英美概况英国地理.doc

CHAPTER1 1 Geographic Position UK is situated in Western Europe, lying off the northwest coast of Europe and surrounded by the sea (the Arctic Sea, north Atlantic Sea, Irish Sea, and North Sea), and it covers most of the British Isles(Great Britain, Ireland and some small islands). UK is seperated from the European Continent by by the North Sea, the Strait of Dover and the English Channel. Its neighboring countries include France, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Irish Republic and Iceland. 2 Full Official Name The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland National Elements ●England ●Scotland National Area 244,820 sq KM ●Wales ●Northern Ireland 3 England ●It is the largest national element of UK with an area of more than 130 000sq km, and the capital is London. ●It is the most important part of the Kingdom in wealth, size, and population, so people always use “England” and “English” when they mean “Britain” and “British”. 4 Scotland ●Scotland is in the north of Great Britain with an area of 78,760 square km. Its capital is Edinburgh. ●It retained its own parliament until 1707 when, by the Act of Union, Scotland and the Kingdom of England and Wales were constitutionally joined as the ●Kingdom of Great Britain. Ben Nevis (1,343m), the highest in Britain, is located here. 5 Wales ●Wales is in the west of Great Britain with an area of 20,761 square km. Its capital is Cardiff. ●Most of Wales is mountainous, only 12% of the land is arable. ●Wales was effectively united with England in the 14th century. 6 Northern Ireland ●Northern Ireland takes up the northern fifth of Ireland and has an area of 14,147 square km. Its capital is Belfast. ●Northern Ireland is composed of the six Irish counties that elected to remain in the union with Great Britain when the remaining 26 counties of Ireland obtained autonomy in 1921. 7 Population (About 60 mill