Geography of the United kingdom (document anglais)

I. Geography of the United kingdom.

1. Geography.

Great Britain = England + Scotland + Wales

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland = GB + Northern Ireland.

Oceans and seas : 6

- North Atlantic ocean

- North sea

- English channel

- Irish sea

- North Channel

- Bristol Channel Straits : 2

- Strait of Dover

- St Georges channel Rivers : 8

- Trent

- Thames

- Severn

- Clyde

- Forth

- River Bann

- Tyne

- Caledonian canal Lakes : 3

- Lake district

- Loch

- Lough Neagh

Islands : 8

- Isles of Scilly

- Anglesey

- Isles of Man

- Hebrides

- Orkney islands

- Shetland Islands

- Isle of Wight

- Channel Islands Mountains : 9

- N.W. Highlands

- Grampians (Ben Nevis 1343m)

- Southern Uplands

- Cumbrian

- Pennines

- Cambrian (Snowdon 1085m)

- Sperrin

- Antrim

- Mourne Low lands : 3

- the Fens

- Central lowlands

- Salisbury Plain

Cities England : 15

• London

- Portsmouth

- Southampton

- Dover

- Plymouth

- Bristol

- Liverpool

- Blackpool

- Manchester

- Newcastle

- Oxford

- Nottingham

- Leeds

- Bradford

- Birmingham Cities Wales : 2

• Cardiff

- Swansea Cities Scotland : 4

• Edinburgh

- Glasgow

- Dundee

- Aberdeen Cities Ireland : 2

• Belfast

- Der

2. Climate.

• very little temperature variation

• Cold and wet => North west / Hot and dry => South East.

• June= driest month. A drought = Une sécheresse. / September= wettest, (September to January).

3. Population.

• 9/10 Britons live in city. 30% live in one of the largest cities.

• Black country= pays du charbon (Birmingham).

• Internal migration: Rural until 18th century / 19th c. country → cities for work. / After WWI traditional industries declined / After 1960 new Growth centres / End of 20th c. Old centres → suburbia.

4. Natural resources and environment.

• Forest: N.E. Scotland / Northumberland / Sussex.

• Moorlands = Landes N. England / N. Ireland.

• Not many minerals but lots of fossil fuels. (coal, oil, gas)

• Not extensive nuclear program (Sellafield).

• Organic farming +++. Britain: 60% self sufficient in food.

• Livestock: Cattle, calves, sheep, lambs, pigs and poultry.

II. Pre-history → 1066.

Prehistoric Britain:

• Stone age: Hunters-gatherers (=chasseurs-cueilleurs)

• Stonehenge: Salisbury plain 3000-2300BC.

• Bronze and Iron age (2000→50 BC): Trade with various places (as far as Mediterranean).

• 700BC. Celtic tribes came from Danube (Allemagne, Roumanie, Ukraine).

• Political contacts with Celt on the continent (Gaul).

Roman Britain: 49-409:

• Julius Caesar 55-54 BC, unsuccessful incursions.

• 43 AD. Successful invasion.

• London developed as trading centre.

• 123. Building of Hadrian wall ≈ border England-Scotland.

• “Chester” and “caster” indicate a military camps (Manchester, Lancaster...)

• From 300, frequent attacks by Saxon pirates (Germany).

• 409= end of Roman domination.

Anglo-Saxon Britain: 5th century – 1066.

• Incursions by Angles and Saxons from mainland (Holland and Denmark)

• Incursions slowed by King Arthur (legend of the knights of the round table).

• by the 6th century: Anglo-Saxon way of life predominate.

• Celt retreat beyond Severn( Wales) or crossed into Armorica

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