Britain's geographical advantages and disadvantages

The whole territory consists of most of the islands of the British Isles near the northwest coast of the European continent, facing the European continent across the North Sea, the Dover Strait and the English Channel. It is an island country.

Britain is located between 50 and 60 degrees north latitude, farther north than Heilongjiang Province in China, but the climate is much milder. It can be said that there is no cold in winter and no heat in summer. This mild climate is first attributed to the tropical Gulf Stream. This warm current is hundreds of kilometers wide. Flowing to the northwest coast of Europe, it was renamed the Atlantic Warm Current, which brought a mild and humid maritime climate to Britain. Take London as an example, rivers and lakes rarely freeze in winter, and the average temperature of 1 month is above 4 degrees (Celsius); In summer, the weather is quite cool. The average temperature in July is only 17 degrees, so you often need to add a sweater in the morning and evening. The annual rainfall is about 600 mm, which is not much, but it is evenly distributed. As far as the whole country is concerned, the average temperature in 1 month is about 4 to 7 degrees, and in July it is 13 to 17 degrees. The annual rainfall in the northwest mountainous area exceeds 1000 mm, while it is between 600 mm and 700 mm in the southeast. Britain is foggy, with thin haze on sunny days in summer; Winter is often foggy, like rain but not rain, and if smoke is not smoke, this is mainly caused by the humidity of the island country. As for the dense fog that used to be common in London, it is not entirely a natural phenomenon. Due to the emphasis on environmental protection, the dense fog there has been greatly reduced.

The island has a mild climate, but the weather is changeable. British people often say: "There is climate abroad, but only weather in Britain" to show that the weather here is unpredictable. Indeed, it is not uncommon to see sunny, cloudy and rainy days in one day. This weather makes people very cautious. Seeing an Englishman wearing a raincoat and carrying an umbrella when he goes out on a sunny morning, foreigners may find it ridiculous, but he will soon regret his "ridiculousness". The changeable weather also provides people with frequent topics, and even the most taciturn people in Britain like to talk about the weather.

Affected by high latitude, the length of day and night in Britain is particularly obvious. In winter, the days are short and the nights are long. Before 3 pm, the sky was already dark. In summer, on the other hand, the days are long and the nights are short, and it begins to get dark at night 10. Generally speaking, summer is the best time to visit Britain. In summer, the days are long, the activity time is long, the temperature is moderate, the weather is refreshing, and people are full of energy. Although there is rain this season, it is generally discontinuous, which will affect the trip.

Geographical distribution map of British overseas territories

Britain, located in Europe, consists of the islands of Great Britain (including England, Scotland and Wales), Northern Ireland in the northeast of Ireland and some small islands (overseas territories). Britain is located in the British Isles in the northwest of continental Europe, surrounded by the North Sea, the English Channel, celtic sea, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. 243,600 square kilometers (including inland waters), England130,400 square kilometers, Scotland 78,800 square kilometers, Wales 20,800 square kilometers, and Northern Ireland 136 square kilometers. An island country in western Europe. It consists of Great Britain (including England, Scotland and Wales), northeastern Ireland and some small islands. It faces the European continent across the North Sea, the Dover Strait and the English Channel. Its land borders Ireland and the United States. Total length of coastline11450km. The whole territory is divided into four parts: the plains in southeast England, the mountains in the middle and west, the mountains in Scotland, the highlands in Northern Ireland and the mountains.

hydrology

Severn River (354 km) and Thames River (346 km). Lough neagh in Northern Ireland, with an area of 396 square kilometers, ranks first in the country.

climate

It has a maritime temperate broad-leaved forest climate, which is mild and humid all year round. Generally, the highest temperature does not exceed 32℃, the lowest temperature is not lower than-10℃, and the average temperature 10 is 65438+4 ~ 7℃ in October and 13 ~ 17℃ in July. It is rainy and foggy, especially in autumn and winter. Therefore, London is called the foggy city. The average annual precipitation is about 1000 mm. The annual precipitation in the northern and western mountainous areas exceeds 2000 mm, and that in the central and eastern areas is less than 800 mm. February to March is the driest, and 10 to 1 month is the wettest. The national climate type is temperate maritime climate.

resources

The main mineral resources in Britain are coal, iron, oil and natural gas. The total reserve of hard coal is1.700 million tons. The reserves of iron are about 3.8 billion tons. There are tin mines in Cornwall Peninsula in the southwest. There are many stone salts in Cheshire and Durham. Staffordshire has good clay. White clay is produced in Cornwall Peninsula. Dolomite can be mined in the east slope of pennines. The timely mine is located near Hill Hildry in the southwest of Lancashire. The oil reserves on the continental shelf of Britain's North Sea are about10 ~ 4 billion tons. Natural gas reserves are about 860 ~ 2585 billion cubic meters.

