Characteristics of the Great Britain EGP. Natural conditions and resources Interstate relations of neighboring countries of Great Britain

(86% of cargo turnover), it provides international and domestic connections. Road transport accounts for 75% of domestic transport (the main London-Manchester-Glasgow highway), and rail about 20%. With the opening of the railway tunnel, the role of this transport in international transport increased. High speed trains cover the distance between London and Paris in 3 hours. River routes are used for purposes, and the role of pipeline transport is increasing.

Since the country is an island, the role of air transport is great. There are 150 passenger airports in the country, which provide connections with 120. Transportation is carried out by the transnational company British Airways. The largest airports are located in London (Heathrow and Gatwick).

Since Great Britain is an island state, all its external transport and trade are related to maritime and by air. About 90% of the total cargo turnover is accounted for by sea transport, including 25% by cabotage.

The UK maritime fleet is 9.6 million reg. b.t. All areas of the country, except the West Midlands, are, to one degree or another, directly connected to seaports, which serve as major transport hubs. The largest of them are London, Southampton, Liverpool, Goole and Harwich. The ports of London and Liverpool handle about half of all cargo (by value).

In past by sea more passengers arrived than by air. However, since the beginning of the 60s of the 20th century, the number of air passengers began to grow rapidly and is now several times higher than the number of those arriving in the country by sea. In total, the country has about 150 airports, through which it is connected by regular airlines to more than 100 countries of the world.

Almost all transport is carried out by British Airways. The country's five largest airports - London-area Heathrow and Gatwick, as well as Manchester, Luton and Glasgow - account for 75% of all passenger and air cargo traffic.

The UK is connected to the continent by two railway ferries (Dover - Dunkirk and Harwich - Ostend), a canal under and numerous sea car and passenger ferries - with Denmark, and. To attract passengers on ferries, duty-free trade has been opened.

In domestic freight transport biggest role plays road transport. It is more than 3 times inferior to railway and coastal transport. In connection with the development of motor transport, more than 12 thousand km of railway tracks were removed. Now the length of the railway tracks is about 17 thousand km. at the same time the network is expanding highways(371 thousand km) and their reconstruction is underway. In this case, the main attention is paid to connecting the main conurbations of the country with the shortest routes.

Area - 244.8 thousand km2. Population - 60.4 million people

A constitutional monarchy is a unitary state with autonomous entities (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands). Capital -. London

EGP

Great Britain - Island state in the northeastern part. Atlantic Ocean, from the mainland. Europe is separated by a strait. English Channel. Except the island. Great Britain, it includes the north-eastern part of the island. Ireland and a number of small islands. In the west the state borders with. Ireland, which was a colony for more than 700 years. UK her. The closest neighbors on the mainland are... France and Belgium Great Britain is a member. EU,. NATO and other integration associations, which contributes to the development of pan-European cooperation.

Great Britain is a central state. Commonwealth - a political and economic union of countries and territories that were previously part of. British. Empire (49 states and territories) included. The Commonwealth includes 14 states, among them such highly developed ones as. Canada,. Australia,. New. Zealand*.

Location. Great Britain on the islands promotes the development of maritime transport and access to international maritime trade routes. A tunnel built in the very bottleneck Strait. The English Channel connects. Great Britain with the mainland. This improves it significantly. EGGP.

Population

In terms of population, the country ranks second among European countries after. Germany. For. Great Britain has long been characterized by low natural population growth, which today amounts to more than 1 per 1,000 people per year. For several years, there was even a slight decline in the state's population. Now in. The population of Great Britain is growing slowly due to insignificant natural growth and the influx of foreigners. Low birth rate against the backdrop of a significant average life expectancy (78 years) leads to the aging process of the nation.

The national composition of the population is motley. More than 80% are English, about 4% are Welsh, 2% are Irish, about 5.2% are Scots and over 4% come from other countries. Commonwealth, etc. Since the mid-20th century, about. 30 thousand immigrants from Ukraine. Residents by religion. Great Britain belongs to three faiths: the British and Welsh are supporters of the Protestant Church of England; Irish are Catholics; The Scots are Protestants (Presbyterians).

Placed population. Great Britain's territory is uneven. The average population density is about 240 people per 1 km2. The highest population density in. England (350 people per 1 km2), the smallest in. Scotland and India (more than 100 people per 1 km2). More than 90% of the population lives in cities. For. Great Britain is characterized by large agglomerations with a population of over 1 million people, in which a third of the urban population lives. They, together with smaller agglomerations (about 30 in all), form. English megalopolis with population. ZO million people. Bridge-millionaire two -. London (7.6 million people) and. Birmingham. In terms of the way of life, the countryside is not much different from the countryside.

In the employment structure of the population, about 80% are employed in the service sector, 19% in industry and 1% in agriculture. There is unemployment in the country, on average reaching 5.5% annually.

Natural conditions and resources

. Island. UK is rich in coal resources, whose reserves are currently very depleted. The largest coal basins -. Yorkshire, Newcastle (northern England) etc. Welsh. Oil and gas reserves are significant (North Sea shelf). B. British sector. The North Sea contains significant deposits of oil and natural gas. The UK is the only one of the G7 European countries that fully meets its needs with its own oil and gas.

