England - St. George and the Rose

The national flower of England is the rose. The flower has been adopted as England’s emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).

Scotland - St. Andrew - the Thistle and Scottish Bluebell

The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defence. The Scottish Bluebell is also seen as the flower of Scotland.

Wales - St. David and the Daffodil

The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. David’s Day. The vegetable called leek is also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales.

There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of Wales. One is that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battle with the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps to distinguish friend from foe. As Shakespeare records in Henry V, the Welsh archers wore leeks at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.

Northern Ireland - St. Patrick and the Shamrock

The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant similar to clover. An Irish tale tells of how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

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The Union Flag, popularly known as the *Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is the British flag.

It is called the Union Flag because it symbolises the administrative union of the countries of the United Kingdom. It is made up up of the individual Flags of three of the Kingdom's countries all united under one Sovereign - the countries of 'England, of 'Scotland' and of 'Northern Ireland' (since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom). As Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality it could not be included on the flag.

The following pages will tell you how the Union Flag (Union Jack) came to be the UK's national flag and the making of the United Kingdom.

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The main element of the Royal Arms is the shield which is divided into four quarters (see diagram). The three golden lions on a red background, symbolising England, occupy the first and fourth quarters. The Arms of Scotland, a red lion rearing on its hind legs inside a red border, are in the second quarter, and the Arms of Ireland's golden harp with silver strings on a blue background - are in the third quarter.

The lion and the unicorn supporting the shield represent England and Scotland respectively. They stand on a small frame called the compartment which sometimes incorporates the plant emblems of Scotland (thistle), Ireland (shamrock) and England (rose). The Compartment also has the sovereign's motto usually Dieu et mon droit ("God and my right").

Around the shield is a belt or strap with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense ("Evil to him who evil thinks"), the symbol of the Order of the Garter. Above the shield is the gold barred helmet with the crest, a royal crown topped with a golden crowned lion.

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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of the Island of Great Britain and the northern part of the Island of Ireland and a number of small islands such as the Orkney and the Shetland Islands in the north, the Hebrides in the north-west, the Isle of Wight in the south, and many others.

The Island of Great Britain is divided into three parts -England, Wales and Scotland. England and Wales form the southern part of the island and Scotland occupies its northern part. Their capitals are London, Cardiff and Edinburgh. The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

From the west the British Isles are washed by the Atlantic Ocean, from the east by the North Sea and the southern coast is washed by the English Channel. The Irish Sea lies between England and Ireland.

Looking at the map you see that Great Britain lies not far from the continent. It is separated from the continent by the North Sea and the English Channel, which in its narrowest part, the Strait of Dover, is only 32 kilometres wide.

Great Britain has a very good geographical position, as it lies on the crossways of the sea routes from Europe to other parts of the world. The sea connects Britain with most European countries such as Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Russia and some other countries. The main sea route from Europe to America also passes through the English Channel.

The scenery of Great Britain is varied. One can find here low-lying land, hilly areas, flat fields and high mountains. The surface of Eastern England is flat. Scotland and Wales are hilly and

mountainous. The mountains are not very high, the highest mountain is Ben Nevis (Scotland) 4400 feet (1343 m) in height.

In the west we can see the Cambrian Mountains occupying the greater part of Wales; in the north — the Cheviot Hills separating England from Scotland; the Pennines — to the south of the Cheviot Hills. In the north-west there are sixteen lakes. This part of the country, which is called the Lake District, is the mosl beautiful and the wettest part of Great Britain.

There are many rivers in Britain, but they are not long.

The main rivers are the Severn, the Thames and the Trent.

18.

