

(94,060 sq mi)

 - Water (%) 1.34

Area rank 80th

Highest elevation

1,344 m (4,409 ft)

Highest point Ben Nevis

Longest river River Severn

Largest lake Lough Neagh

Climate Temperate

The United Kingdom is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. With a total area of approximately 241,930 square kilometres (93,410 sq mi), the UK occupies the major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and many smaller surrounding islands.[1] The mainland areas lie between latitudes 49°N and 59°N (the Shetland Islands reach to nearly 61°N), and longitudes 8°W to 2°E. The Royal Greenwich Observatory, inSouth East London, is the defining point of the Prime Meridian.

The UK lies between the North Atlantic and the North Sea, and comes within 35 km (22 mi) of the north-west coast of France, from which it is separated by the English Channel. It shares a 499 km international land boundary with the Republic of Ireland.[2][3] The Channel Tunnel bored beneath the English Channel, now links the UK with France.

The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are covered in their own respective articles, see below.

AreaThe total area of the United Kingdom according to the World Bank is approximately 241,930 square kilometres (93,410 sq mi), comprising the island of Great Britain, the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland) and many smaller islands. England is the largest country of the United Kingdom, at 130,410 square kilometres (50,350 sq mi) accounting for just over half the total area of the UK. Scotland at 78,772 square kilometres (30,410 sq mi),[4] is second largest, accounting for about a third of the area of the UK. Wales and Northern Ireland are much smaller, covering 20,758 and 14,160 square kilometres (8,010 and 5,470 sq mi) respectively.

The area of the countries of the United Kingdom is set out in the table below. Information about the area of England, the largest country, is also broken down by region.

The British Antarctic Territory, which covers an area of 1,709,400 km2 is geographically the largest of the British Overseas Territories followed by the Falkland Islands which covers an area of 12,173 km2. The remaining twelve overseas territories cover an area 5,997 km2.

Other countries with very similar land areas to the United Kingdom include Guinea (slightly larger), Uganda, Ghana and Romania (all slightly smaller). The UK is the world's 80th largest country by land area and the 10th largest in Europe (if European Russia is included).

Physical geography

The physical geography of the UK varies greatly. England consists of mostly lowland terrain, with upland or mountainous terrain only found north-west of the Tees-Exe line. The upland areas include the Lake District, the Pennines, Exmoor and Dartmoor. The lowland areas are typically traversed by ranges of low hills, frequently composed of chalk. The physical geography of Scotland is distinguished by the Highland Boundary Fault which traverses the Scottish mainland from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. The faultline separates the two distinctively different regions of the Highlands to the north and west, and the lowlands to the south and east. Wales is mostly mountainous, though south Wales is less mountainous than north and mid Wales. The geography of Ireland includes the Mourne Mountains as well as Lough Neagh , at 388 square kilometres (150 sq mi), the largest body of water in the UK.[13]

The overall geomorphology of the UK was shaped by a combination of forces including tectonics and climate change, in particular glaciationin northern and western areas.

The tallest mountain in the UK (and British Isles) is Ben Nevis, in the Grampian Mountains, Scotland. The longest river is the River Severnwhich flows from Wales into England. The largest lake by surface area is Lough Neagh  in Northern Ireland, though Scotland's Loch Ness has the largest volume.

GeologyThe geology of the UK is complex and diverse, a result of it being subject to a variety of plate tectonic processes over a very extended period of time. Changing latitude and sea levels have been important factors in the nature of sedimentary sequences, whilst successive continental collisions have affected its geological structure with major faulting and folding being a legacy of each orogeny (mountain-building period), often associated with volcanic activity and the metamorphism of existing rock sequences. As a result of this eventful geological history, the UK shows a rich variety of landscapes.[14]

Mountains and hills

At 1,344 metres, Ben Nevis is the highest peak in the UK.