The nadra islands contain small reserves of iron ore in the central coastal parts of the state, lead-zinc and tin ores on the peninsula. Cornwall (southwest UK). In the central parts. England has deposits of table and potassium salts.

The state is relatively rich in water resources ( humid climate contributes to the full flow of rivers). Only in the central one. England is experiencing a shortage of water resources. Insignificant hydro resources are concentrated on rivers. Sh. Scotland and. Wales.

Forest reserves in the country are insignificant. Only 10% of its territory is covered with forests and only 15% of the wood demand is covered from its own resources

The country is dominated by flat terrain. Significant areas are occupied by old destroyed mountains (Cambrian, Peninsky), which do not have a significant impact on the nature of the development of the territory

The country's climate is temperate maritime with mild winters and cool summers. It promotes the cultivation of all temperate zone crops. On the western coast of the island, 2000 mm of precipitation falls, and on the eastern coast - 600 mm of rainfall per river.

The UK has limited resources of agricultural land. The soils of the state are quite fertile (brown forest, podzolic), but require a significant amount of mineral and organic fertilizers

In the north. Scotland has a large lake district characterized by significant recreational resources

Characteristics of EGP

Great Britain (United Kingdom) is an island state, most of whose territory is located on two large islands separated by the waters of the Irish Sea. total area Great Britain is 244,017 sq. km. The population of Great Britain is 58,395 thousand people.

Officially the country is called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It consists of four countries: England, Scotland and Wales, located on the island of Britain, and Northern Ireland. The latter is located on the same island as the Independent Republic of Ireland. Thus, the UK shares a common land border only with Ireland.

The British Isles lie off the northwestern coast of Europe. The British Isles are surrounded by many small islands. To the southwest of the island of Britain are the Isles of Scilly, and to the north of Wales is the Isle of Anglesey. On the western and northern coasts of Scotland there are numerous small islands that are part of Great Britain. The most important of these are the Orkney Shetland Islands.

From the west, Great Britain is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and from the east by the waters of the North Sea.

From the south, Great Britain borders on France, its closest and most developed neighbor, which shares water borders with it. Shortest distance to north coast France - the Strait of Dover, but the main communication between the states is through the English Channel, called the English Channel by the British, along the bottom of which a tunnel for high-speed rail transport was built at the end of the twentieth century. Before this, communication between the two countries was carried out by water or air.

Also, the closest neighbors of Great Britain are Belgium and the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and Norway are located much further away.

Thus, the UK’s EGP is both neighboring and coastal, which is extremely beneficial for the economic development of the country, although it undoubtedly has certain disadvantages in strategic and military terms.

The administrative map of Great Britain has changed several times, because... the annexation of the countries that make up the United Kingdom took centuries. Each once independent state has its own capital or administrative center. The official capital of Great Britain is London, since the unification of the lands took place around England.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Great Britain, being in first place in the world in terms of economic development, created a colossal colonial power that occupied almost a quarter of the planet's territory. British colonies included India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and much of Africa. In the twentieth century, the English colonies became independent states, but many of them are part of the British Commonwealth, headed by the British monarch. In 1921 South part Ireland separated from Great Britain and became an independent state.

Modern Administrative division Great Britain

The UK is one of the most densely populated and highly urbanized countries in the world. On average, there are 230 people per 1 sq.m. of its area. However, the population is distributed very unevenly throughout the country. The bulk of the UK population is concentrated in England, which has the most convenient geographical location, favorable natural conditions and playing a leading economic role throughout the history of the British Isles. Here the average density increases to 356 people per 1 sq. km. Within England itself, the country's main industrial belt, stretched along the London-Liverpool axis, is most densely populated: half of the total population of Great Britain lives in this belt. The most sparsely populated areas are in Scotland, with its harsh natural conditions compared to other parts of the country and a less developed economy. For 1 sq. km. It has an average population of 86 people, with the population concentrated mainly on the coasts, valleys and lowlands (especially around Glasgow and Edinburgh), while some highland areas are virtually deserted.

By the end of the nineteenth century. 3/4 of the population of Great Britain lived in cities, and the predominant type of population was already large conurbations. Since the beginning of the twentieth century. There is an intensive resettlement of rural residents to cities, where almost 4/5 of the country's population now lives. Drawing the line between urban and rural settlements in a highly urbanized country like the UK is difficult. Many villages have become the “bedrooms” of nearby cities: villagers commute to the cities every day to work.

There are about a thousand cities in Great Britain. Half of the country's urban inhabitants are concentrated in seven conurbations. One of them - Central Clydessa (1.7 million people) - is located in Scotland, and the rest are in England. These are Tynesad, which is home to 0.8 million people, the West Midlands (2.4 million), South-East Lancashire (2.3 million), West Yorkshire (1.7 million), Mernsside (1.3 million) and Greater London (7 million). Over 1/10 of city residents live in cities with a population of more than 200 thousand people each, of which Sheffield and Edinburgh each have more than half a million inhabitants. Medium-sized cities in the UK include 75 cities with populations ranging from 50 to 100 thousand people. The five conurbations and half of all the country's large and medium-sized cities are concentrated in the industrial belt along the London-Liverpool axis, which is partly called the metropolis.

