GEOGRAPHY
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Climate
the climate in Britain: mainly temperate, with variations
between coolness and mildness
the amount of rain that falls on a town in Britain depends on
where it is (the further west you go, the more rain you get)
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the mild winters: slightly colder in the east of the country than they are in
the west
the summers: warmer and sunnier in the south than in the north
the lack of extremes
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Land and settlement
Britain’s physical area: 93,025 square miles
(242,842 square kilometres)
England: 50,052 square miles (129,634 sq km)
Wales: 7,968 square miles (20,637 sq km)
Scotland: 29,799 square miles (77,179 sq km)
Northern Ireland: 5,206 square miles (13,438
sq km)
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Britain’s relief:
highland and
lowland Britain
the highest
ground: the
north and west
of the country
the lowland
zones: the south
and east of the
country
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most people
(almost 80%)
live in towns or
cities rather
than in villages
or in the
countryside
cities in
England and
Wales have
been built
outwards
rather than
upwards
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The environment and pollution
the word ‘smog’ (a
mixture of smoke and
fog) first used in
Britain
1952: a particularly
bad smog, which
lasted for several
days, was estimated
to have caused
between 4,000 and
8,000 deaths
The terrible London smog of 1952
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water pollution (until the
1960s)
laws stopped much of the
pollution from factories
(during the 1960s and
1970s )
air pollution (the last
quarter of the 20th century)
the reduction of
greenhouse gases
attempts at using ‘green’
energy sources (solar
power, wind power, tidal
power and wave power) British wind farms
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global warming: low-lying coastal areas are
threatened by the rising of the sea levels
the Atlantic waves which hit Britain’s north,
west and south coasts strip sand from beaches,
undermine cliffs and damage coastal defences
the east coast is sinking (as the south-east
corner of Britain tilts downwards) into the
North Sea
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London: vulnerable to flooding through tidal surges along the
River Thames
the construction of the Thames Barrier (completed in 1983)
The Thames Barrier
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London
home to the headquarters of all government
departments, the country’ parliament, its major legal
institutions, and the monarch
the country’s business and banking centre and the centre
of its transport network
home to the headquarters of the national television
networks and all the national newspapers
a fifth of the total population of the UK lives in the wider
London area
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London
‘the square mile’ (also known as ‘the City’):
the original walled city of London; home to
the country’s main financial organizations
Westminster, another ‘city’ outside
London’s walls
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the West End, a
well-known area of
London, known for
its many theatres,
cinemas and
expensive shops
the East End, the
poorer residential
area of central
London (home of
the Cockney)
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