The usual name - Great Britain - does not quite correspond to the real name of the most interesting country. In fact, this constitutional monarchy has a long, prim name - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Getting to know the country
The unusual location of the state in the British Isles and separation from the European mainland by the North Sea, the powerful English Channel and Pas de Calais created sufficient isolation and united England, Scotland and Wales with Northern Ireland. The abbreviated name of the country - Great Britain - contains all the united territories, simplifying the cumbersome phrase "United Kingdom". The area of Great Britain is 243,610 square km, its population is 63,396 thousand people. Queen Elizabeth II rules the country.
History of the formation of the state
The formation of the monarchy lasted for many years. During the Middle Ages, the present area of Great Britain was occupied by several small states. The eleventh century and the conquests of the Normans united them into a single feudal state, located onterritory of modern England. Growing new territories, the kingdom of England captures Wales, and since the sixteenth century it has been part of the country. The seventeenth century brought significant changes - the administration of the state began to be carried out by the Scottish royal dynasties, in the eighteenth century this led to the unification of these countries under a single name - Great Britain. The beginning of the nineteenth century was marked by the accession to the state of the island of Ireland, which later split into Northern Ireland, which remains part of the Kingdom and a separate independent country of Ireland. The composition and area of Great Britain remain the same today.
Political Influence
It should be noted that since the seventeenth century, British influence has become very significant in the world and the colonies, contributing to the spread of the English language and the introduction of forms of government. The economic breakthrough and high growth of machine-based manufacturing in the progressive nineteenth century made Great Britain the world's largest supplier of manufactured goods. At present, there has been some weakening of the country's position, associated with the collapse of the colonial British Empire and the entry into the arena of other developed countries - the USA, Japan, Germany. It is impossible to deny the huge political influence of this state, despite the small area it occupies. Great Britain, and more precisely, its government, is characterized by a clear thoughtful conduct of business, which retains its reputation as a wise modern politician.
Landscape diversity
A feature of the country's relief is the division of the landscape into two categories: in the north and west is High Britain, represented by dissected mountainous hills, interspersed with small lowlands. Low Britain - dominated by plains, having several mountainous regions - occupies the southeastern part. Great Britain is characterized by the lack of a clear border between these areas, and the traveler's imagination is struck by several types of landscape that change markedly over several hours of travel.
Rainy and foggy, High Britain, well justified by its northwestern location, consists of six towering areas, interspersed with three lowlands. It smoothly merges into the vast area of Low Britain, which is represented by the Lancashire-Cheshire Plain, the Midlands and the Vale of York. A common feature of these areas are fertile soils. UK area in sq. km contains all kinds of landscapes and mountainous and flat areas.
Climate
The rather mild climate of the country is due to its close proximity to the North Atlantic Current. The predominance of westerly winds ensures the supply of comfortable cool air in summer and warm air from the Atlantic in winter. The average air temperature in summer is +29 ºС, in winter -7 ºС. There have been rare cases of extreme rises in summer temperatures up to 38ºС and frosts in winter up to -18 ºС.
Snowfalls and frost happen here, especially in mountainous areas, but on the plains and lowlands, freezing temperatures last only 30–40 days a year, snow lies no more than 10–15 days, and in cities - 5 days a year. The average July temperature in the capital is 17°C, on the Isles of Scilly - 16°C, in Holyhead - 15°C, and the northern coast of Scotland does not please with hot weather - less than 13°C. In the British Isles, as a rule, there are no droughts. There is sufficient rainfall for agricultural work.
The area of the UK in 2014 is almost 244 thousand square meters. km. Foggy Albion, as this constitutional monarchy is often called, located on the British Isles, is an unusual and mysterious country where everything is interesting: government, climate, architecture, traditions and people.