One of the consequences of the development of conurbations and especially their central cities is an unreasonably high overcrowding of the population. In this regard, measures are being taken to relieve them: part of the excess population is moving to the suburbs or to new expanding medium-sized cities.

In the “hierarchy” of British cities, London undoubtedly occupies a leading position as the capital, the main political and cultural center of the country, one of its largest industrial centers, the largest sea ​​port and a leading city in the UK's most important economic region, Southern England. In addition to London, many “capital” functions are performed by 10 other cities in the UK: Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast as the capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively; Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds and Bradford, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool - as central cities conurbations and regional centers. In addition, over 150 cities are higher than the bulk of cities in terms of the number of inhabitants and the role they play in the life of nearby territories. These cities are called "City", all the rest are called "town".

There are few countries in the world in which seaside towns occupied such an important place as in Great Britain, in which out of 100 big cities 44 - seaside. London arose primarily as a seaport for trade with continental European states; Trade with the countries of the basin has long been carried out through Gul (Hull) Baltic Sea; Bristol and Liverpool served as "gateways to New World. Near large industrial centers there are seaside resort towns: Brighton and Margate - near London, Blacknul - near the Lanshire coalfield, Scarborough - on the Yorkshire coast. All the original development gravitated towards the sea. All the specialized apartments were built near the coast, and further on - housing.

Much faster than other cities, in the last two centuries the largest industrial centers grew near coal and iron ore deposits: Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Belfast, Middleborough, etc. The developing industry required more and more workers, and working-class neighborhoods were hastily built up by speculators , were often slums from the very beginning. Houses for workers were built according to a single standard. Most often these are monotonous “terraces” - rows of identical houses standing back to back. The monotony of working-class neighborhoods in industrial cities is broken only by the huge, smoky buildings of factories and factories, warehouses and gas distribution stations. Railway here, as a rule, it goes to the very center of the city and serves as its “skeleton”. The old quarters of industrial cities are being overgrown with new buildings, in which the industrial zone is separated from the residential one.

Until very recently, all UK cities grew predominantly in width, since low-rise buildings are cheaper and more in line with the tastes and traditions of the British. Until now, some are still reluctant to settle in apartment buildings, since this means living without their own, even tiny, garden. Cities are increasingly expanding their territory due to the growth of suburbs, absorbing already scarce land resources. Only in the last decade have multi-storey apartment buildings begun to appear in British cities, but housing is very expensive. Therefore, most Britons continue to live in old houses, many of which were built in the last century. The acute housing crisis, accompanied by rising rents, is one of the country's most serious socio-economic problems.

There are mainly two types of rural settlements in Britain. In the lowlands of eastern England, the population lives primarily in villages. The shapes of the villages are varied: more often with a star plan, less often with a row, street layout.

There are many medium-sized farms everywhere, where farming is carried out without the use of hired labor. Small farming is concentrated mainly in Scotland and Wales. The densest network of villages is in north-east Yorkshire, where they are often no more than 2.5 km away. from each other. The density of rural and semi-rural settlements is exceptionally high in the country's main industrial belt and around the Tynesad and Clydeside conurbations. Here, the villages in which workers employed at the industrial enterprises of the conurbations live, interspersed with villages, hamlets and individual farms.

Ministry of General and Vocational Education

Sverdlovsk region

State educational institution

primary vocational education

Vocational school for training trade workers

Economic-geographical

country characteristics

Great Britain

Essay

Executor:

Telitsyna M.M.

student of group No. 21

Supervisor:

geography teacher

Khorzova T.V.

Ekaterinburg

Introduction…………………………………………………………………….…3

1.Territory, borders, position of the country……………………………...4

2.Natural conditions and resources…………………………………………......5

3.Population…………………………………………………………….7

4. Economy and industry………………………………………...8

5.Agriculture…………………………………………………….11

6.Transport…………………………………………………………….12

7.Science and finance……………………………………………………….13

8.Recreation and tourism………………………………………………………......15

9.Environmental protection and environmental problems…………....18

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….19

Appendix 1…………………………………………………………….20

Appendix 2…………………………………………………………….21

Appendix 3…………………………………………………………….22

Appendix 4…………………………………………………………….23

Appendix 5…………………………………………………………….24

References………………………………………………………25

Introduction

I chose the topic “Economic and geographical position of Great Britain” because Great Britain is closest to me of all other countries, of course, not counting Russia. I would like to visit this country cultural places and learn more about it than my superficial knowledge.

To write an essay on this topic, you need to study four sources that fairly accurately describe the situation in Great Britain. And based on these sources, it is necessary, based on the questions posed, to show the current situation of the country and draw a conclusion about its condition.

