Land uses in the Great Britain

 

State University of Land Use Planning.

Chair of Russian and Foreign Languages.

 

 

 

 

 

Course work:

Land uses in the Great Britain

 

 

 

 

   Student: Tarmosin D.V.

   Group: 12 (1)

   Faculty: land use planning

   Tutor: Yeftina Y.V.

 

 

 

Moscow 2012

Geographical location

 
 
   Situated in north-western Europe, lying to the north of France and west of the Netherlands (1) and Denmark (2), the United Kingdom, known popularly as Great Britain, is 244,786 sq. km (94,512 sq. miles). 
   It is situated on the British Isles. There are 5,500 islands. The two main islands are Great Britain and Ireland. 
   The British Isles are separated from Europe by the Strait of Dover (3) and the English Channel. The British Isles are washed by the North Sea in the East and the Atlantic Ocean in the West. 
   The territory of Great Britain is divided into Lowland Britain and Highland Britain. Low- land Britain comprises (4) Southern and Eastern England. Highland Britain includes Scotland.. Wales, the Pennines and the Lake District. 
   As well the territory of Great Britain is divided into four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England is in the southern and central part of Great Britain. Scotland is in the north of the island. Wales is in the west. Northern Ireland is situated in the north-eastern part of Ireland. 
   England is the richest, the most fertile (5) and most populated part in the country. The main territory is a vast plain. In the north-western part of it there are many beautiful lakes. This part is called Lake District, which is an isolated compact mountain group to the west of the Pennines. 
   Scotland is a land of mountains. The Highlands of Scotland are among the oldest mountains in the world. The chain of mountains in Scotland is called the Grampians (6). Its highest peak is Ben Nevis. In England there is the Pennine (7) Chain. In Wales there are the Cumbrian Mountains. 
   The British Isles have many rivers but they are not very long. The longest of them is the Severn (8). It flows into the Irish Sea. The most important river in Scotland is the Clyde. Glasgow stands on it. The Thames is the widest river in Great Britain. It is over 200 miles long. It flows through the rich agricultural and industrial areas of the country. London, the capital of Great Britain, is situated on it. 

Climate

The United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round.^[99] The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below −11 °C (12 °F) or rising above 35 °C(95 °F).^[110] The prevailing wind is from the south-west and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean,^[99] although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind—as the majority of the rain falls over the western regions the eastern parts are therefore the driest.^{[citation needed]} Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream, bring mild winters; especially in the west where winters are wet and even more so over high ground. Summers are warmest in the south-east of England, being closest to the European mainland, and coolest in the north. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter and early spring on high ground, and occasionally settles to great depth away from the hills.

Topography

The United Kingdom features a long, rugged coastline, heavily indented with many inlets, bays, and river mouths.  Headlands and cliffs may be found along some parts of the coast, especially in Scotland where wide firths and deep, narrow lochs abound.

The topography of England features hilly regions in the north, west, and southwest as well as rolling downs and low coastal plains in the east and southeast.  The Cheviot Hills run from east to west on the Scottish border in the north.  The Pennines run north and south from near Scotland to central England's Derbyshire region.  Fertile agricultural lands, moors, and plains comprise much of the remaining countryside.  The east and west Midlands region, with its rolling hills and dales, lies to the south of the Pennine Range.  England's highest point is Scafell Pike, in the northwest Lake District, which rises to 3,210 feet above sea level.  The Severn and Thames rivers of southern England are the longest, at 210 miles and 200 miles, respectively.

Scotland features three topographical areas.  The Northern Highlands occupy the northern half of Scotland and include Ben Nevis, the highest point in the UK; the Central Lowlands average about 500 feet in elevation and contain the Tay, Clyde, and Forth river valleys as well as Scotland's largest lake, Loch Lomond; the Southern Uplands feature the Scottish moor lands with their many rivers and dells.

Wales is a hilly, pastoral region occupied largely by the Cambrian Mountains.  The highest point in Wales is Mount Snowdon, which rises to 3,563 feet above sea level.  There are small lowlands in the north and narrow plains along the south and west coasts.

Most of Northern Ireland's topography is low-lying hills and plateaus, usually no more than 500 feet high, although the Mourne Mountains of the southeast rise to 2,796 feet at Slieve Donard.  The largest lake in the UK is Lough Neagh, which is located in central Northern Ireland.

