The position of Great Britain in relation to. Abstract: Economic and geographical characteristics of Great Britain

Introduction page 2

Main part:

1. Geographic location page 2

2. State structure 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 page 7

Conclusion page 9

List of sources and literature page 10

Geographic location

Introduction:

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

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

Main part :

Chapter 1

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION

The country located in the British Isles off the northwestern coast of continental Europe is traditionally called Great Britain, and after the name of the historical part - England. Officially, it is called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The country consists of 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 (the 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. The modern outlines of the coastline have developed relatively recently. The area of ​​the United Kingdom is 244,100 sq. km.

GOVERNMENT

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 are watching 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 the 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. Financial 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 does not interfere at all in state affairs.

Chapter 2

RELIEF

Natural features of Great Britain are in many respects 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 shape close to modern only a few thousand years ago.

The island position of Great Britain, the proximity of the warm North Atlantic current, the strong dissection of the coastline, nevertheless, left a certain imprint on the nature of this country. This is reflected in the predominance of moderate temperatures, increased moisture, an extraordinary abundance of surface water, the spread of broad-leaved forests and moorlands.

At the base of the mountains throughout Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, the Lower Paleozoic folded structures rest, and in the south of Wales and in the south of Cornwall - Hercynian. 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-altitude mountains of Great Britain, and due to the unevenness of these uplifts, the western parts of the mountains turned out to be much higher than the eastern ones.

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

Quaternary glaciation in general increased the smoothing of the mountains of Great Britain, and only in the most elevated areas an alpine-type relief was formed with sharp jagged ridges and peaks, glacial cirques and typical valleys. A significant role in the modeling of the relief was played by erosive processes, which are actively taking place at the present time. In many lowland areas, erosion has severely, and in some places completely erased the glacier-accumulation landforms that formed in the era when the 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, rising steeply to the west. To the east, the highlands gradually decrease and are replaced by coastal lowlands. The deep and narrow rectilinear depression of the Glen More serves as the border of large parts of the North Scottish Highlands - the Northwest Highlands and the Gramnian Mountains with the majestic peak of Ben Nevis (1343), the highest point of the whole country.

The Grampian Mountains drop steeply to a vast depression occupied by the Mid-Scottish Lowlands, the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. As part of a thick layer of sedimentary rocks that fill the depression, productive horizons of Devonian coal are distinguished, which are very intensively developed here. The South Scottish Highlands are characterized by a highly dissected relief. Altitudes average about 600 m, and the highest point - Mount Merrick - reaches 842 m.

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

The Peniny Mountains are approached in the northwest by the massive Cumberland Mountains, composed mainly of Cambrian-Silurian shales and ancient igneous rocks. This domed uplift with the summit of Scofell (978 m) is heavily dissected by radial valleys that have formed at the site of faults. In the upper part of the mountains, glacial landforms and numerous lakes have been preserved, because of which this area received the name "Lake Circle".

The mountains of Wales, united under the name of the Cambrian, are most elevated in the north, where Mount Snowdon rises (1085 m).

MINERALS

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

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

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

Significant reserves of rock and potash salts found 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 the oil and gas of the North Sea, the total reserves of which amount to 2.6 billion tons and 1,400 billion cubic meters, respectively.

CLIMATE

The oceanic nature of the UK climate is reflected in the predominance of unstable weather with gusty winds and thick fogs throughout the year. Winters are very wet and unusually mild, with a sharp temperature anomaly (about 12-15 degrees) compared to the average latitude. The average temperature of the coldest month - January - does not fall below +3.5 degrees even in the extreme north-east of Great Britain, and in the south-west it reaches +5.5 degrees, and plants vegetate 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. With the invasion of cold air from the east and northeast, frosty weather sets in for a long time. Snow in winter falls throughout the country, but very unevenly. In the mountainous regions of Scotland, the 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. In the west of the UK, winters typically receive twice as much rain as summers. In the eastern regions, winters are colder and less humid.

In spring, cold northerly winds blow, significantly delaying the growth of crops in the east of Scotland, and sometimes dry easterlies. 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 the UK, as in other countries with a maritime climate, the summer is 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 temperatures in July is more consistent with latitudinal zoning: +16 degrees in the southeast of the country, and +12 degrees in the extreme northwest. The maximum temperature in the south-east of England sometimes rises above +27 degrees, and sometimes up to +32 degrees. The maximum precipitation here occurs in the second half of summer.