The United States has varied weather conditions, and the best time to visit depends both upon the location and the season. Covering a large part of the North American continent, the USA shares borders with Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The country has coasts on the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The State of Alaska, in the northwest corner of the US, is not part of the continental US; it is separated from the rest of the USA by Canada. Similarly, Hawaii is not part of the “lower 48” states; it lies in the central Pacific Ocean. The climate ranges from subtropical to arctic, with a corresponding breadth of flora and fauna. For a more detailed description of each region's geographical characteristics, see the individual state sections. The fauna of the United States of America is all the animals living in the Continental United States and its surrounding seas and islands, the Hawaiian Archipelago, Alaska in the Arctic, and several island-territories in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. In the western United States mule deer, white-tailed antelope squirrels, cougars, American badgers, coyotes, hawks and several species of snakes and lizards are common. While the American black bear lives throughout the U.S., the brown bears and grizzly bears are more common in the northwest and in Alaska. Along the West Coast there are several species of whales, sea otters, California sea lions, eared seals and northern elephant seals.

17. Australia is a land like no other, with about one million different native species. More than 80 per cent of the country’s flowering plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs are unique to Australia, along with most of its freshwater fish and almost half of its birds.

Flora

Most of the Gondwanan forests were replaced by tough-leaved open forests of eucalypts and acacias. Some isolated remnants of the ancient Gondwanan forests remain. These include the cool and warm temperate rainforests of Tasmania and eastern Australia and the dry rainforests or scrub forests of northern Australia. These forests have high conservation values.

Fauna

In Australia there are more than 378 species of mammals, 828 species of birds, 300 species of lizards, 140 species of snakes and two species of crocodiles. Of the mammals, almost half are marsupials. The rest are either placental mammals or monotremes.

Among Australia’s best-known animals are the kangaroo, koala, echidna, dingo, platypus, wallaby and wombat.

Key facts

Australia has around 10 per cent of the world’s biodiversity.

Of the estimated 20 000 species of vascular plants found in Australia, 16 000 are found nowhere else in the world.

Of the 378 species of mammals in Australia, more than 80 per cent are unique to Australia.

Of the 869 types of Australian reptile, 773 are found nowhere else.

16.

A great range of plant and animal life characterizes the vast area of Canada, with its varied geographic and climatic zones. The flora of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence region resembles that of the adjacent US section, with white pine, hemlock, sugar and red maples, yellow birch, and beech trees. From the prairie grassland to the Arctic tundra there are aspen, bur oak, balm of Gilead, cottonwood, balsam poplar, white birch, and other deciduous trees. Conifers dominate the northern section. Many types of grasses grow on the interior plains.

The fauna of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence region includes deer, black bear, opossum, gray and red squirrels, otter, beaver, and skunk; birds include eastern bluebird, red-winged blackbird, robin, wood thrush, woodpecker, oriole, bobolink, crow, hawk, bittern, heron, black duck, and loon. In the boreal forest area there are moose, caribou, black bear, lynx, timber wolf, marten, beaver, porcupine, snowshoe rabbit, red squirrel, and chipmunk. Typical mammals of the Rocky Mountain area are grizzly bear, mountain goat, moose, wapiti, cougar, and alpine flying squirrel. In the plains are rabbits, gophers, prairie birds, and waterfowl.

15.

Like other regions separated from the rest of the world for a long period, New Zealand has developed a distinct flora. About 75% of the native flora is unique, and it includes some of the world's oldest plant forms. However, the flowering plants, conifers, ferns, lycopods, and other vascular tracheophytes that constitute much of the land vegetation do show affinities with plants of the Malayan region, supporting the theory of an ancient land bridge between the two regions.

Apart from seals and two species of bats, New Zealand has no indigenous land mammals. Some of the land mammals introduced to New Zealand have become pests, such as the rabbit, the deer, the pig (now wild), and the Australian possum. Sea mammals include whales and dolphins.

There is a great diversity of birds, some 250 species in all, including breeding and migratory species. Among the flightless birds the most interesting is the kiwi, New Zealand's national symbol and the only known bird with nostrils at the tip of the bill instead of at the base. Other characteristic birds are the kea, a mountain parrot, and the tui, a beautiful songbird. All but one of the genera of penguins are represented in New Zealand.

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