The United Kingdom, made up of the countries of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, is bordered on three sides by water. To the south is the English Channel, to the east is the North Sea, the west is the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The only land border is between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. England is the largest, most populated, and wealthiest country of the United Kingdom containing the capital of London (World Book, 1). The United Kingdom has a population of over 59 million, it ranks nineteenth in the world. It is approximately the size of the state of Oregon (CIA Factbook, 1) [online]. The names United Kingdom, Great Britain and England are misleading to most people. England refers to just one country within the Kingdom, Great Britain includes England, Scotland and Wales, and the United Kingdom includes all three in addition to Northern Ireland (Britannica, 1).
The island of Great Britain is divided into two regions, the highland and the lowland zone. The highland zone has many mountains and high hills in the north and west. The lowland has mainly rolling plains and is to the south and east. The lowland is more populated than the highland zone because of its milder climate and better farming soils, whereas the highland zone is a large expanse rugged hills and mountains, with a cooler climate. Great Britain has a highly irregular coastline, with many bays and inlets that provide harbors for ships and boats, therefore, coastal trade has been carried on since ancient times (Microsoft Encarta, 11) [online].
Britain has a moist climate with much rainfall, over half the days are overcast, due to southwest winds over the North Atlantic current. The Gulf Stream, a current of warm water that flows up from the Caribbean past Britain also influences the climate of this area (CIA Factbook, 1) [online]. The average temperatures are around 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer and approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter. Average precipitation is more than 40 inches per year, it rains year-round, and in the winter the rain may change to snow (Mounfield, 61). In recent years, Southern Britain has had extreme drought that may be a result of global climate change (Microsoft Encarta, 17).
The longest rivers are the Thames, which flows eastward out of the Cotswold Hills and weaves through London, and the Severn, which flows out of the mountains of central Wales to the Bristol Channel at Bristol. Most of the large lakes in the United Kingdom are located in Scotland and northern England (Britannica, 10).
The ample rainfall has also contributed to the variety of plants that are grown in this area. Plant growth is compared to the lush areas of the mild coasts of the states of Washington and Oregon. Most of this area consists of commercially planted, fast growing coniferous forests in Wales and northeastern Scotland. Ten percent of Britain is still forested. The plants common to the wilder areas are heather, gorse, peat moss, rowan and bilberry (Microsoft Encarta, 14).
Approximately 30,000 animal species live in Britain, though most have limited distribution and are on the endangered list. The larger mammals mainly include deer, and the smaller ones consist of badgers, foxes, otters, red squirrels, and wildcats. This area is also home to rabbits, black rats, mink, and five species of frogs and toads. Birdwatching is a national pastime, about 200 species are regularly seen in this area. The most common that remain year round are blackbirds, chaffinches, sparrows, and starlings. Other known resident birds include crows, kingfishers, robins, wrens, and woodpeckers (Microsoft Encarta, 15) [online]. Saltwater fish are important to Britain’s economy. Cod haddock, whiting, herring, plaice, sole, and mackerel are caught off the coasts of England.
Historically, natural resources have been an important part of the United Kingdom’s economy. Most of the resources have been exhausted, though small amounts of limestone, sand, gravel, and many other resources are still produced in small quantities (CIA Factbook, 3) [online]. Britain’s energy resources include natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy. In 1969, large quantities of oil were discovered off the coast in the North Sea. Natural gas is still largely important to the energy supply. Coal production has been nearly exhausted and accounts for only a small amount of energy produced. Over one quarter of the counry’s energy source is nuclear power. There are many nuclear power plants located throughout the country. Research is still being done to develop cleaner, more efficient energy sources for the United Kingdom (Microsoft Encarta, 15) [online].
The first Industrial Revolution took place in the 18th and 19th centuries leading to a more evenly distributed economic class. Great Britain was, and still is "one of the world’s most important business and financial centers" (Microsoft Encarta, 3) [online].
The United Kingdom is considered a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. There is a cabinet of senior politicians who actually govern the country, they are referred to as ministers. The Prime Minister, currently Tony Blair, who is the chief executive, is equivalent to the United States President in his duties. The Parliament, which consists of the monarch, House of Commons, and the House of Lords, is the chief lawmaking group.
There are two established national churches in the United Kingdom. The first is the Episcopal Church, to which the monarch must belong, which has about 27 million members and the majority not attending services. The other is the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian with roughly two million members (Mounfield, 56).
The public education system is separate in each division of the United Kingdom. Universities such as Oxford and Cambridge are also self-governing and have a prestigious reputation because of their age, traditions, and high standards of scholarships. By law, children in the UK must start school at the age of 5. Yet in Northern Ireland they must start at age 4. They attend elementary school until age 11, then move on to high school. Grammar schools provide a college preparatory education, there are others that are more general in that they stress technical, or vocational education. Yet, most students attend comprehensive schools that provide all types of education (Britannica, 97).
Because the United Kingdom is a highly populated and advanced nation, environmental protection is a key issue. In relation to other industrialized nations, the United Kingdom has a good history of protecting the environment. It has contributed funds and put forth efforts to preserve the environment. Many of the key problems have come from contamination from sewage, impure water supplies, and unclean streets. Air pollution and smoke contributed to the passing of the Clean Air Act in 1955. The Act reduced pollution by three-quarters. In recent years, the increase in the number of motor vehicles has erased many of the goals achieved by the Clean Air Act. River pollution is also a difficult problem because local sewerage authorities were on the boards of regulation for pollution in the rivers. In 1989 a National Rivers Authority was created and Britain’s rivers are slowly improving. After nuclear power stations became obsolete, radioactive waste became one of the most serious environmental problems (Microsoft Encarta, 18).