НациональныйтехническийуниверситетУкраины
Тема:« Географияи окружающаясреда Англии,Уэльса, СевернойИрландии иШотландии »
ЛА-82
Киев2000
Geographyof Northern Ireland.
NorthernIreland is at its nearest point only 21km (13 miles) from Scotland.It has 488-km (303-mile) border in the south and vest with the IrishRepublic. At its centre lies Lough Neagh, Britain’s largestfreshwater lake (381sq km, 147sq miles). Many of the principal townslie in valleys leading from the lough, including the capital,Belfast, which stands at the mouth of the river Lagan. The MourneMountains, rising sharply in the south-east, include Slieve Donard,Northern Ireland’s highest peak (852 m, 2,796 ft).
Environmentof Scotland.
Scotland’scountryside contains rich variety of wildlife, with some species notfound elsewhere in Britain. There are 71 national nature reserves andover 1,300 Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Four regional parksand 40 national scenic areas have been designated, covering 13 percent of the land surface. Four of the 11 forest parks in GreatBritain are in Scotland, and a fifth spans the border betweenScotland and England.
Thereare extensive areas of picturesque hill, lake and mountain country,and the countryside supports a variety of plants and wildlife. Thereare three National Parks (Snowdonia, the Brecon Becons and thePembrokeshire Coast), five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty andtwo national trails as well as 31 country parks and large stretchesof heritage coast. There are about 50 National Nature Reserves andover 800 Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Nearly all of therivers and canals are classified as having water of good or fairquality, and a significant improvement has been achieved in thequality of bathing waters.
GeographicalPosition of Great Britain.
TheUnited Kingdom is situated on the British Isles. The British Islesconsist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and a greatnumber of small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 sq. km.
TheBritish Isles are separated from the European continent by the NorthSea and the English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain iswashed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.
NorthernIreland occupies one third of the island of Ireland. It borders onthe Irish Republic in the south. The island of Great Britain consistsof three main parts: England (the southern and middle part of theisland), Wales (a mountainous peninsula in the west) and Scotland(the northern part of the island).
Thereare no high mountains in Great Britain. In the north the Cheviots(the Cheviot Hills) separate England almost along its middle, theCambrian mountains occupy the greater part of Wales and the Highlandsof Scotland are the tallest of the British mountains. Ben Nevis, thetallest peak of the Highlands, is only 1,343 m high.
Thereis very little country except in the region known as East Anglia.
Mostof the rivers flow into the North Sea. The Thames is the deepest andthe longest of the British rivers, it is over 300 km long. Some ofthe British greatest ports are situated in the estuaries of theThames, Mersey, Tyne , Clyde and Bristol Avon.
GreatBritain is not very rich in mineral resources, it has some depositsof coal, and iron ore and vast deposits of oil and gas that werediscovered in the North Sea. The warm currents in the Atlantic Oceaninfluence the climate of Great Britain.
Britainforms the greater part of the British Isles, which lie off thenorth-west coast of mainland Europe. Its weather is changeable, butthere are few extremes of temperature. Britain is major worldproducer of oil, natural gas and coal. Since 1980 it has beenself-sufficient in energy in net terms.
Woodlandcovers nearly 2-4 hectares in Britain: about 13 per cent of Scotland,12 per cent of Wales, 73 per cent of England, and 52 per cent ofNorthern Ireland. British woodlands meet 12 per cent of the country’sconsumption of wood and wood products.
Overthree-quarters of Britain’s varied landscape is used foragriculture.
EnvironmentalProtection.
Responsibilityfor pollution control rests with local and central government.Integrated pollution control restricts emissions to air, land andwater from the most harmful processes. Recycling of waste will be aduty of local government.
TheNational Rivers Authority protects inland waters in England andWales. In Scotland the river purification authorities are responsiblefor water pollution control.
Totalemissions of smoke in the air have fallen by over 85 per cent since1960. Sulphur dioxide emissions have fallen by about 40 per centsince 1970. Britain has adopted a phased programme of reductions insulphur dioxide emissions form existing large combustion plants of upto 60 per cent by 2003. It has also agreed to reduce nitrogen oxideemissions by up to 30 per cent by 1998. Over 95 per cent of petrolstations in Britain stock unleaded petrol. Strict controls havereduced carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions.
TheGovernment is committed to the elimination of chlorofluorocarbons,which damage the ozone layer. They also contribute to the greenhouseeffect, which leads to global warming and rise in sea levels.
Britainstresses the need for improvement in understanding the science ofclimate change.
There are nearly 500,000protected buildings, and 7,000 conservation areas of architectural orhistorical interest, in Britain. The Government supports the work ofthe voluntary sector in preserving the national heritage. Green beltsare where land should be left open and free from urban sprawl. TheGovernment attaches great importance to their protection. Nationalparks cover 9 per cent of the total land area of England and Wales.Some 38 areas of outstanding natural beauty have been designed - 13per cent of the same land area. Three regional parks and 40 nationalscenic areas cover 13 per cent of Scotland. Care is taken to controldevelopment on parts of the coastline.