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Physical Geography of United Kingdom

Land
The land divides into a highland region and a lowland region. The highlands occur north and west of a line from the Tees River, in northern England, to the Exe River, in the southwest. The lowlands lie to the south and east. All of the highland region and most of the lowland region were glaciated during the last Ice Age. In the highlands the massive sheets of ice scoured and eroded the land, leaving rounded summits and barren rocky areas. On the lowlands they left extensive deposits of clay, sand, gravel, and other glacial material.

Highland Britain
Highlands are the predominant features of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and western and northern England. Blocks of ancient hard rock, which rarely rise as much as 2,000 feet (600 m) above sea level, make up most of the land. In many areas the highlands reach the sea as rocky cliffs and headlands. Bleak moors and marshy bogs dot much of the land. The highest and roughest sections are the Grampian Mountains and the Northwest Highlands of northern Scotland. Ben Nevis, reaching 4,406 feet (1,343 m) in the Grampians, is Britain's highest peak. Rough terrain also occurs in the Cumbrian Mountains of England and the Cambrian Mountains of Wales. Other highland areas include the uplands of southern Scotland, the Pennines of north-central England, and the Mourne Mountains of Northern Ireland. Numerous broad valleys cut through the highland region, making the areas of rough land discontinuous. Lowland Britain is largely flat to gently rolling, although there is some upland and some long, rather sharply rising cliffs. Low-lying areas include the Midlands (a plain), the London basin, and the Vale (valley) of York. The upland areas, variously called hills, downs, and wolds, include the Cotswold and Chiltern Hills, the North and South downs, and the wolds of North Yorkshire, Humberside, and Lincoln. Rarely do elevations in these areas reach as much as 1,000 feet (300 m).

Many of the coastal areas of lowland Britain are lined with cliffs, sand and pebble beaches, and reclaimed tidal land. At Dover, the North Downs end abruptly in magnificent white chalk cliffs, overlooking the Strait of Dover. The entire lowland region has long been the most productive and populous part of Britain.

Water
The coast of Britain is often irregular and deeply indented by numerous bays, sounds, broad estuaries (called firths in Scotland), and long, narrow arms of the sea. Among the large bodies of water jutting into Britain are the firths of Forth, Moray, Lorne, Clyde, and Solway, in Scotland; and The Wash, Thames estuary, Bristol Channel, and Morecambe Bay, in England. Inland waters cover 1,191 square miles (3,085 km2), or somewhat more than 1 per cent of the total area. The Severn, in England and Wales, and the Thames, in England, are the longest rivers; the Severn is 220 miles (355 km) long, the Thames, 210 miles (340 km) long. Most major riverssuch as the Tyne, Tees, Humber, Thames, Severn, and Mersey, in England, and the Clyde and Forth, in Scotlandowe their importance not to their size but to industry, commerce, and navigation in their estuaries. Lakes are mainly of glacial origin and lie in the highlands. Scottish lochs (lakes) are particularly numerous, and many are long, narrow, and exceptionally deep. Among them are Loch Lomond, Loch Ness, and Loch Shin. All English lakes are small. The only significant ones are in the Lake District in the Cumbrian Mountains. The country's largest lake is sough Neagh, in Northern Ireland.

Climate
Britain lies at about the same latitude as the southern half of mainland Canada, yet its climate is exceptionally mild. The influence of the ocean is the dominating factor. Virtually all year, westerly and southwesterly winds bring the moderating influence of the North Altantic Current inland, warming the land in winter and cooling it in summer. Drizzles and light showers, much cloudiness and fog, and frequent changes in the weather are also characteristic.

Throughout most of Britain, except in the mountainous areas, temperatures average about 38 to 43 F. (3 to 6 C.) during the coldest months (January and February) and 58 to 63 F. (14 to 17 C.) during the warmest months (July and August). The southwestern peninsula of England has the mildest winter weather, temperatures averaging substantially above those of the rest of the nation. The highest summer and lowest winter temperatures are normally recorded in southeastern England, which lies in the direct path of occasional hot and cold air masses from the continent. Exceptionally hot or cold weather, however, is rare. The least variation in climate occurs along Scotland's north and northwest coast. Annual precipitation, which varies with topography and exposure to the Atlantic, ranges from as much as 200 inches (5,080 mm) in the more mountainous areas to as little as 18 to 20 inches (460 to 510 mm) in the extreme southeast. Most of the lowland areas receive 25 to 40 inches (640 to 1,020 mm) a year. There is very little of the precipitation falls as snow except in the more mountainous areas.

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