Great britan

Great Britain

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the U.K., or Britain) is a country to the northwest of mainland Europe. It comprises the island of Great Britain, the northeast part of the island of Ireland and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy comprising four constituent countries —  England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales — with Elizabeth II as head of state. The Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, formally possessions of the Crown, are not part of the UK but form a federacy with it. The UK has fourteen overseas territories, all remnants of the British Empire, which at its height encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface. However, Queen Elizabeth II remains the head of the Commonwealth of Nations and head of state of the Commonwealth realms. It is a developed country, with the fifth largest economy in the world by nominal GDP.

Britain was the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th century, but the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs. The UK nevertheless retains significant economic, cultural, military and political influence and is a nuclear power, with the second highest defence spending in the world. It holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, and is a member of the G8, NATO, the European Union and the Commonwealth of Nations.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is in Western Europe. It comprises the island of Great Britain (most of England, Scotland and Wales) and the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland), together with many smaller islands. The Royal Greenwich Observatory, near London, is the defining point of the Prime Meridian. The United Kingdom has a total area of approximately 245,000 square kilometers. The UK lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, and comes within 35 kilometres of the northwest coast of France, from which it is separated by the English Channel. Northern Ireland shares a 360 kilometres land boundary with the Republic of Ireland. The Channel Tunnel ("Chunnel") now links the UK with France beneath the English Channel.

All parts of the United Kingdom have a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons but seldom drops below ?10 C or rises above 35 C. The prevailing wind is from the southwest, bearing frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean. Eastern parts are most sheltered from this wind and are therefore the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream, bring mild winters, especially in the west, where winters are also wet, especially over high ground. Summers are warmest in the south east of England, being closest to the European mainland, and coolest in the north. Snowfall can occur in winter and early spring, though it rarely settles to any great depth away from high ground.

Great Britain (1)

The full name of the country the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and a great number of small islands. Their total area is over 314 000 sq. km. The British Isles are separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland occupies one third of the island of Ireland. It borders on the Irish Republic in the south. The island of Great Britain consists of three main parts: England (the southern and middle part of the island), Wales (a mountainous peninsula in the West) and Scotland (the northern part of the island).

There are no high mountains in Great Britain. In the north the Cheviots separate England from Scotland, the Pennines stretch down North England along its middle, the Cambrian mountains occupy the greater part of Wales and the Highlands of Scotland are the tallest of the British mountains. There is very little flat country except in the region known as East Anglia. Most of the rivers flow into the North Sea. The Thames is. the deepest and the longest of the British rivers. Some of the British greatest ports are situated in the estuaries of the Thames, Mersey, Trent, T Clyde and Bristol Avon. Great Britain is not very rich in mineral resources, it has some deposits of coal and iron ore and vast deposits of oil and gas that were discovered in the North Sea.

The warm currents of the Atlantic Ocean influence the climate of Great Britain. Winters are not severely cold and. summers are rarely hot. The population of the United Kingdom is over 58 million people. The main nationalities are: English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish. In Great Britain there are a lot of immigrants from former British Asian and African colonies. Great Britain is a highly industrialized country. New industries have been developed in the last three decades. The main industrial centres are London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow and Bristol. The capital of the country is London. The United Kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy.  
 

Великобритания (1)

Полное название страны - Соединенное Королевство Великобритании и Северной Ирландии. Соединенное  Королевство находится на Британских островах. Британские острова состоят  из двух больших (Великобритания, Ирландия) и большого количества маленьких островов. Их общая площадь - более 314 тысяч кв. км. Британские острова отделены от Европейского континента Северным морем и Ла-Маншем. Западное побережье Великобритании омывается Атлантическим океаном и Ирландским морем. Северная Ирландия занимает одну треть территории острова Ирландия. На юге она граничит с Ирландской Республикой. Остров Великобритания состоит из трех основных частей: Англия (южная и средняя часть острова), Уэльс (гористый полуостров на западе) и Шотландия (северная часть острова).

В Великобритании нет высоких  гор. На севере Чевиот-Хилс отделяют Англию от Шотландии; Пеннинские горы тянутся  от Северной Англии почти через всю  ее центральную часть; Кембрийские горы занимают большую часть Уэльса; Северо-Шотландское нагорье - самые высокие горы в Британии. В Британии очень мало равнинной местности, кроме как в области, известной как Восточная Англия. Большинство рек впадают в Северное море. Темза -самая глубокая и длинная из рек Британии. Некоторые самые большие порты Британии расположены в устьях Темзы, Мерси, Трента, Теина, Клайда и Бристольского Эйвона. Великобритания не очень богата полезными ископаемыми. Она имеет небольшие залежи угля и железной руды и богатые залежи нефти, газа, которые были открыты в Северном море.

Теплые течения Атлантического океана влияют на климат Великобритании. Зима здесь не очень суровая, а  лето редко бывает жарким. Население  Соединенного Королевства составляет более 58 млн. человек. Основные национальности: англичане, уэльсцы, шотландцы и  ирландцы. В Великобритании много  иммигрантов из бывших азиатских  и африканских колоний Британии. Великобритания - страна с высокоразвитой промышленностью. За последние три  десятка лет развились новые  отрасли промышленности. Главные  промышленные центры -это Лондон, Бирмингем, Манчестер, Лидс, Ливерпуль, Глазго, Бристоль. Столицей является Лондон. Великобритания - это конституционная монархия.