In autumn, cyclonic activity intensifies, the weather becomes cloudy and rainy, sometimes with severe storms, especially in September and October. When warm air is carried to the chilled surface of the islands, there are often fogs on the coasts.

With warm and humid winds blowing from the Atlantic, there is an 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 to trap moist air on the western side. The abundance of precipitation adversely affects the growth of many crops, especially wheat and barley. In general, grains in the British Isles do well in drier years, but then the grasses often burn out.

WATER RESOURCES

The UK is rich in water resources. Almost throughout the country, except for some southeastern regions, the amount of precipitation exceeds evaporation, and therefore a dense network of full-flowing rivers is developed. The largest of them are the Severn, which has a length of 354 km, and the Thames (338 km), whose basins border on each other. The Thames is of the greatest importance for the UK economy. 1/5 of the total population of the country lives in its basin. Here is the capital conurbation - Greater London.

The rivers of the lowland 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 heights, so the rivers flow quickly, they often overflow their banks, especially during the rainy season. The short but deep and fast rivers of northwestern Scotland and Wales are used to generate electricity. More than 60 hydroelectric power plants have been built here. The estuaries of the largest rivers in Great Britain - the Thames, the Severn, the Humber, the Mersey, the Clyde and the Forth - are wide, artificially deepened and straightened bays. They are the largest seaports and industrial hubs. At high tide, salt water penetrates the estuaries far upstream, so the population of most seaports is supplied with drinking water from the headwaters of rivers, underground reservoirs and mountain lakes.

The largest lakes in Great Britain are Loch Neagh (about 400 sq. km) in northern Ireland, as well as Loch Lomond and Loch Ness in Scotland. Numerous lakes of the Highlands of Scotland and the Lake Circle serve as a flow regulator and are used as local transport routes. There are no large lakes in the flat part of Great Britain, but there are many artificial reservoirs created on the site of former peat extraction, sand and gravel pits.

Underground reservoirs have long served as the main source of high quality water for the population of the lowlands of England. The largest underground pool, whose area reaches almost 30 thousand square meters. km, located under the Cretaceous limestones in the south-east of England. Currently, underground reservoirs provide 2/5 of all water consumed in England and Wales.

SOILS

The most fertile soils of Great Britain are located in its warm and relatively dry south-eastern part, where they were formed mainly on calcareous rocks. Relatively high summer temperatures here contribute to increased biological activity and accumulation of humus in the upper soil layer. Initially, this whole area was covered with broad-leaved forests, under which brown forest soils formed. Currently, the soils are heavily cultivated as a result of long-term use for crops of barley, wheat and sugar beets, as well as grasses. On swampy 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. On the drained sea lowlands of Fenland, as well as in the valley of the Trent River, fairly fertile peaty alluvial soils are common. In these areas, more than in other regions of the country, wheat is sown, orchards and berries are planted, and intensive horticulture is practiced. Thin humus-calcareous and soddy-calcareous soils are developed on the uplands and kuest ridges. In the western and northwestern regions of Great Britain, acid brown podzolic soils predominate. These lands are used for grass-sowing and as natural pastures. Of the grain crops, mainly barley is grown here. In the highlands of Cornwall, the Pennines, the Lake Circle and Scotland, where the climate is humid and cool, soddy-podzolic soils are developed, which are easily swamped, leading to the formation of peat bogs. Pastures with coarse herbage predominate there.

Chapter 3

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture in the UK 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 demand for barley, oats, potatoes, poultry, pork, eggs and fresh milk is fully met. However, many important UK products have to be imported from other countries. They import 4/5 of butter, 2/3 of sugar, half of wheat and bacon, 1/4 of the beef and veal consumed in the country.

The natural conditions of Great Britain are more favorable for the development of animal husbandry than for agriculture. Livestock and crop production account for 65% and 23% of the value of the country's agricultural output, 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's wool.

INDUSTRY

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

The main branch of the mining industry in Great Britain 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 287 million tons was mined, production has been steadily declining.

Coal mining has provided the British economy with fuel for centuries. Coal was also exported. Coal basins have become the core of the formation of most of the country's industrial regions. While the latest branches of industry developed on the basis of the latest achievements of science and technology, coal continued to produce millions of tons using the old methods. Oil became an increasingly serious competitor to coal. In addition, improved methods of using the coal itself. All this led to a decrease in its consumption. The use of natural gas, new methods of steel smelting 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 energy consumed in the UK, second only to oil, which provides almost half of it. The largest coal basin in the British Isles is Yorkshire, where in 1975 28 million tons were mined. coal. It is followed by Northumberland-Durham and Northwest.