Main article: List of mountains and hills of the United Kingdom

The ten tallest mountains in the UK are all found in Scotland. The highest peaks in each part of the UK are:

Scotland: Ben Nevis, 1,344 metres Wales: Snowdon (Snowdonia), 1,085 metres England: Scafell Pike (Cumbrian Mountains), 978 metres Northern Ireland: Slieve Donard  (Mourne Mountains), 852 metres

The ranges of mountains and hills in the UK include:

Scotland: Cairngorms, Scottish Highlands, Southern Uplands, Grampian Mountains, Monadhliath Mountains , Ochil Hills , Campsie Fells ,Cuillin

Wales: Brecon Beacons , Cambrian Mountains, Snowdonia, Black Mountains, Preseli Hills England: Cheviot Hills, Chilterns, Cotswolds, Dartmoor, Lincolnshire Wolds, Exmoor, Lake

District, Malvern Hills, Mendip Hills , North Downs, Peak District, Pennines, South Downs, Shropshire Hills , Yorkshire Wolds

Northern Ireland: Mourne Mountains, Antrim Plateau, Sperrin Mountains

The lowest point of the UK is in the Fens of East Anglia, in England, parts of which lie up to 4 metres below sea level.

Rivers and lakesMain articles

List of lakes and lochs in the United Kingdom ; List of rivers of the United Kingdom ; List of waterfalls of the United Kingdom .

The longest river in the UK is the River Severn (220 mi; 350 km) which flows through both Wales and England.

The longest rivers in the UK contained wholly within each of its constituent nations are:

England: River Thames (215 mi; 346 km) Scotland: River Tay (117 mi; 188 km) N. Ireland: River Bann (76 mi; 122 km) Wales: River Tywi (64 mi; 103 km)

The largest lakes (by surface area) in the UK by country are:

N. Ireland: Lough Neagh  (147.39 sq mi; 381.7 km2) Scotland: Loch Lomond (27.46 sq mi; 71.1 km2) England: Windermere (5.69 sq mi; 14.7 km2) Wales: Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake)  (1.87 sq mi; 4.8 km2)

The deepest lake in the UK is Loch Morar with a maximum depth of 309 metres (Loch Ness is second at 228 metres deep). The deepest lake in England is Wastwater which achieves a depth of 79 metres (259 feet).

Loch Ness is the UK's largest lake in terms of volume.

Artificial waterwaysMain articles: Waterways in the United Kingdom, Canals of Great Britain, Dams and reservoirs in United Kingdom

As a result of its industrial history, the United Kingdom has an extensive system of canals, mostly built in the early years of the Industrial Revolution, before the rise of competition from the railways. The United Kingdom also has numerous dams and reservoirs to store water for drinking and industry. The generation of hydroelectric power is rather limited, supplying less than 2% of British electricity mainly from the Scottish Highlands.

Coastline

United Kingdom maritime claims

The UK has a coastline which measures about 12,429 km.[15] The heavy indentation of the coastline helps to ensure that no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters.

The UK claims jurisdiction over the continental shelf, as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries, an exclusive fishing zone of 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi), and territorial sea of 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi).

Inlets

Cardigan Bay Lyme Bay Bristol Channel Thames estuary Morecambe Bay Solway Firth The Wash Humber estuary Firth of Forth Firth of Tay Moray Firth Firth of Clyde Firth of Lorn HeadlandsThe geology of the United Kingdom is such that there are many headlands along its coast. A list of headlands of the United Kingdom details many of them.

IslandsMain article: List of islands of the United Kingdom

In total, it is estimated that the UK is made up of over one thousand small islands, the majority located off the north and west coasts of Scotland. About 130 of these are inhabited according to the 2001 Census.

The largest islands by country are Lewis and Harris in Scotland (841 square mi), Wales' Anglesey (276 square mi), the Isle of Wight in England (147.09 square mi), and Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland (roughly 6 square mi);

ClimateMain article: Climate of the United Kingdom

The climate of the UK is generally temperate, although significant local variation occurs, particularly as a result of altitude and distance from the coast. In general the south of the country is warmer than the north, and the west wetter than the east. Due to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream, the UK is significantly warmer than some other locations at similar latitude, such as Newfoundland.

The prevailing winds are southwesterly, from the North Atlantic Current. More than 50% of the days are overcast.[citation needed] There are few natural hazards, although there can be strong winds and floods, especially in winter.

Average annual rainfall varies from over 3,000 mm (118.1 in) in the Scottish Highlands down to 553 mm (21.8 in) in Cambridge. The county of Essex is one of the driest in the UK, with an average annual rainfall of around 600 mm (23.6 in), although it typically rains on over 100 days

per year. In some years rainfall in Essex can be below 450 mm (17.7 in), less than the average annual rainfall in Jerusalem and Beirut.

