Climate and Nature of Great Britain

Territories; Natural Wealth

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Overseas_Territories

Akrotiri & Dhekelia

British Indian Ocean Territory

Ascension Island

Saint Helena

Tristan da Cunha

British Antarctic Territory

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Pitcairn Islands

Cayman Islands

Bermuda

Turk and Caicos Island

British Virgin Islands

Gibraltar

Anguilla

Montserrat

A more detailed list of possessions: http://www.anglik.net/empire.htm: THE BRITISH EMPIRE:

”In this list present and former British possessions, current British possessions and dependencies are in boldface, and there are also independent states in the Commonwealth that retain Queen Elizabeth as their Head of State”. See http://www.anglik.net/empire.htm

Here you will find nice maps: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3846.htm

Territories, Colonies & Possessions of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland

AFRICA MAP ASIA MAP CARIBBEAN MAP EUROPE MAP NORTH AMERICA MAP OCEANIA MAP SOUTH AMERICA MAP

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2. http://www.cairngorms.co.uk/thepark/maps/

National Park Map

UK Map

Below is a map of the UK, showing all the National Parks currently in existence. The Cairngorms National Park is marked in red. Click on a park or its name in the list below to go to its website. For more information on Britain's National Parks, visit www.nationalparks.gov.uk (Please note that these links will take you out of the Cairngorms National Park website. The CNPA does not accept responsibility for the content of these external sites).

The Cairngorms

2. Loch Lomond & the Trossachs

Northumberland

Lake District

Yorkshire Dales

North York Moors

Peak District

Snowdonia

Pembrokeshire Coast

Brecon Beacons

Exmoor

Dartmoor

New Forest

14. South Downs
(designated but not confirmed)

The Broads

© Crown copyright and database right 2010. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100040965 Cairngorms National Park Authority

3. Map of the National Parks family with names

http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/visiting/maps.htm

· Brecon Beacons

· Broads

· Cairngorms

· Dartmoor

· Exmoor

· Lake District

· Loch Lomond

· New Forest

· Northumberland

· North York Moors

· Peak District

· Pembrokeshire Coast

· Snowdonia

· South Downs

· Yorkshire Dales

http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/map-nationalparks-citiesmotorways.gif

4. National Parks of England http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designatedareas/nationalparks/default.aspx

· 1. The Broads

· 2. Dartmoor

· 3. Exmoor

· 4. Lake District

· 5. New Forest

· 6. Northumberland

· 7. North York Moors

· 8. Peak District

· 9. South Downs

· 10. Yorkshire Dales

Climate and Nature of Great Britain

http://www.native-english.ru/topics/climate-and-nature-of-great-britain

CLIMATE

The climate in Great Britain is generally mild and temperate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The south-western winds carry the warmth and moisture into Britain. The climate in Britain is usually described as cool, temperate and humid.

British people say: "Other countries have a climate, in England we have weather."

The weather in Britain changes very quickly. One day may be fine and the next day may be wet. The morning may be warm and the evening may be cool. Therefore it is natural for the people to use the comparison "as changeable as the weather" of a person who often changes his mood or opinion about something. The weather is the favourite topic of conversation in Britain. When two Englishmen are introduced to each other, if they can't think of any thing else to talk about, they talk about weather. When two people meet in the street they will often say something about weather as they pass, just to show their friendliness.

Every daily paper publishes a weather forecast. Both the radio and television give the weather forecast several times each day.

The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when in rains all day long. Sometimes it rains so heavily that they say "It's raining cats and dogs".

Rainfall is more or less even throughout the year. In the mountains there is heavier rainfall then in the plains of the south and east. The driest period is from March to June and the wettest months are from October to January. The average range of temperature (from winter to summer) is from 15 to 23 degrees above zero. During a normal summer the temperature sometimes rises above 30 degrees in the south. Winter temperatures below 10 degrees are rare. It seldom snows heavily in winter, the frost is rare. January and February are usually the coldest months, July and August the warmest. Still the wind may bring winter cold in spring or summer days. Sometimes it brings the whirlwinds or hurricanes. Droughts are rare.