1. Territory, borders, position of the country

Great Britain (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is an irregularly shaped archipelago with a very diverse landscape and nature. The area of ​​Great Britain is approximately 240,842 sq. km. Most consists of land, and the rest is rivers and lakes. England's area is 129,634 square meters. km., Wales - 20,637 sq. km., Scotland - 77,179 sq. km. and Northern Ireland - 13,438 sq. km. The southern tip of the island of Great Britain, the Cornwall peninsula, is located at 50° N, and the northernmost part of the Shetland archipelago is at 60° N. The length of the island of Great Britain from north to south is 966 km, and its greatest width is half that. Great Britain has a complex administrative-territorial division. It consists of 4 historical and geographical regions: England (45 counties and a special administrative unit - Greater London). Wales (8 counties); Northern Ireland (26 counties); Scotland (12 regions); independent administrative units - the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. From the west, Great Britain is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and from the east by the waters of the North Sea. From the south, Great Britain borders on France - its closest and most developed neighbor, which shares water borders with it. The shortest distance to the northern coast of France is the Strait of Dover, but the main communication between the states is through the English Channel, called the English Channel by the British, along the bottom of which a tunnel for high-speed transport was built at the end of the twentieth century. railway communication. Before this, communication between the two countries was carried out by water or air. Also, the closest neighbors of Great Britain are Belgium and the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and Norway are located much further away. Thus, the UK’s EGP is both neighboring and coastal, which is extremely beneficial for the economic development of the country, although it has some disadvantages in strategic and military terms.

2. Natural conditions and resources The climate of Great Britain is temperate, oceanic, very humid with mild winters and cool summers. The British Isles are characterized by frequent fog and strong winds. The moderate oceanic climate and the influence of the warm North Atlantic Current create favorable conditions for development Agriculture . The average temperature of the coldest month - January - does not fall below +3.5 degrees even in the extreme northeast of Great Britain, and in the southwest it reaches +5.5 degrees. Snow falls throughout the country in winter, but very unevenly. In the mountainous regions of Scotland, snow cover lasts for at least 1-1.5 months. In the south of England, and especially in the southwest, snow falls very rarely and lasts no more than a week. Here the grass is green all year round. High soil cultivation is an important factor in increasing agricultural productivity. In the British climate, rivers are full of water. The largest are the Thames, Severn, Trent, and Mersey. Rivers are only used as a source of energy in the Scottish Highlands. The UK does not have a large variety of mineral resources. The importance of hard coal is especially great, the total reserves of which amount to 190 billion tons. Three basins stand out as the largest reserves and production: Yorkshire and South Wales. In addition to these three largest coal basins, an important role is played by the Scottish basins, stretching in a chain from the western to the eastern edge of the Lowlands, as well as the Lancashire and West Midlands, consisting of a number of small deposits. There are small outcrops of coal seams on the coast of the Kimberland Peninsula and in the extreme southeast of England - the Kent Basin. In the 60s, oil and gas fields were discovered on the North Sea shelf. Large deposits are located off the coast of southeast England and northeast Scotland. Great Britain ranks sixth in the world oil producer. Oil reserves in Great Britain reach 770 million tons. In addition to large energy resources, the UK has significant reserves of iron ore. But their deposits are characterized by low metal content in the ore (22-33%). The largest field is the East Midlands. Until recently, Great Britain supplied half of its needs for this type of raw material with its own iron ore, the rest was purchased through imports. Currently, the mining of low-quality ore has proven to be unprofitable, so production has been curtailed and switched to importing high-quality ores from Sweden, Canada, Brazil and a number of African countries. In the past, small deposits of copper and lead-zinc ores, as well as tin, were mined in the UK. Their deposits are severely depleted and production is now very small. They mine some tungsten. Uranium ores have been found in Scotland. Of non-metallic industrial raw materials, the extraction of kaolin or white clay is significant, as well as rock salt in Cheshire and Durham and potash salt in Yorkshire. The country's soil cover is dominated by a variety of podzolic soils and brown soils. The meadow soils near the Wash Bay are the most fertile. In general, the soils in Great Britain are highly cultivated and produce high yields. Great Britain is characterized by a cultural landscape. Only in the mountainous regions of the country is natural vegetation preserved. The forests are dominated by broad-leaved species (oak, hornbeam, elm, beech) and only in Scotland - pine. Today, only 9% of the UK's territory is occupied by forests. However, the country gives the impression of being very wooded thanks to the hedges that surround the fields and meadows, as well as small areas of woodland and numerous parks. Only West Coast, exposed to westerly winds carrying salty sea spray, is almost devoid of vegetation. Thus, due to the temperate oceanic climate in the UK, the grass is green all year round, i.e. Soil productivity is high. The UK does not have a large variety of minerals, however, some of them played a huge role in shaping its industrial areas, and the UK is now more of an importer than an exporter. 3. Population

The total population (according to 2008) is 61,113,205 people. Age structure: under 14 years old - 16.7%, 15-64 - 67.1%, 65 and older - 16.2%. Average age men - 39 years old, women - 41 years old. The average family composition is 2 children and parents. The rural population is 11%, the rural population density is 242 people. per 1 sq. km. The total number of economically active population is 29 million people. In cities with the number of inhabitants of St. 100 thousand people Almost half of the country's population lives. The largest cities by population: London (6,803,000 people), Birmingham (935,000 people), Glasgow (654,000 people), Sheffield (500,000 people), Liverpool (450,000 people), Edinburgh (421 000 people), Manchester (398,000 people), Belfast (280,000 people). In Great Britain, the birth rate exceeds the death rate, the rapid birth rate can be seen in the table (Appendix 1) from 1976 to 2009. The country's indigenous people make up 92% of the population (2001, census), of which:

· English - 83.6%,

· Scots (mainly in Scotland) - 8.5%,

· Welsh (mainly in Wales) - 4.9%,

· Irish (mainly in Northern Ireland, Ulsterians) - 2.9%.

