GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION OF GREAT BRITAIN

Britain is formally known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the political unity of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Britain is situated on the British Isles. They lie off the north-west coast of Europe. The two largest islands are Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain comprises England, Wales and Scotland.

Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the north, north-west and south-west. It is separated from Europe by the North Sea, the Strait of Dover and the English Channel. The seas around Britain are shallow because the islands lie on the continental shelf.

The rivers of Great Britain are not long but they are deep and navigable, most of them are linked by canals. They seldom freeze in winter. The Thames is the most important inland waterway.

The most important ports are: London, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, Cardiff and some others.

The total land area of the U.K. is 93,018 square miles.

Britain is usually divided into two major regions - Highland Britain and Lowland Britain. Highland Britain is a mountainous part. It includes Scotland, the Lake District in the North-West England, the Pennines (the central upland), almost the whole of Wales and .the counties of Dеvon and Cornwall in the south-western pare of England. Lowland Britain is a rich plain in the south-east.

Great Britain is divided into 101 administrative regions called counties. The population is more than 58000 000 people. There are many big industrial and cultural centres in the country. Among them are London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh.

London is the capital of Great Britain and the largest sea and river port in Europe. Its population is more than 5 million people. Britain has a mild and temperate climate.

Great Britain is one of the most powerful capitalist countries in Europe. It is a large producer of iron and steel products, electronics and machinery, chemicals

and textiles. It has a highly developed shipbuilding industry.

Great Britain imports all of its oil, cotton, rubber, four-fifth of its wool, half of its food and iron ore. It exports machinery, motor-cars, locomotives, chemicals, textiles, radio, TV and equipment
2. Complete the information about British Isles.

is the geographical name of the two large islands of and and a lot of small islands around them.

consists of and the Republiс of which is not part of the UK. (or the UK) is a short way of saying the United Kingdom of and . It's the political name of the country which is made up of , , and . The people of this countries are British.

(GB) is the name of the islands which is made up of , , and . The name «Britain» comes from the word «Pretani», the Greco-Roman word for the people of Britain. The Romans mispronounced it called the island «Britannia».