UK coal consumption has increased slightly in recent years due to higher 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 kt annually. Extraction of oil and gas from under the North Sea is a new, flourishing industry in the country. Crude oil is introduced from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Libya, oil products - from Italy, the Netherlands and Venezuela.

The largest oil refineries are located at the deep sea ports at Southampton, in Cheshire, at the mouths of the Thames, Trent and Tees. Five factories in south Wales are connected to the port of Ang Bay by an oil pipeline. There is also a large factory in Scotland on the Gulf Coast. Firth of Forth. From the fields of the North Sea to oil refineries at the mouth of the river. The yew and in the Firth of Forth have oil pipelines.

Through a gas pipeline laid on the bottom of the North Sea, the gas reaches the east coast of the island of Great Britain in the area of ​​Easington and Yorgshire. There are five main natural gas fields in the British zone, which provide 1 6 of the energy consumed in the country. Today almost all gas comes from natural sources.

Great Britain is the world's second largest supplier and exporter of kaolin (the white clay used to make porcelain); 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 will be able to completely stop importing tungsten.

Iron ore is mined in a relatively narrow belt that starts at Scunthorpe in Yorkshire in the north and runs through the East Midlands to Banbury in the south. The ore here is of low quality, siliceous and contains only 33% of the metal. The need for iron ore is covered 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 and 2% by hydroelectric power plants. The vast majority of thermal power plants run 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 River Trent and near London.

Hydro stations are usually small, located mainly in the Scottish Highlands. And in 1970, in the UK, the construction of a single power transmission system (“Supergrid”) with high voltage was completed.

Most energy is consumed by one of the leading branches of British industry - ferrous metallurgy. The UK 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. Metallurgy of Great Britain developed in favorable conditions. The country is rich in coal. Iron ore was often found in the coal seams themselves or was mined nearby. The third component necessary for metallurgy - limestones are 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 largest seaports of the country, which facilitates the delivery of the missing raw materials from other regions 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 steel plants are usually "tied" to the main industrial centers as sources of raw materials and markets for finished products.

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

The oldest traditional industry in Great Britain is the textile industry. Woolen fabrics are produced mainly in West Yorkshire, rayon production prevails in the Yorkshire city of Silesden, and cotton fabrics in Lancashire, in small textile towns north-east of Manchester. The production of woolen fabrics, products, yarn is the oldest in the British Isles. The woolen products of British textile workers are still highly valued in foreign markets today.

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 it hasn't been done yet. In Britain, mining is underway, the development of new methods for extracting the latter. Due to the fact that Britain is an island nation, it remains one of the largest maritime powers at the present time.

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

List of used sources and literature:

Soviet encyclopedic dictionary. –M.: Soviet Encyclopedia

1979.– p.204.

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

* Source #2 and #3 was used mainly in the first chapter.

UK economics - geographical position australia Abstract >> Geography

Political and economic-geographical position. Australia is the only state in the world occupying ... - a federal state in the commonwealth headed by Great Britain. The head of state is the Queen of England, represented by...

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. The total area of ​​the UK is 244,017 sq. km. The population of Great Britain is 58,395 thousand people.

The official name of the country is 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, Great Britain has a common land border only with Ireland.

The British Isles lie off the northwest coast of Europe. The British Isles are surrounded by many small islands. To the southwest of the Isle 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 - the closest and most developed neighbor, which has common water borders with it. The shortest distance to the northern coast of France is the Strait of Dover, but the main communication between states is through the English Channel, called the English Channel by the British, along the bottom of which a high-speed rail tunnel was built at the end of the twentieth century. Prior to 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, Norway are located much further.

Thus, the EGP of Great Britain is both neighboring and seaside, which is extremely beneficial for the economic development of the country, although, undoubtedly, it has certain disadvantages in strategic and military terms.

The administrative map of Great Britain has changed several times, because. the accession of the countries that make up the United Kingdom lasted for 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 - 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. The 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, the southern part of Ireland seceded from Great Britain and became an independent state.