Immigrants and their children live mainly in the Greater London, West Midlands and Merseyside conurbations. They make up about 8% of the country's population, including:

• people from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - 3.6%,
• China - 0.4%,
• African countries - 0.8%,
• dark-skinned islanders Caribbean Sea - 1 %

The current monarch is Elizabeth II, who began her reign on February 6, 1952. Her eldest son, Prince Charles, is her heir. The Prince of Wales holds various ceremonial functions, as does the Queen's husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In addition, there are several other members of the august family: children, grandchildren and cousins. Thus, the population is growing due to labor immigrants from countries that have recently joined the European Union, who, after the EU enlargement in May 2004, were allowed free entry to work in the UK. However, the country's birth rate still exceeds death rates, although natural increase is no longer the dominant factor in the increase in the number of Britons.

Introduction page 2

Main part:

1. Geographical location page 2

2. State system p. 3

3. Relief page 3

4. Minerals page 4

5. Climate page 5

6. Water resources page 5

7. Soils page 6

8. Agriculture page 7

9. Industry p. 7

Conclusion page 9

List of sources and literature page 10

Geographical location

Introduction:

The topic “Economic and geographical position of Great Britain” is very extensive. It covers many aspects relating to this country. Such as: economic, geographical position, state of economic sectors at this stage of the country’s development. This essay was written using three sources, which quite accurately and completely describe the current situation in Great Britain. A clear description of the state of the economy, EGP, geographical location (relief, climate, etc.) is given. The essay is written to show the current situation of the country and draw a conclusion about its condition.

The abstract consists of an introduction, main part and conclusion. The introduction briefly provides an analysis of sources and literature, and also states the purpose of writing the abstract. The main part is divided into three chapters. The first chapter provides some basic information; in the second we will talk about natural conditions; and the third chapter describes the state of the country's economy. In conclusion, a conclusion is given about the general condition of Great Britain.

Main part :

Chapter 1

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION

Country located on British Isles off the northwestern coast of continental Europe, traditionally called Great Britain, and by the name of the historical part - England. Officially, it is called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The country includes 4 historical regions: England (occupies the central and eastern part of the island of Great Britain); Wales (in the west of the same island); Northern Ireland (island of Ireland) and Scotland. The British Isles are the largest archipelago in Europe. It includes two large islands (Great Britain and Ireland) and more than 5 thousand small islands. The southern tip of the island of Great Britain, the Lizard Peninsula, is located at 50 degrees north latitude, and the northernmost part of the archipelago, the Shetland Islands, is at 60 degrees north latitude. The length of the island of Great Britain from north to south is 966 km, and its greatest width is half that. The British archipelago is separated by the shallow North Sea from Sweden and Denmark and by the narrow English Channel and Pas de Calais from France. Modern outline coastline emerged relatively recently. The area of ​​the United Kingdom is 244,100 square meters. km.

STATE STRUCTURE

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. There is no constitution here; its legislation is based on centuries-old constitutional customs and precedents, that is, parliamentarians look at how a similar case was once resolved. Formally, the country is ruled by a monarch (since 1952 - Queen Elizabeth II), but in fact the highest legislative body is parliament, which includes the queen, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is a national assembly, elected every five years. House of Lords - aristocrats, princes of the blood, hereditary peers... The House of Lords has the right to delay a bill (not financial) for up to one year. Finance bills become laws when they pass the House of Commons and are signed by the Queen. Usually it does not interfere with the work of the House of Lords and generally does not interfere in government affairs.

Chapter 2

RELIEF

The natural features of Great Britain are in many ways similar to neighboring countries of Western Europe. This is not surprising since the British Isles, located within the shelf, separated from the mainland only in recent geological time. The coastline of the North Sea and the English Channel took on shapes close to modern ones just a few thousand years ago.

The island position of Great Britain, the proximity of the warm North Atlantic Current, and the strongly dissected coastline nevertheless left a certain imprint on the nature of this country. This is reflected in the predominance of moderate temperatures, increased humidity, an unusual abundance of surface water, and the spread of deciduous forests and heathlands.

At the base of the mountains throughout Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales lie Lower Paleozoic folded structures, and in southern Wales and southern Cornwall - Hercynian ones. These ancient mountain structures were subjected to intense erosion and destruction for a long time, which led to the leveling of their surface. In the Alpine era, uplifts contributed to the revival of the medium-high mountains of Great Britain, and due to the unevenness of these uplifts, the western parts of the mountains turned out to be significantly higher than the eastern ones.

Such orographic asymmetry is, as a rule, inherent in all mountain structures in Great Britain, and accordingly the main watershed is shifted towards the west coast. The western steep and steep shores differ sharply from the gently sloping low-lying shores that predominate in the east of the country.

