География и окружающая среда Англии, Уэльса, Северной Ирландии и Шотландии (на английском языке)

Национальный технический университет Украины Тема География и окружающая среда Англии, Уэльса,Северной Ирландии и Шотландии Василий БовкунЛА-82 Киев 2000 Ireland. Northern Ireland is at its nearestpoint only 21km 13 miles from Scotland. It has 488-km 303-mile border inthe south and vest with the Irish Republic.At its centre lies Lough Neagh, Britain s largest freshwater lake 381sq km, 147sq miles . Manyof the principal towns lie in valleys leading from the lough, including thecapital, Belfast, which stands at the mouth of the river Lagan. The MourneMountains, rising sharply in the south-east, include Slieve Donard, NorthernIreland s highest peak 852 m, 2,796 ft . Environment of Scotland.

Scotland s countryside contains richvariety of wildlife, with some species not found elsewhere in Britain.Thereare 71 national nature reserves and over 1,300 Interest. Four regional parks and 40 national scenic areas have been designated,covering 13 per cent of the land surface.

Four of the 11 forest parks in GreatBritain are in Scotland, and a fifth spans the border between Scotland andEngland.Environment of Whales There are extensive areas ofpicturesque hill, lake and mountain country, and the countryside supports avariety of plants and wildlife.There are three National Parks Snowdonia, theBrecon Becons and the Pembrokeshire Coast , five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beautyand two national trails as well as 31 country parks and large stretches ofheritage coast.

There are about 50 National Nature Reserves and over 800 Interest. Nearly all of the riversand canals are classified as having water of good or fair quality, and asignificant improvement has been achieved in the quality of bathing waters.Geographical Position of GreatBritain.The United Kingdom is situated on theBritish Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britainand Ireland, and a great number of small islands.

Their total area is over244,000 sq. km. The British Isles are separated fromthe European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The westerncoast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland occupies one third of the island of Ireland. It borderson the Irish Republic in the south.The island of Great Britain consists ofthree main parts England the southern and middle part of the island , Wales a mountainous peninsula in the west and Scotland the northern part of theisland . There are no high mountains in GreatBritain.

In the north the Cheviots the Cheviot Hills separate England almostalong its middle, the Cambrian mountains occupy the greater part of Wales andthe Highlands of Scotland are the tallest of the British mountains. Ben Nevis,the tallest peak of the Highlands, is only 1,343 m high. There is very little country exceptin the region known as East Anglia.Most of the rivers flow into the NorthSea. The Thames is the deepest and the longest of the British rivers, it isover 300 km long. Some of the British greatest ports are situated in theestuaries of the Thames, Mersey, Tyne , Clyde and Bristol Avon. Great Britain is not very rich inmineral resources, it has some deposits of coal, and iron ore and vast depositsof oil and gas that were discovered in the North Sea. The warm currents in theAtlantic Ocean influence the climate of Great Britain.

Britain forms the greater part of theBritish Isles, which lie off the north-west coast of mainland Europe.

Itsweather is changeable, but there are few extremes of temperature. Britain ismajor world producer of oil, naturalgas and coal. Since 1980 it has beenself-sufficient in energy in net terms. Woodland covers nearly 2-4 hectares inBritain about 13 per cent of Scotland, 12 per cent of Wales, 73 per cent ofEngland, and 52 per cent of Northern Ireland.British woodlands meet 12 percent of the country s consumption of wood and wood products.

Over three-quarters of Britain s variedlandscape is used for agriculture. Environmental Protection. Responsibility for pollution controlrests with local and central government. Integrated pollution control restrictsemissions to air, land and water from the most harmful processes.Recycling ofwaste will be a duty of local government. The National Rivers Authorityprotects inland waters in England and Wales. In Scotland the river purificationauthorities are responsible for water pollution control.Total emissions of smoke in the airhave fallen by over 85 per cent since 1960. Sulphur dioxide emissions havefallen by about 40 per cent since 1970. Britain has adopted a phased programmeof reductions in sulphur dioxide emissions form existinglarge combustion plants of up to 60 per cent by 2003. It has also agreed toreduce nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 30 per cent by 1998. Over 95 per centof petrol stations in Britain stock unleaded petrol.

Strict controls havereduced carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions.The Government is committed to theelimination of chlorofluorocarbons, which damage the ozone layer.

They alsocontribute to the greenhouse effect, which leads to global warming and rise insea levels. Britain stresses the need forimprovement in understanding the science of climate change.There are nearly 500,000 protected buildings, and 7,000conservation areas of architectural or historical interest, in Britain.

TheGovernment supports the work of the voluntary sector in preserving the nationalheritage. Green belts are where land should be left open and free from urbansprawl.The Government attaches great importance to their protection. Nationalparks cover 9 per cent of the total land area of England and Wales. Some 38areas of outstanding natural beauty have been designed - 13 per cent of the same land area. Threeregional parks and 40 national scenic areas cover 13 per cent of Scotland.

Careis taken to control development on parts of the coastline.