Geography of the United Kingdom

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Coordinates: 54°0′N 2°30′W﻿ / ﻿54.000°N 2.500°W﻿ / 54.000; -2.500

United Kingdom
Satellite image of the United Kingdom
Satellite image of the United Kingdom
Orthographic projection of the United Kingdom
Location Western Europe
 - Total 243,610 km2
(94,060 sq mi)
 - Water (%) 1.34
Area rank 80th
Highest elevation 1,344 m (4,409 ft)
Highest point Ben Nevis
Longest river River Severn
Largest lake Lough Neagh
Climate Temperate

The United Kingdom is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. With a total area of approximately 243,610 square kilometres (94,060 sq mi), the UK occupies the major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and many smaller surrounding islands.[1] The mainland areas lie between latitudes 49°N and 59°N (the Shetland Islands reach to nearly 61°N), and longitudes 8°W to 2°E. The Royal Greenwich Observatory, in South East London, is the defining point of the Prime Meridian.

The UK lies between the North Atlantic and the North Sea, and comes within 35 km (22 mi) of the north-west coast of France, from which it is separated by the English Channel. It shares a 360 km international land boundary with the Republic of Ireland. The Channel Tunnel bored beneath the English Channel, now links the UK with France.

The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are covered in their own respective articles, see below.


The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 245,000 square kilometres (94,600 sq mi), comprising the island of Great Britain, the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland) and many smaller islands. England is the largest country of the United Kingdom, at 130,410 square kilometres (50,350 sq mi) accounting for just over half the total area of the UK. Scotland at 78,772 square kilometres (30,410 sq mi),[2] is second largest, accounting for about a third of the area of the UK. Wales and Northern Ireland are much smaller, covering 20,758 and 14,160 square kilometres (8,010 and 5,470 sq mi) respectively.


Rank Name Area
1 England 130,427 km²

South West [3]
East of England
South East [4]
East Midlands
Yorkshire and the Humber
North West [5]
West Midlands [6]
North East [7]
London [8]

23,837 km²
19,120 km²
19,096 km²
15,627 km²
15,420 km²
14,165 km²
12,998 km²
8,592 km²
1,572 km²

2 Scotland [9] 78,772 km²
3 Wales [10] 20,778 km²
4 Northern Ireland 13,843 km²
United Kingdom 243,820 km²
Overseas territories 1,727,570 km²

The British Antarctic Territory, which covers an area of 1,709,400 km2 is geographically the largest of the British Overseas Territories followed by the Falkland Islands which covers an area of 12,173 km2. The remaining twelve overseas territories cover an area 5,997 km2.

Physical geography[edit]

UK's topography

The physical geography of the UK varies greatly. England consists of mostly lowland terrain, with upland or mountainous terrain only found north-west of the Tees-Exe line. The upland areas include the Lake District, the Pennines, Exmoor and Dartmoor. The lowland areas are typically traversed by ranges of low hills, frequently composed of chalk. The physical geography of Scotland is distinguished by the Highland Boundary Fault which traverses the Scottish mainland from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. The faultline separates the two distinctively different regions of the Highlands to the north and west, and the lowlands to the south and east. Wales is mostly mountainous, though south Wales is less mountainous than north and mid Wales. The geography of Ireland includes the Mourne Mountains as well as Lough Neagh, at 388 square kilometres (150 sq mi), the largest body of water in the UK.[11]




The geology of the UK is complex and diverse, a result of it being subject to a variety of plate tectonic processes over a very extended period of time. Changing latitude and sea levels have been important factors in the nature of sedimentary sequences, whilst successive continental collisions have affected its geological structure with major faulting and folding being a legacy of each orogeny (mountain-building period), often associated with volcanic activity and the metamorphism of existing rock sequences. As a result of this eventful geological history, the UK shows a rich variety of landscapes.[12]

The oldest rocks in the British Isles are the Lewisian gneisses, metamorphic rocks found in the far north west of Scotland and in the Hebrides (with a few small outcrops elsewhere), which date from at least 2,700 Ma (Ma = million years ago). South of the gneisses are a complex mixture of rocks forming the North West Highlands and Grampian Highlands in Scotland. These are essentially the remains of folded sedimentary rocks that were deposited between 1,000 Ma and 670 Ma over the gneiss on what was then the floor of the Iapetus Ocean.