So, we may say that the British climate has three main features: it is mild, humid and changeable. That means that it is never too hot or too cold. Winters are extremely mild. Snow may come but it melts quickly. In winter the cold is humid cold, not the dry one.

This humid and mild climate is good for plants. The trees and flowers begin to blossom early in spring.

In the British homes there has been no central heating up till recently. The fireplaces are often used. but the coal is not used as it's very expensive. Britain has no good coal now and imports it itself. Many schools and universities have no central heating either, and the floors there are made of stone. The British bedroom is especially cold, sometimes electric blankets or hotwater bottles are used.

VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE

Britain was originally a land of vast forests. mainly oak and beech in the Lowlands and pine and birch In the Highlands, with great stretches of marshland and smaller areas of moors. In the course of time, much forest land was cleared and almost all Lowlands outside the industrial areas were put under cultivation. Today only about 6 per cent of the total land area remains wooded.

Extensive forests remain in eastern and northern Scotland and in south-eastern and western England. Oak, elm, ash, and beech are the commonest trees in England, while Scotland has much pine and birch. The Highlands with thin soil are largely moorland with heather and grasses. In the cultivated areas that make up most of Britain there are many wild flowers, flowering plants and grasses.

The fauna or animal life of Britain is much like that of north-western Europe, to which it was once joined. Many larger mammals such as bear, wolf have been hunted to extinction, others are now protected by law. There are many foxes. Otters are common along rivers and streams, and seals live along much of the coast. Hedgehogs, hares, rabbits, rats and mice are numerous. Deer live in some of the forests in the Highlands of Scotland and England.

Some 230 kinds of birds live in Britain, and another 200 are regular visitors, many are songbirds. The most numerous are blackbirds, sparrow and starling. Robin Redbreast is the national bird of Britain. The number of ducks, geese and other water fowl has diminished during recent years.

There are many threats to wildlife and ecological balance around the coast. The biggest threat to the coastline is pollution. Even much-loved.

Blackpool is not officially asafe. More than 3.500 million tons of industrial waste is pumped into the North Sea every year. "We cannot continue to use our seas as a dustbin and expect our coastline to survive," says Greenpeace. Many other ecological problems may be caused by privatization of the coast. Many of the rivers are "biologically dead", i.e. unable to support fish and wildlife.