The highest temperature recorded in the UK was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) at Brogdale, near Faversham, in the county of Kent, on 10 August 2003. The lowest was −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F) recorded at Braemar in the Grampian Mountains, Scotland, on 11 February 1895 and 10 January 1982 and Altnaharra, also in Scotland, on 30 December 1995.

Human geography

The United Kingdom is composed of four parts: England,Northern Ireland, Scotland andWales.

Demographics[edit]Main article: Demographics of the United Kingdom

Political geography[edit]Main article: Politics of the United Kingdom

National government[edit]The UK is governed as a whole by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Of the four countries that make the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved administrations and parliaments/assembly:

Northern Ireland – Northern Ireland Assembly Scotland – Scottish Parliament Wales – National Assembly for Wales

England has no devolved system of government[clarification needed]that is, the Parliament of the United Kingdom serves as (and historically was) the English Parliament. It is governed by UK government ministers and legislated for by the UK parliament. Within England, London has a devolved assembly but proposals for elected Regional Assemblies in England were rejected in the first referendum covering North East England. See Government of England.

The UK (specifically, Northern Ireland) has an international land boundary with the Republic of Ireland of 499 km.[2][3] There is also a boundary between the jurisdiction of France and the UK on the Channel Tunnel.

Local government[edit]Main articles: Local government in England, Local government in Scotland, Local government in Wales and Local government in Northern Ireland

Each part of the UK is subdivided in further local governmental regions:

England: Unitary Authorities, county councils, district councils, parish councils Wales: Principal areas, communities Scotland: Council areas, communities Northern Ireland: Districts

Historically the UK was divided into counties or shires: administrative areas through which all civil responsibilities of the government were passed. Each county or shire had a county town as its administrative centre and was divided into individual parishes that were defined alongecclesiastic boundaries.

Between 1889 (1890 in Scotland) and 1974, the political boundaries were based on the traditional counties, but due to changes in population centres, the traditional counties became impractical as local government areas in certain highly urbanised areas. The Local Government Act 1972 created a new system of administrative counties, designed to take account of the widely differing populations across different parts of the country.

In the 1990s further population growth led to more political changes on a local level. Unitary authorities were formed across the entirety of Scotland and Wales, and in larger cities in England. Many unpopular administrative counties were also abolished at this time, leading to a mixture of two-tier and single-purpose authorities. Further reorganisations are planned if and when regional assemblies in England are revisited in the future.

Economic geography[edit]Main article: Economic geography of the United Kingdom

The economic geography of the UK reflects not only its current position in the global economy, but its long history both as a trading nation and an imperial power.

The UK led the industrial revolution and its highly urban character is a legacy of this, with all its major cities being current or former centres of various forms of manufacturing. However, this in turn was built on its exploitation of natural resources, especially coal and iron ore.

Primary industry[edit]The UK's primary industry was once dominated by the coal industry, heavily concentrated in the north, the Midlands and south Wales. This is all but gone and the major primary industry is North Sea oil. Its activity is concentrated on the UK Continental Shelf to the north-east of Scotland.

Manufacturing[edit]The UK's heavy manufacturing drove the industrial revolution. A map of the major UK cities gives a good picture of where this activity occurred, in particular Belfast, Birmingham,Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. Today there is no heavy manufacturing industry in which UK-based firms can be considered world leaders. However, areas of the UK still have a notable manufacturing base, including the Midlands which remains a strong manufacturing centre, and the North West which accounts for 60% of the United Kingdom's manufacturing output.[16] More recently, high technology firms have concentrated largely along the M4 motorway, partly because of access to Heathrow Airport, but also because of agglomeration economies.

Finance and services[edit]Once, every large city had a stock exchange. Now, the UK financial industry is concentrated overwhelmingly in the City of London and Canary Wharf, with back office and administrative operations often dispersed around the south of England. London is one of the world's great financial centres and is usually referred to as a world city. There is also a significant legal and ebusiness industry in Leeds.

Regional disparity[edit]The effect of changing economic fortune has contributed to the creation of the so-called North-South divide, in which decaying industrial and ex-industrial areas of Northern England, Scotland and Wales contrast with the wealthy, finance and technology-led southern economy. This has led successive governments to develop regional policy to try to rectify the imbalance. However, this is not to say that the north-south divide is uniform; some of the worst pockets of deprivation can be found in London, whilst parts of Cheshireand North Yorkshire are very wealthy. Nor is the North-South divide limited to the economic sphere; cultural and political divisions weigh heavily too.

