SEAS AND COASTLINE

The British Isles are of the continental origin. Situated off the northwest coast of Europe, they once formed part of that continent. They only became islands when they were separated from it. The separation took place thousands of years ago, after the last Ice Age. When the ice melted, the level of the ocean rose and drowned the low-lying coastlands round the continents. The English Channel, which was formerly a westward extension of the North European Plain, became a shallow stretch of sea. It was a change, which greatly affected the history as well as geography of the islands.

The zone of shallow water, which at present surrounds the continent, thus resembles a shelf above the really deep water of the ocean: it is called the continental shelf. The British Isles lie entirely on the shelf.

From the European continent the British Isles are separated by the English Channel and the North Sea. In the narrowest part, which is only 32 km, the English Channel is called the Strait of Dover. Here the two opposite coasts of England and France come so near, that on a clear day the cliffs of each side can be quite well seen from the opposite shore. In 1993 a rail tunnel between Britain and France was opened, carrying 30 million passengers a year. The Channel Tunnel, running from Calais, provides a 30-minute train ride in well-lit and air-conditioned comfort. Passengers are able to stay in their vehicles, and trains are running every three minutes. The tunnel is 7.3 meters in diameter and about 50 km long, of which 37 km are under the Channel.

In the west the British Isles are washed by the Atlantic Ocean, in the east - by the North Sea. The two largest islands of the British Archipelago, Great Britain and Ireland, are separated from each other by the Irish Sea and the two straits, the North Channel - 20 km wide, and St. George’ s Channel - over 100 km wide.

The North Atlantic Current, which forms part of the Gulf Stream system, has an ameliorating effect on the British Isles. During the winter months warm water is arriving to the North Atlantic and the seasonal fall of air temperature over Britain is slow and slight.

The British Isles are known for their greatly indented coastline. There are plenty of bays and harbours, peninsulas and capes on the coast. Due to its extreme indentity the coastline of Great Britain despite its relatively modest size, is 8,000 km long.

The western coast of Scotland and Wales is much indented. The mountains here rise abruptly from the sea. In the east the coast is less lofty, land sloping gradually down to the low sea.

The coast washed by the Strait of Dover is steep with white cliffs coming right up to the sea.

RELIEF

Britain has a great diversity of physical characteristics with a contrast between the generally high relief of western and northern Britain and the lowland areas of the south and east.

The most important range of mountains in England is the Pennine range, regarded as «the backbone» of England. It stretches from the Tyne valley in the north to the Trent valley in the south for about 250 km. The highest point is Cross Fell (983 m) Across the north end of the Pennines lie the Cheviot Hills, which serve as a natural borderland between England and Scotland. The highest point is Cheviot (816 m)

In northwest England lie the Cumbrian Mountains, with the highest peak of Scafell (978 m).

One of the most extensive plains in the British Isles is in the English Midlands and is called the Midland Plain. Another important plain in Britain is the London Basin in South East England. The Hampshire Basin includes a wide plain area of central southern England. The Lancashire and Cheshire Plain include the lowlands to the west of the Central and Southern Pennines. In Yorkshire lies the extensive Yorkshire Lowland.

Most of the land north of the Thames and up to a bay of the North Sea called the Wash is low and flat. This area has some of the country’s richest farmland. A great plain called the Fens borders the Wash. In the Fens is the lowest point on the island of Great Britain. It ranges from sea level to 4.6 meters below sea level, depending on the tide of the North Sea.

Wales consists of worn down mountain ranges, representing high plateaus which are called the Cambrian Mountains with the highest peak Snowdon (1,085 m).

Scotland can be roughly divided into three physical regions: the Highlands, the Southern Uplands and the Central Lowlands. The Scottish Highlands form the most extensive and the most sparsely populated of the three regions. They are separated into two parts by Glen More, or the Great Glen, the northern part being called the North-west Highlands and the southern one - the Grampians. The North-west Highlands contain the loftiest summits, Ben Nevis (1,347 m) being the highest peak in the British Isles.

The Southern Uplands extend from the Central Valley of Scotland in the north to the Pennine Hills in the south. These uplands form a plateau, which glaciation has eroded into smooth, rounded hills.

The Central Lowlands of Scotland (the Midland Valley) is a low-lying area about eighty km wide. It is the most densely populated area of Scotland, containing 80 percent of its people.

The Central Plain of Ireland stretches west-east across the country from coast to coast. It’s lowland containing innumerable lakes and peat bogs.

In the extreme northeast there are Mountains of Antrim, which are about 400 metres high. In the north and northwest are the Sperrin Mountains and the Ox Mountains, which are also not very high. The highest in Ireland are the Macgillycuddy Reeks in the southwest, about 1,104 metres.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 2759