The Quaternary glaciation generally intensified the smoothing of the mountains of Great Britain, and only in the most elevated areas did Alpine-type relief form with sharp jagged ridges and peaks, glacial cirques and typical valleys. A significant role in modeling the relief was played by erosive processes that are actively occurring at the present time. In many lowland areas, erosion has severely, and in some places completely, erased glacial-accumulative landforms, formed in that era when ice sheets descended from the mountains to the plains. It is known that, for example, during the maximum glaciation, ice approached the Thames Valley, but the extreme south of England was never covered with ice.

The northern, most elevated part of Great Britain is occupied by the Scottish Highlands, which rise steeply to the west. To the east, the highlands gradually decrease and are replaced by coastal lowlands. The deep and narrow linear depression of Glen Mawr forms the boundary of large parts of the North Scottish Highlands - the North West Highlands and the Gramnian Mountains with the majestic peak of Ben Nevis (1343) highest point the whole country.

The Grampian Mountains drop steeply into a vast depression occupied by the Lowlands of Scotland, the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. The thick layer of sedimentary rocks filling the depression contains productive horizons of Devonian coals, which are very intensively mined here. The Southern Scottish Highlands have a highly rugged topography. Elevations average about 600 m, with the highest point, Mount Merrick, reaching 842 m.

In the north of England, the Penin Mountains stretch in the meridian direction, rising on average 700 m. In their northern part there is the highest point of the Penin - Mount Cross Fell (893 m).

The massive Camberlain Mountains, composed mainly of Cambro-Silurian shales and ancient igneous rocks, approach the Pieniny Mountains in the northwest. This dome-shaped rise with the summit of Scafell (978 m) is strongly dissected by radial valleys that formed on the site of faults. In the upper part of the mountains, glacial landforms and numerous lakes have been preserved, due to which this area received the name “Circle of Lakes”.

The mountains of Wales, collectively called the Cambrian Mountains, are highest in the north, where Mount Snowdon (1085 m) rises.

MINERALS

In general, the lowland areas of England have long been widely used for settlement and agricultural development. Somewhat later, mountainous areas began to be developed, where rich pasture lands, and subsequently mineral resources, served as an important incentive for this. During the complex geological history of the islands, a variety of minerals were formed in their depths. Almost all known minerals, except diamonds, were found there.

In the north of England lie the Pennine Mountains, composed of Carboniferous sedimentary rocks. Karst is widespread in their northern part. At the foot of the Pieniny Mountains, rich productive strata of coal lie shallow. On the basis of these deposits, large mining and industrial centers of the Lanksshire, Yorkshire and other basins arose, the reserves of which amount to more than 4 billion tons.

Most of England is characterized by an alternation of flat plains and rolling cuesta ridges. Cuestas are usually composed of limestone or chalk, and the plains are composed of looser rocks: sands, marls, clays. The accumulation of all these sedimentary rocks occurred in ancient sea basins. The gentle peaks of the cuestas are characterized by the development of karst, and on many plains a cover of glacial deposits (moraines) has been preserved. These deposits are particularly widespread on the Midland Plains. Deposits of coal and iron ore are associated with small outlier hills here. The largest iron ore deposit is in the East Midlands: 60% of all reserves are concentrated here.

Significant reserves of rock and potash salts have been discovered in Cheshire and Durham.

Lead-zinc and hematite ores were found in the Cambedlen massif, and lead-zinc and tin ores were found in Cornwall. Much hope is placed on North Sea oil and gas, the total reserves of which are 2.6 billion tons and 1,400 billion cubic meters, respectively.

CLIMATE

The oceanic nature of the UK climate is reflected in the prevalence of unstable weather with gusty winds and dense fog throughout the year. Winters are very wet and unusually mild, with a sharp temperature anomaly (about 12-15 degrees) compared to mid-latitude indicators. The average temperature of the coldest month - January - does not fall below +3.5 degrees even in the extreme northeast of Great Britain, and in the southwest it reaches +5.5 degrees, and plants grow there all year round. Masses of warm sea air coming from the southwest increase winter temperatures, but at the same time bring cloudy and rainy weather with strong winds and storms. When cold air invades from the east and northeast, frosty weather sets in for a long time. Snow falls throughout the country in winter, but very unevenly. In the mountainous regions of Scotland, snow cover lasts for at least 1-1.5 months. In the south of England and especially in its southwest, snow falls very rarely and lasts no more than a week. Here the grass is green all year round. The west of Britain typically receives twice as much rainfall in winter as in summer. In the eastern regions, winter is colder and less humid.

Cold air blows in spring north winds, significantly retarding the growth of crops in the east of Scotland, and sometimes dry eastern. This time of year is usually the least rainy. Spring in the British Isles is cooler and longer than at the same latitudes on the continent.

In Great Britain, as in other countries with a maritime climate, summers are relatively cool: the average temperature of the warmest month - July - is 1-2 degrees lower than at the same latitudes of the mainland. In the summer months, cyclonic activity decreases, and the distribution of average July temperatures is more consistent with the latitudinal zonality: in the southeast of the country +16 degrees, and in the extreme northwest +12 degrees. Maximum temperatures in the southeast of England sometimes rise above 27 degrees, and sometimes as high as 32 degrees. Maximum precipitation here occurs in the second half of summer.

In autumn, cyclonic activity intensifies, the weather becomes cloudy and rainy, sometimes with strong storms, especially in September and October. When warm air is carried to the cooled surface of the islands, fog often occurs on the coasts.