Natural Resources and Industry

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is highly developed and technollogically advanced capitalist country. It is an old naval and industrial power. It is a member of the European Economic Community and together with its former colonies and dominions forms the Commonwealth.

Great Britain has a lot of industrial cities, such us London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol and others.

Britain is a great producer of coal and steel. It builds ships and manufactures machinery, chemicals and textiles. The industries are concentrated mainly in the central part of the country and in the south. This is the so-called “ Black country “, almost completely covered with factories and mines. Here coal is mined , and nearby there is iron ore, salt and clay.

Coal is richest natural resource of Great Britain and the most important source of energy in the country. The largest coal fields are located in South Wales, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire . The coal fields are arranged in three groups: the southern, midland and the northern. The south: basin includes the South Wales, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire and some smaller fields, and the nothern basin includes the fields of Nothumberland, Cumberla, and Scotland.

Great Britain is known for it’s High-quality steel, metalware and machinery. Iron ore is the most important of minerals mined in the country. The great bulk of iron ore is produced in England. The richest ores come from Cumberland, Lancashire and Staffordshire.

There are smaller deposits of tin, copper, lead, sink, chalk and clay in the country. Britain produces significant amounts of gypsum, limestone and dolomite. Small amounts of silver and gold are found in Wales. Still Grate Britain is not very rich in mineral resources and it’s economy relies now chiefly on import.

 

 

Agriculture

For the period of latest decades Great Britain’s agriculture saw a significant increase in scientific and technical level and profitability of agro-industrial complex. Countries support kites at the cost of local resources (the growth since postwar time rose from 1/3 to 4/5); a full self-sufficiency is reached by such products as milk, a high self-sufficiency have eggs, poultry, wheat, oats, barley, and potato; imported are fruits, butter, sugar, and cheeses. Due to conditions occurred in the EU imported goods cost more as compared to opportunities of foodstuffs import from the former colonies; this creates continuous controversies between Great Britain and other members of the UE.

The British agriculture is nowadays one of the most efficient and mechanized in the world. The share of employment in the field amounts 2% of the total employment in the country. The total area of farmlands is 58.3 mln ha (76% of the total area of the country). Animal husbandry prevails in the structure of agricultural production. Developed are dairy and beef cattle breeding, pig husbandry, beef sheep and poultry husbandry for meat.

Great Britain is one of the largest suppliers of sheep wool. Traditionally, animal husbandry is concentrated in river basins. Nearly 60% of tillage in crop husbandry is occupied by permanent grasses, more than 28% - by cereal crops (including wheat – 15%, barley – 11%), 12% - by industrial crops (rapeseed, sugar beet, flax) and feeding crops (including potato), and also by vegetable gardens and small-fruit crops. The main crop-producing areas are East England and the Southeast.

There are many fruit gardens in Great Britain. Agriculture uses generous government support and receives donations from the EU budget.  

Production volumes exceed the volumes of consumption by such products as wheat, barley, oats, and pork; production volumes are lower than the volume of consumption by such products as potato, beef, mutton, wool, sugar and eggs. Therefore, Great Britain has to import many of the necessary products. The country imports 4/5 of butter, 2/3 of sugar, a half of wheat and bacon, ¼ of beef and veal consumed in the country.

The country occupies sixth place among EU members in terms of agricultural production volume. The area of farmlands in use as of June 2007 amounted to 17.4 mln ha, which makes nearly 77% of the countries area.

Conclusion

Thus, we can see that this small in size in comparison with Russia, has an excellentagriculture, industry. The country has an excellent geographical location. Climate can only envy, and the availability of natural resources only provide more opportunities for development.

 

 

 

 

Vocabulary

1. Netherlands ['neðələndz] - Нидерланды 
2. Denmark ['denmɑːk] - Дания 
3. Strait of Dover - пролив Па-де-Кале 
4. comprise - включать, охватывать 
5. fertile ['fɜːtaɪl] - плодородная 
6. the Pennines - Пеннинские горы 
7. the Grampians ['græmpɪənz] - Грамніанські горы 
8. the Severn - p. Северн 
9. 'the workshop of the world' - "мастерская мира" 
10. livestock - поголовье крупного рогатого скота 
11. horticultural products - продукты садоводства