
Official Name: United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland 
Parts: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland  Total population: 66, 870, 000  Capital City: London 
Type of Government: Constitutional monarchy  Flag: The Union Flag  Money: Pound sterling (£) 
Highest mountain: Ben Nevis (1,343m, Scotland) 
Longest river: River Severn (354 km, Wales) 
Major languages: English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish (as a
form of Gaelic, about 60,000 in Scotland) 
Total land area (sq.km): 244,820 sq. km 
Major rivers: Thames, Severn, Tyne
Khí hậu: Varied climate 
variable climate changing from day to day 
difficult to predict the weather 
warm summers & cool winters Temperate maritime  mild  damp  subject to frequent changes.
The main influence on the climate is close proximity to  the Atlantic Ocean  Northern latitude 
the Gulf Stream (a warm current of the northern Atlantic Ocean) Land: South & East: 
comparatively low-lying: flat plains or gently rolling hills  No towering mountain ranges 
No impressively large rivers, plains, forests 
It lacks in grandeur it makes up for in a variety North & West: 
Mountainous areas & flat areas have a great proportion of grassland fields with hedgerows  in southern England. 
The English and the Welsh don’t like living in blocks of flats in city centers ⇒Cities have
been built outwards rather than upwards ENGLAND  Population: 55,977,000 
Area: 130,410 sq km largest of the countries comprising the island of Britain, covering
about two-thirds of the island. No place in England is more than 120 km from the sea. LONDON - Capital of the UK 
The largest city in Britain & in western Europe 
Home to headquarters of all government departments country’s parliament major legal institutions the monarch 
Country’s business & banking Centre 
Centre of its transport network. 
Headquarters of national television networks & national newspapers. 
About 7 times larger than any other city in the country 
About a fifth of the total population of the UK lives in the wider London area. 
Nearly a million people travel to the Centre each day to work. Southern England  Outer suburbs of London 
Most densely populated area The reputation of being 'commuter and millions of its
inhabitants travel into London to work every day.
Counties of Southern England  Bristol  Hampshire  West  Wiltshire Sussex  Cornwall  Isle of  Berkshire Wight  East  Devon Sussex  Gloucester  Oxford shire  Dorset shire  Kent  Surrey  Somerset The Midlands of England Birmingham: 
Second-largest city develops into the country’s major engineering center converting iron
& steel into a vast variety of goods.
Other industrial areas in the Midlands 
develop The Potteries in Manchester 
famous for producing China: factories of Wedgwood, Spode & Minton 
world's greatest fishing port in Grimsby 
country's major fish processing centre Northern England 
Run up the middle of northern England like a spine. 
The western side, the world's leading producer of cotton goods in the Manchester area in the 19th century 
Eastern side, world's leading producers of goods in Bradford & Leeds woolen 
Other towns sprang up on both sides of the Pennines concentrating on certain auxiliary
industries or on coal mining. 
Further south, the center for the production of steel goods in Sheffield 
Further north, shipbuilding - major industry - around Newcastle.
The Lake District (north-western corner of the country) 
(the ‘Lake Poets’) Romantic poets: Wordsworth, Coleridge & Southey 
favorite destination walking holidays 
classified as a National Park (largest in England). Scotland  In north-west Europe  Part of Great Britain 
An island country & the United Kingdom  Area: 78,789 sq km  Population: 5,438,000  Capital City: Edinburgh 
Major Cities: Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow 
Highest point: Ben Nevis (1,343 m) 
Longest river: Tay (193 kilometers) long 
Largest Lake: Loch Lomond (60 sq.km)  40 km long
-Three fairly clearly-marked regions:  + Southern upland  + Central plain  + The highlands
Scotland's two major cities have very different reputations. Glasgow  + Scotland's largest city 
+ A strong artistic heritage, design, architecture 
+ One of the world’s leading industrial Edinburgh 
+ the capital and second-largest city of Scotland  + Many historical buildings Wales  In north-west Europe  Part of Great Britain, 
An island country & the United Kingdom(UK)  Area:20,779 sq km  Population:3,139,000  Capital City: Cardiff 
Major Cities: Cardiff, Swansea & Newport 
Highest point: Snowdon (1085 m)  Longest river: Towy (103 km)  Largest Lake: Bala (4.4 sq km) 
Live in one small part of Wales 
Most heavily populated in the south-east 
Coal has been mined in many parts of Britain 
locate its prototype coal mine in south Wales. 
Cardiff - the capital of Wales – population: third of a million 
Most of the rest of Wales is mountainous 
Travel between south & north is very difficult. 
Each part of Wales has closer contact with its neighboring: the north with Liverpool, &
mid-Wales with the English West Midlands. Belfast: 
capital & largest city of Northern Ireland 
famous for the manufacture of linen (still a shipbuilding city) Lough Neagh (Loch Neagh) 
a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland 
the largest lake by area in the British Isles