THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

GREAT BRITAIN (PART I)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a union of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The tern Great Britain is commonly used in place of United Kingdom.

Great Britain is an island country in northwestern Europe. It ranks 72 nd in size among the countries of the world, and has less than 2 per cent of the world's people. It has few natural resources. Yet for hundreds of years, Great Britain has been one of the world's most important countries. The British started the Industrial Revolution. They founded the largest empire in history. They have produced some of the world's greatest scientists, explorers, artists, and political leaders. London is the capital and largest city.

The landscape varies dramatically throughout Britain. Northern Scotland is a wild, windswept region, broken by long arms of the sea that reach far inland. Much of Northern Ireland has low mountains and rolling fields. Wales is famous for its rugged mountains and deep, green valleys. Most of England is covered by rolling plains, laid out in a patchwork of fields and meadows. The coastline is a shifting scene of steep cliffs, golden beaches, jagged rocks, and fishing towns tucked in sheltered bays. The old and new can be found almost everywhere. Britain has magnificent old castles and atomic laboratories, snug

villages and sprawling cities, and ancient universities and modern factories.

Great Britain covers most of an island group called the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands - Great Britain and Ireland - and thousands of small islands, such as Orkney Islands in the north, Outer Hebrides in the north-west, Isle of Wight in the south. England, Scotland and Wales occupy the island of Great Britain , Northern Ireland occupies the northeastern part of the island of Ireland . The independent Re­ public of Ireland occupies most of this island. The island of Great Britain is the eighth largest island in the world. It covers 84,550 square miles (218,980 square kilometers). The North Sea on the east and the English Channel on the south separate the island from the mainland of Europe. The island of Ireland lies to the west, across the Irish Sea. Great Britain is separated from mainland Europe by only about 20 miles (32 kilometers) of water at the closest point, the Strait of Dover. Most of the coastline of Great Britain is so broken by deep bays and inlets that no point on the island is more than 75 miles (121 kilometers) from the sea.

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