Warm and humid winds blowing from the Atlantic are responsible for the abundance of rain in the western regions of Great Britain. On average, 2000 mm of precipitation falls there annually, while in eastern England, located in the “rain shadow,” it is only about 600 mm, and in some places even 500 mm. The mountains thus serve as a natural barrier, trapping moist air on the western side. Heavy rainfall adversely affects the growth of many crops, especially wheat and barley. In general, grain crops in the British Isles perform well in drier years, but grasses often burn out then.

WATER RESOURCES

Britain is rich water resources. Almost throughout the entire territory of the country, except for some southeastern regions, the amount of precipitation exceeds evaporation, and therefore a dense network of deep rivers is developed. The largest of them are the Severn, with a length of 354 km, and the Thames (338 km), the basins of which border each other. The Thames is of greatest importance to the UK economy. Its basin is home to 1/5 of the country's total population. The capital's conurbation, Greater London, is also located here.

The rivers of the low-lying part of the country, located east of the main watershed, are calm. In the mountainous regions of Scotland and Wales, the sources of the rivers are at significant altitudes, so the rivers flow quickly and often overflow their banks, especially in the rainy season. The short but deep and fast rivers of north-west Scotland and Wales are used to generate electricity. More than 60 hydroelectric power stations have been built here. The estuaries of the largest rivers in Great Britain - the Thames, Severn, Humber, Mersey, Clyde and Forth - are wide, artificially deepened and straightened bays. They contain the largest sea ​​ports and industrial units. At high tide, salt water penetrates estuaries far upstream, so the population of most seaports is supplied with drinking water from headwaters of rivers, underground reservoirs and mountain lakes.

The largest lakes in Great Britain are Lough Neagh (about 400 sq. km) in northern Ireland, as well as Loch Lomond and Loch Ness in Scotland. Numerous lakes in the Scottish Highlands and the Circle of Lakes serve as flow regulators and are used as local transport routes. There are no large lakes in the lowlands of Great Britain, but there are many artificial reservoirs created on the site of former peat mining, sand and gravel quarries.

Underground reservoirs have long been the main source of high-quality water for the people of lowland England. The largest underground pool, the area of ​​which reaches almost 30 thousand square meters. km, located under the Cretaceous limestones in the southeast of England. Currently, underground reservoirs supply 2/5 of all water consumed in England and Wales.

SOILS

The most fertile soils in Great Britain are found in the warm and relatively dry south-east, where they are formed mainly on calcareous rocks. Relatively high summer temperatures here contribute to increased biological activity and the accumulation of humus in top layer soil. Initially, this entire area was covered with broad-leaved forests, under which brown forest soils formed. Currently, the soils are highly cultivated as a result of long-term use for crops of barley, wheat and sugar beets, as well as grasses. In the marshy coastal lowlands - marshes - and in some other flat areas of England that have undergone reclamation, brown forest podzolized soils have been preserved under natural and perennial pastures. In the drained maritime lowlands of the Fenland, as well as in the Trent River valley, fairly fertile peaty alluvial soils are common. In these areas, more than in other regions of the country, wheat is sown, gardens and berry fields are planted, and intensive gardening is practiced. On the hills and cuesta ridges, thin humus-carbonate and soddy-carbonate soils are developed. The western and north-western regions of Great Britain are dominated by acidic brown podzolic soils. These lands are used for grass growing and as natural pastures. The main grain crop grown here is barley. In the mountainous regions of Cornwall, the Pennines, the Circle of Lakes and Scotland, where the climate is damp and cool, soddy-podzolic soils are developed, which are easily subject to waterlogging, leading to the formation of peat bogs. It is dominated by pastures with coarse grass.

Chapter 3

AGRICULTURE

UK agriculture employs only about 3% of the country's working population. Great Britain produces more than half of the agricultural products consumed by its population. The needs for barley, oats, potatoes, poultry, pork, eggs and fresh milk are fully met. However, many of Britain's important products have to be imported from other countries. They import 4/5 of the butter, 2/3 of the sugar, half of the wheat and bacon, and 1/4 of the beef and veal consumed in the country.

The natural conditions of Great Britain are more favorable for the development of livestock farming than agriculture. Livestock and crop production account for 65 and 23% of the value of the country's agricultural products, respectively. Mostly livestock farms are located in the western, wetter part of the island of Great Britain. England is one of the world's largest suppliers of sheep wool.

INDUSTRY

UK industry provides 1/3 of the gross national product and accounts for 1/3 of all employees. It uses mainly imported raw materials and is increasingly focused on the foreign market. On the one hand, Great Britain is characterized by the rapid growth of modern industries using progressive production technology and labor organization, the latest equipment and advanced management methods, on the other hand, the lag of old traditional industries; the first group includes electronics, the latest branches of general and precision engineering, most industries chemical industry, the second - coal mining, cotton and wool industries, shipbuilding, ferrous metallurgy.

The main branch of the UK mining industry is coal mining. It has been going on for three centuries. Until 1910, British coal dominated the world market. However, since 1913, when a record amount of it was produced - 287 million tons, production has been steadily declining.