Territorial dispute

Britain and Spain have disputes over the suzerainty of Gibraltar; There is a dispute with Argentina over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. Although due to historical factors, since Ireland's independence in 1949, there has been a dispute between Britain and Ireland over the ownership of Northern Ireland, which even turned into a violent conflict. However, after 1998 signed the Belfast Agreement between the two countries, the situation gradually changed from opposition to regional cooperation.

The British Antarctic Territory overlaps with the territorial scope claimed by Chile and Argentina on the Antarctic continent in many places. However, according to the Antarctic Treaty, at present, the territorial rights claimed by countries in Antarctica are permanently frozen.

Mauritius and Seychelles also claim sovereignty over British Indian Ocean territory.

historic site

A large number of castles and country houses bear witness to history, which shows that land and real estate in Britain have long been owned by aristocratic families. A large number of precious ancient buildings are well preserved, including Brenim Palace of Duke of Marlborough, Chatsworth Palace of Duke of Devonshire, and Rongsu House of Dragon Park of Marquis of Bath, which are still in use today. These private manors and mansions built by princes and nobles in historical periods such as George Dynasty, Tudor Dynasty and Elizabeth Dynasty are typical representatives of British historical buildings. Many private manors and mansions scattered in towns and villages, as well as ancient city walls, ancient pagodas, unique buildings and other unforgettable buildings, have been actively protected as British historical heritage. Historic buildings under protection include ancient mining towers, mills and factories during the Industrial Revolution, iron bridges and other bridges built by Thomas telford, Voss Bridge, a masterpiece of steel structure construction, and Clifton Suspension Bridge with exquisite carving.

London Big Ben Garden

The British National Trust and the Scottish National Trust manage about 240 gardens in Britain and develop them for the public. The British Heritage Conservation Organization is also the guardian of some of the most important scenic spots in Britain. The gardens it manages include Charles Darwin Garden in Donhaus, Kent,18th century landscape garden in Audley Manor, Essex, Vorm Castle in Kent and Queen Elizabeth Garden designed by Penelope hobhouse. In addition, there are the south moat garden designed by Isabel von Geronini Niegen for the Eltam Palace in south London, the walled flower and fruit garden designed by Rupert Galby at Osborne Manor, and the family garden of Queen Victoria on the Isle of Wight.

Major cities in Britain, especially London, are famous for their beautiful and well-protected parks. The royal gardens in London, including Hyde Park, St James Park and Green Park, represent the highest level of garden art in Europe. Moreover, in Greater London, beautiful and well-cared gardens can be seen everywhere for public entertainment and leisure. The Royal Botanical Garden in southwest London has collected a large number of existing and protected trees, seeds and plants. Botanical garden itself is an encyclopedia of the plant world, and it has also become a scientific center of global botanical research. In Cornwall, the Millennium Committee provided 40 million pounds to transform an abandoned clay pit into a brand-new garden unique in the world, which is known as the Eden Project. In addition, there are 7 national parks in England and 3 national parks in Wales. Every national park has a large area of natural beauty, most of which are privately owned. Scotland will build a national park in Loch Lomond and Chase, Trossat, and plans to build another national park in Kahn Gomez.

traffic

Since the14th century, the prosperity and development of the British Isles have increasingly depended on the ability of its people to fight, explore and develop abroad, vigorously develop colonies and expand trade. The hegemony of the British Isles at sea has largely given its citizens the above capabilities. Britain's large-scale and systematic shipbuilding industry began in the period of King John, who established the Royal Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth at the beginning of13rd century. After that, Britain established the East India Company in 1600, and then explored and inspected the Far East, Southeast Asia, America and Australia. However, compared with the shipbuilding capacity, the invention of navigation technology and navigation instruments contributed more to the British maritime hegemony, including the sextant successfully invented in the magnificent Belfast Clyde Shipyard, Tyne Shipyard and Weir Shipyard in the second half of the 9th century.