6. Natural Resources http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/resources.html
What are Natural Resources? Natural resources are things that occur naturally, and that are useful to us. They include fuels such as oil and natural gas, and materials such as iron ore, and timber. Natural resources may be renewable or non-renewable Renewable resources are those that are replaced in nature at a rate close to their rate of use e.g. plants, forests and animals. Care is needed to make sure resources are used sustainably and not over- harvested. There are non-living renewable resources too such as hydroelectric power, solar power, biomass fuel, and wind power. Non-renewable resources exist in fixed amounts or are used up faster than they can be replaced in nature e.g. fossil fuels. (Fossil fuels could be counted as renewable but as they take millions of years to form they are not practically considered 'renewable'.) What are Britain's Natural resources? Coal, petroleum, natural gas - found in the British sector of the North Sea zinc tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, slate clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land Mines and Factories During the 19th century Britain used to have many coal and iron mines and had the natural resources to make textiles, steel and ships. Today, coal and textiles can be produced more cheaply in other countries and so many British factories and mines have closed. Areas like south Wales, central Scotland, the north of England (the Midlands, Merseyside, Manchester, West Yorkshire and Newcastle) and London were important industrial centres Coal (non- renewable resources) Britain has large deposits of coal, mined for more than 300 years. For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, coal was Britains's richest natural resource, meeting most of the nation's requirement for energy. Today, coal can be produced more cheaply in other countries and so many British factories and mines have closed. In 1970 we were the third largest producer of coal but coal production has declined rapidly sine then. In 2000, only 35 million tonnes of coal was produced compared to 145 million in 1970. Areas like south Wales, central Scotland, the north of England (the Midlands, Merseyside, Manchester, West Yorkshire and Newcastle) and London were important industrial centres. Oil and Natural Gas (non- renewable resources) Oil and gas was formed from the remains of animals and plants that lived millions of years ago in a marine (water) environment before the dinosaurs. Over the years the remains of the plants and animals were covered by layers of mud and soil which eventually turned to rock trapping the remains beneath the rock. Pressure and heat changed some of this organic material into coal, some into oil (petroleum), and some into natural gas -- tiny bubbles of odorless gas. Oil and gas were discovered under the North Sea during the 1960s and new supplies are still being found today. Gas has been particularly important in replacing coal as a fuel for generating electricity. Wind Power (renewable resources) We are using more and more energy every year. In the UK, the majority of electricity is generated by a mix of fossil fuels and nuclear power, releasing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the environment. The business of generating electricity from the wind is growing fast as the world looks for cleaner ways to produce energy. Coal, oil and gas fired power stations could eventually be replaced by wind farms and other forms or renewable energy. In 1997, there were 550 wind turbines and over 30 wind farms in the UK. The government has made a promise that 10% of the energy of the UK will come from renewable sources by 2010. Today wind is used to generate electricity using wind turbines. Like windmills, wind turbines are mounted on a tower to capture the most energy. They are 100 feet (30 meters) or more above ground. Minerals (non- renewable resources) Britain has relatively few mineral resources. Zinc, tin, iron ore, and copper are all produced in small quantities. A disused tin mine At one time Cornwall boasted 2,000 tin mines and it was a world leader in tin production. Our main commercial minerals are those used in the construction and building industries such as sand and gravel, limestone and gypsum. They are normally mined from the surface in quarries using heavy machinery. Smaller quarries are also found across England and provide stone for the local building industry. This means that many parts of England have a distinctive appearance according to the local stone available. Agriculture Most of the land is suitable for agriculture, although the largest area is reserved for pasture and grazing land. Agriculture provides around 60 per cent on the country's food needs.

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7. London Parks and London Gardens
(London, England, UK)

http://www.london.world-guides.com/parks.html

London Gardens: London Hyde Park - London, England
Hyde Park is one of the largest and most famous parks in the whole of London and is located within easy reach of Bayswater, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Mayfair and Queensway districts of London. Close to many major London shops and department stores, attractions at Hyde Park include a boating lake, fishing, jogging trails and a well-known statue of Peter Pan. London's Kensington Gardens, home to the impressive Kensington Palace, are also part of the spreading Hyde Park.

London Gardens: London Green Park - London, England
Green Park is another particularly popular London park and is close to Piccadilly Circus. Containing London's most famous attraction, Buckingham Palace, which dates back to the early 18th century, Green Park also features many secluded seating areas suitable for picnics.

London Gardens: London St. James' Park - London, England
St. James' Park can be found next to Green Park in London and contains the beautiful St. James' Palace, which is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Other attractions close to London's St. James' Park include the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the outstanding Westminster Abbey.

London Gardens: London Regent's Park - London, England
Sited on the north-western side of London, Regent's Park is a stunning park, with landscaped areas of extreme beauty and established planting schemes. Popular tourist attractions in London's Regent's Park include a large boating lake, sports fields, ancient trees, playground areas for children, and Regent's Park is also home to London Zoo.

London Gardens: London Alexandra Park - London, England
Alexandra Park offers some of the best views of London, together with an ice-skating rink, seating areas, benches, mature trees and the Alexandra Palace complex.

London Gardens: London Hampstead Heath - London, England
Hampstead Heath lies between Regent's Park and Alexandra Park and regularly host many of London's events and festivals throughout the year. Other attractions at London's Hampstead Heath include a number of pools, mature trees, colourful flower borders and walking trails.

London Gardens: London Richmond Park - London, England
Richmond Park is one of the largest parks in London and is famous for its large herds of wild deer, many of which are extremely friendly and inquisitive. London's Richmond Park also features many important areas of wildlife, large amounts of native London flora and fauna, nature trails, picnic spots and picturesque countryside.

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