Natural resources[edit]Main article: Economy of the United Kingdom

Historically, much of the United Kingdom was forested. Since prehistoric times, man has deforested much of the United Kingdom.

Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanised, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labour force. It contributes around 2% ofGDP. Around two thirds of production is devoted to livestock, one third to arable crops.

In 1993, it was estimated that land use was:

Arable land : 25% Permanent crops : 0% Permanent pastures : 46% Forests  and Woodland: 10% Other: 19% Irrigated : 1,080 km²

The UK has a variety of natural resources including:

Geological: coal, petroleum, natural gas, limestone, chalk, gypsum, silica, rock salt, china clay, iron ore, tin, silver, gold, lead.

Agricultural: arable land, wheat, barley, sheep

The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Due to the island location of the UK, the country has great potential for generating electricity from wave power and tidal power, although these have not yet been exploited on a commercial basis.

Environment[edit]

Current issues[edit]England is one of the most densely populated countries/regions in the world, and the most densely populated major nation in Europe.[17] The high population density (especially in the southeast of England) coupled with a changing climate, is likely to put extreme pressure on the United Kingdom's water resources in the future.[18]

The United Kingdom is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It has met Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and intends to meet the legally binding target of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010. By 2015, to recycle or compost at least 33% of household waste. Between 1998-99 and 1999–2000, household recycling increased from 8.8% to 10.3% respectively.

International agreements[edit]The United Kingdom is a party to many international agreements, including: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands and Whaling.

The UK has signed, but not ratified, the international agreement on Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants.

The United Kingdom is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe, with a total area of approximately 241,930 square kilometres. It is formed of:

England  is the largest country of the United Kingdom, at 130,410 square kilometres (50,350 sq mi)

Scotland  at 78,772 square kilometres (30,410 sq mi),[4] is second largest, accounting for about a third of the area of the UK. Wales and Northern Ireland are much smaller, covering 20,758 and 14,160 square kilometres (8,010 and 5,470 sq mi) respectively.

The physical geography of the UK varies greatly. England consists of mostly lowland terrain, with upland or mountainous terrain only found north-west of the Tees-Exe line

The tallest mountain in the UK (and British Isles) is Ben Nevis ( 1,344 metres), in the Grampian Mountains, Scotland.

The longest river is the River Severnwhich flows from Wales into England.

The largest lake by surface area is Lough Neagh ((147.39 sq mi; 381.7 km2)) in Northern Ireland, though Scotland's Loch Ness has the largest volume.

The geology of the UK is complex and diverse, a result of it being subject to a variety of plate tectonic processes over a very extended period of time.

The lowest point of the UK is in the Fens of East Anglia, in England, parts of which lie up to 4 metres below sea level.

The longest river in the UK is the River Severn (220 mi; 350 km) which flows through both Wales and England.

In total, it is estimated that the UK is made up of over one thousand small islands, the majority located off the north and west coasts of Scotland

The UK has a coastline which measures about 12,429 km.

The climate of the UK is generally temperate, although significant local variation occurs, particularly as a result of altitude and distance from the coast. In general the south of the country is warmer than the north, and the west wetter than the east.

England is one of the most densely populated countries/regions in the world, and the most densely populated major nation in Europe.According to the 2011 census, the total population of the United Kingdom was around 63,182,000.[1] It is the third-largest in the European Union (behind Germany and France) and the 22nd-largest in the world. Its overall population density is one of the highest in the world at 259 people per square kilometre, due to the particularly high population density in England. Almost one-third of the population lives in England's southeast, which is predominantly urban and suburban, with about 8 million in the capital city of London, the population density of which is just over 5,200 per square kilometre.[2]

The United Kingdom is a unitary democracy governed within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by Her Majesty's Government, on behalf of and by the consent of the Monarch, as well as by the devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales, and the Northern Ireland Executive

The economic geography of the United Kingdom reflects its high position in the current economic league tables, as well as reflecting its long history as a trading nation and as an imperial power. This in turn was built on exploitation of natural resources such as coal and iron ore.

Agriculture  is intensive, highly mechanised, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labour force. It contributes around 2% of GDP. Around two thirds of production is devoted to livestock, one third to arable crops.

The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Due to the island location of the UK, the country has great potential for generating electricity from wave power and tidal power, although these have not yet been exploited on a commercial basis.