The peculiarities of the economic and geographical position of Great Britain include the location of the state on the islands, as well as the presence of a land border with only one power - Ireland. In addition, the UK includes 4 large areas: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Physical and geographical position of Great Britain

Great Britain or the United Kingdom is an island nation located in the northwest of Europe. It occupies the island of Great Britain, the northern part of the island of Ireland, as well as many smaller islands and archipelagos belonging to the British Isles. In addition, the state owns several island archipelagos located in Oceania, the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

Rice. 1. Island of Great Britain.

In ancient times, the British Isles were part of the Eurasian continent, but the melting of glaciers and flooding of the land led to the formation of the North Sea and the English Channel, which separated Great Britain from Europe.

Great Britain is located in the Atlantic Ocean, which is represented by several small seas: the North, Irish, Celtic and Hebrides.

The area of ​​the United Kingdom is 243.8 thousand square meters. km, of which internal waters occupy 3.23 thousand square meters. km. The length of the state from north to south is 966 km, and the distance in its widest part is about 480 km. The most extreme point in the south is the Cornwall peninsula, and in the north - the Shetland Islands archipelago.

The entire coast is indented by numerous deltas, bays, gulfs and peninsulas, as a result of which the maximum distance of any point of the country from the sea does not exceed 120 km.

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Rice. 2. The coast of Great Britain.

Off the coast, the depth of the sea is about 90 m, since the British Isles are located on the continental shelf - an elevated seabed connected to the mainland. The warm current of the Gulf Stream maintains a sufficiently high water temperature on the shelf, due to which the climate on the islands is much milder, even taking into account their northern location.

UK borders

The United Kingdom has a land border with only one state - the Republic of Ireland, which occupies the southern part of the island of Ireland, while its northern part belongs to Great Britain.

All other borders of the country are maritime:

• in the south, Great Britain is separated from France by the English Channel;
• in the southeast, the island nation is separated from Belgium and Norway by the shallow North Sea.

An important role in communication between Great Britain and mainland European states is played by the English Channel, which is often called the English Channel. At the end of the 20th century, a tunnel for high-speed rail traffic was laid along its bottom. In addition, communication between countries is carried out by air and water.

Ministry of General and Vocational Education

Sverdlovsk region

State educational institution

initial vocational education

Vocational school for the training of trade workers

Economic-geographical

country profile

Great Britain

abstract

Executor:

Telitsyna M.M.

student of group No. 21

Supervisor:

geography teacher

Khorzova T.V.

Yekaterinburg

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

Annex 1…………………………………………………………….20

Annex 2…………………………………………………………….21

Annex 3…………………………………………………………….22

Annex 4…………………………………………………………….23

Appendix 5…………………………………………………………….24

References…………………………………………………………25

Introduction

I chose the topic “Economic and geographical position of the UK” because it is the UK that is closer to me than all other countries, of course, not counting Russia. I would like to visit this country, its 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 accurately describe the position of Great Britain. And based on these sources, it is necessary, on the basis of the questions raised, to show the current state of the country and draw a conclusion about its state.

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 ​​the UK is about 240,842 sq. km. Most of it is land, and the rest is rivers and lakes. The area of ​​England is 129,634 sq. 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 Islands 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 districts); Scotland (12 regions); independent administrative units are 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 - the closest and most developed neighbor, which has common water borders with it. The shortest distance to the northern coast of France is the Strait of Dover, but the main communication between states is through the English Channel, called the English Channel by the British, along the bottom of which a high-speed rail tunnel was built at the end of the twentieth century. Prior to 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, Norway are located much further. Thus, the EGP of Great Britain 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.

The total population (according to 2008) is 61,113,205 people. Age structure: up to 14 years - 16.7%, 15-64 - 67.1%, from 65 and older - 16.2%. The average age of men is 39 years, women - 41 years. The average composition of a family is 2 children and parents. The rural population is 11%, the density of the rural population is 242 people. per 1 km sq. The total number of economically active population is 29 million people. In cities with a population of St. 100 thousand people almost half of the country's population lives. The largest cities in terms of the number of inhabitants: 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 the UK, the birth rate exceeds the death rate, a rapid birth rate can be seen in the table (Appendix 1) from 1976 to 2009. Indigenous people make up 92% of the population (2001, census), of which:

British - 83.6%,

Scots (mainly in Scotland) - 8.5%,

Welsh (mainly in Wales) - 4.9%,

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

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

• immigrants from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - 3.6%,
• China - 0.4%,
• African countries - 0.8%,
• black people from the islands of the Caribbean - 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 performs various ceremonial functions, as does the Queen's husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In addition, there are several more 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 enlargement of the EU in May 2004, were allowed free entry to work in the UK. Nevertheless, the birth rate in the country still exceeds the death rate, although natural increase is no longer the dominant factor in the increase in the British population.