For centuries, coal mining fully provided the British economy with fuel. Coal was also exported. Coal basins became the core of the formation of most industrial regions of the country. While the newest industries developed based on the latest achievements of science and technology, the coal industry continued to produce millions of tons using old methods. Oil became an increasingly serious competitor to coal. In addition, methods of using coal itself were improved. All this led to a decrease in its consumption. The use of natural gas, new methods of steelmaking and the electrification of transport have led to an even greater reduction in the consumption of this type of fuel.

However, coal still remains one of the leading fuels in the country. It provides 1/3 of the UK's energy consumption, second only to oil, which provides almost half of it. The largest coal basin in the British Isles is Yorkshire, where 28 million tons were mined in 1975. coal It is followed by Northumberland Durham and North Western.

UK coal consumption increased slightly in last years due to rising world oil prices.

The British oil refining industry is still dependent on imports of crude oil and petroleum products. Wells in the East Midlands produce less than 100 thousand tons annually. Oil and gas extraction from the North Sea is a new, thriving industry in the country. Crude oil is injected from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Libya, petroleum products - from Italy, the Netherlands and Venezuela.

The largest oil refineries are located at the deep sea ports of Southampton, in Cheshire, in the estuaries of the Thames, Trent and Tees. Five factories in south Wales are connected to the port of Eng Bay by an oil pipeline. There is also a large plant in Scotland on the gulf coast. Firth of Forth. From the fields of the North Sea to the oil refineries at the mouth of the river. Oil pipelines have been installed in the Tees and the Firth of Forth.

Through a gas pipeline laid at the bottom of the North Sea, gas reaches the east coast of the island of Great Britain in the area of ​​Easington and Yorg-shire. There are five main natural gas fields exploited in the British zone, which provide 1 6 of the country's energy consumption. Today, almost all gas comes from natural sources.

The UK is the world's second largest supplier and exporter of kaolin (the white clay from which porcelain is made); Other types of clay for the ceramic industry are also mined here on a very large scale. There are prospects for the extraction of tungsten, copper and gold from newly explored deposits. It is even possible that in the future Britain could stop importing tungsten entirely.

Iron ore mining occurs in a relatively narrow belt that begins at Scunthorpe in Yorkshire in the north and stretches across the East Midlands to Banbury in the south. The ore here is of low quality, siliceous and contains only 33% metal. The need for iron ore is met by imports from Canada, Liberia and Mauritania.

The UK is fully self-sufficient in electricity. 86% of electricity is produced by thermal power plants, 12% by nuclear power plants and 2% by hydroelectric power plants. The overwhelming number of thermal power plants operate on coal, but in recent years some of them have switched to oil. The largest thermal power plants (with a capacity of more than 1 million kW) are located on the Trent River and near London.

Hydro stations are generally small and are located mainly in the Scottish Highlands. And in 1970, the construction of a unified power transmission system (“Supergrid”) with high voltage was completed in Great Britain.

One of the leading sectors of British industry - ferrous metallurgy - consumes the most energy. Great Britain ranks eighth in the world in iron and steel smelting. Almost all of the country's steel is produced by the state-owned British Steel Corporation. The UK metallurgy developed in favorable conditions. The country is rich in coal. Iron ore was often contained in the coal seams themselves, or was mined nearby. The third component necessary for metallurgy - limestone is found almost everywhere in the British Isles. The coal basins, near which metallurgical centers developed, are located relatively close to each other and from the country's largest seaports, which facilitates the delivery of missing raw materials from other parts of the country and from foreign countries and the export of finished products.

The UK steel industry is increasingly using scrap metal as a raw material, so modern steelworks are usually tied to major industrial centers as sources of raw materials and markets for finished products.

British non-ferrous metallurgy is one of the largest in Europe. It operates almost entirely on imported raw materials, so the smelting of non-ferrous metals gravitates towards port cities. Exports of non-ferrous metals in value far exceeded exports of cast iron and steel. The UK is also one of the main suppliers of metals such as uranium, zirconium, beryllium, niobium, germanium, etc., which are used in the nuclear industry, aircraft manufacturing and electronics. The main buyers of British non-ferrous metals are the USA and Germany.

Britain's oldest traditional industry is the textile industry. Woolen fabrics are produced mainly in West Yorkshire, rayon production predominates in the Yorkshire town of Silsden, and cotton fabrics are produced in Lancashire, in the small textile towns north-east of Manchester. The production of woolen fabrics, products, and yarn is the oldest in the British Isles. Woolen products from British textile manufacturers are still highly valued in foreign markets.

Conclusion:

Now Great Britain is a highly developed state, one of the leading world powers. In terms of industrial production, it ranks fifth in the world after the USA, Japan, Germany and France. But this is not done yet. In Britain, minerals are being mined and new methods of extracting them are being developed. Due to the fact that Britain is an island state, it remains one of the largest maritime powers today.

Thanks to its EGP, the UK still has development options. This country can only develop and improve its position in the world.

List of sources and literature used:

Soviet encyclopedic dictionary. –M.: Soviet Encyclopedia

1979.– p.204.

3. What is Who is. – M.: Pedagogy, 1990. – p. 208. *

* Source No. 2 and No. 3 were used mainly in the first chapter.

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