; 1°46` east longitude and 8°00` west longitude.

Great Britain is an island state; consists of the island of Great Britain and the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland (they are separated by a narrow North Strait), as well as smaller islands (the most significant of them are Anglesey, White, Orkney, Hebrides, Shetland). Great Britain includes the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands, located in the English Channel off the coast of France, enjoying internal autonomy. (as they are usually called and) are washed by the waters of the North Sea. They are separated from mainland Europe only by the narrow straits of the Pas de Calais (in the UK - the Strait of Dover) and the English Channel (English Channel). Great Britain is connected with a tunnel 48 km long, of which 37 km passes under. The coastline - 12,429 km - is heavily indented, replete with bays and bays - convenient parking for ships. The largest bays are Bristol, Cardigan, Solway Firth, Firth of Clyde, Moray Firth, Firth of Forth, Wash. Great Britain shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; its length is 360 km.

Most of the UK is characterized by rugged terrain. It dominates in the north and west. In the northern part of the island, mountains rise from 840 to 1300 m above sea level (the highest peak is Ben Nevis - 1340 m). The North Scottish Highlands are separated from the South Scottish Highlands by the Mid-Scottish Lowland less than 100 km wide. Mountain ranges cover almost the entire western part of the island, especially Wales and Cornwall. The middle part of northern England is occupied by the Pennines, which separate the Lancashire lowlands in the west from the Yorkshire lowlands in the east. The southern half of Great Britain consists of plains separated by hills and uplands.

The UK has significant reserves. Among them - oil, natural gas, coal, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, copper, silica. Offshore oil reserves are estimated at 1,430 million tons; most of them are located in, east and northeast of and east of Shetland and Orkney; the largest offshore fields are Fortis and Brent, on the mainland - Witchfarm in Dorset. The reserves reach 1710 billion m3, the main deposits are located in the North Sea off the east coast of England. The main (substantially developed) - Yorkshire - Derby - Nottinghamshire basin in the east Middland, Northumberland - Durham basin in the northeast of England.

The soil cover of Great Britain is quite diverse. Brown forest, podzolic soils predominate. Carbonate, alluvial, acidic soils, peatlands are widespread.

The climate of Great Britain is temperate, humid, oceanic. Thanks to the North Atlantic Current and warm winds blowing from the Atlantic Ocean, the UK generally has mild winters. But these same explains cloudy weather, frequent rains and. The average temperature in January is 3-7°С, in July 11-17°С, the amount of annual precipitation is 550-800 mm in the southeast, 3000 mm in the mountainous western and northern regions. Most precipitation falls from October to January, less - in February-March.

The UK has a large number of rivers and lakes. The most - Severn (328 km) - originates in the mountains of Wales and flows into Bristol Bay (west coast). The Lancashire lowlands are crossed by the Mersey, which flows into Liverpool Bay. The main river of the east coast - the Thames (336 km) - flows through the most densely populated areas of southeast England. The Mid-Scottish Lowlands are also rich in rivers. The longest of them is the Clyde (157 km), originating in the South Scottish Highlands and flowing into the Firth of Clyde (west coast), and the Forth, flowing into the Firth of Forth (east coast). There are many lakes in the north of the country. The largest is Loch Nih in Northern Ireland - 396 km2. The deepest is Loch Morir in the North Scottish Highlands (310 m).

The flora of Great Britain is diverse - 9% of the territory. Broad-leaved forests predominate - oak, beech, birch. There are many coniferous forests in Scotland - spruce, larch. Heathlands are widespread. Evergreen species of plants are found in the south of the country. Plants vegetate all year round.

There are about 30 thousand species of animals in Great Britain. Among them are foxes, hares, red squirrels, otters, black rats, mink, reptiles and amphibians. Of the 200 bird species, the most common are sparrows, finches, starlings, crows, kingfishers, robins, and tits. In the rivers and coastal sea waters there are numerous species of fish - cod, haddock, whiting, herring, salmon, trout.