At 520 Ma, what is now Great Britain was split between two continents; the north of Scotland was located on the continent of Laurentia at about 20° south of the equator, while the rest of the country was on the continent of Gondwana near the Antarctic Circle. In Gondwana, England and Wales were largely submerged under a shallow sea studded with volcanic islands. The remains of these islands underlie much of central England with small outcrops visible in many places.

About 500 Ma southern Britain, the east coast of North America and south-east Newfoundland broke away from Gondwana to form the continent of Avalonia, which by 440 Ma had drifted to about 30° south. During this period north Wales was subject to volcanic activity. The remains of these volcanoes are still visible, one example of which is Rhobell Fawr dating from 510 Ma. Large quantities of volcanic lava and ash known as the Borrowdale Volcanics covered the Lake District and this can still be seen in the form of mountains such as Helvellyn and Scafell Pike.

Between 425 and 400 Ma Avalonia had joined with the continent of Baltica, and the combined landmass collided with Laurentia at about 20° south, joining the southern and northern halves of Great Britain together. The resulting Caledonian Orogeny produced an Alpine-style mountain range in much of north and west Britain.

The collision between continents continued during the Devonian period, producing uplift and subsequent erosion, resulting in the deposition of numerous sedimentary rock layers in lowlands and seas. The Old Red Sandstone and the contemporary volcanics and marine sediments found in Devon originated from these processes.

Around 360 Ma Great Britain was lying at the equator, covered by the warm shallow waters of the Rheic Ocean, during which time the Carboniferous Limestone was deposited, as found in the Mendip Hills and the Peak District of Derbyshire. Later, river deltas formed and the sediments deposited were colonised by swamps and rain forest. It was in this environment that the Coal Measures were formed, the source of the majority of Britain's extensive coal reserves.

Around 280 Ma the Variscan orogeny mountain-building period occurred, again due to collision of continental plates, causing major deformation in south west England. The general region of Variscan folding was south of an east–west line roughly from south Pembrokeshire to Kent. Towards the end of this period granite was formed beneath the overlying rocks of Devon and Cornwall, now exposed at Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor.

By the end of the Carboniferous period the various continents of the Earth had fused to form the super-continent of Pangaea. Britain was located in the interior of Pangea where it was subject to a hot arid desert climate with frequent flash floods leaving deposits that formed beds of red sedimentary rock.

As Pangaea drifted during the Triassic, Great Britain moved away from the equator until it was between 20° and 30° north. The remnants of the Variscan uplands in France to the south were eroded down, resulting in layers of the New Red Sandstone being deposited across central England.

Pangaea began to break up at the start of the Jurassic period. Sea levels rose and Britain drifted on the Eurasian Plate to between 30° and 40° north. Much Britain was under water again, and sedimentary rocks were deposited and can now be found underlying much of England from the Cleveland Hills of Yorkshire to the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. These include sandstones, greensands, oolitic limestone of the Cotswold Hills, corallian limestone of the Vale of White Horse and the Isle of Portland. The burial of algae and bacteria below the mud of the sea floor during this time resulted in the formation of North Sea oil and natural gas

1815 Geological by William Smith.

The modern continents having formed, the Cretaceous saw the formation of the Atlantic Ocean, gradually separating northern Scotland from North America. The land underwent a series of uplifts to form a fertile plain. After 20 million years or so, the seas started to flood the land again until much of Britain was again below the sea, though sea levels frequently changed. Chalk and flints were deposited over much of Great Britain, now notably exposed at the White Cliffs of Dover and the Seven Sisters, and also forming Salisbury Plain.

Between 63 and 52 Ma, the last volcanic rocks in Great Britain were formed. The major eruptions at this time produced the Antrim Plateau, the basaltic columns of the Giant's Causeway and Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel.

The Alpine Orogeny that took place in Europe about 50 Ma, was responsible for the folding of strata in southern England, producing the London Basin syncline, the Weald-Artois Anticline to the south, the North Downs, South Downs and Chiltern Hills.

During the period the North Sea formed, Britain was uplifted. Some of this uplift was along old lines of weakness left from the Caledonian and Variscan Orogenies long before. The uplifted areas were then eroded, and further sediments, such as the London Clay, were deposited over southern England.

The major changes during the last 2 million years were brought about by several recent ice ages. The most severe was the Anglian Glaciation, with ice up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) thick that reached as far south as London and Bristol. This took place between about 478,000 to 424,000 years ago, and was responsible for the diversion of the River Thames onto its present course. During the most recent Devensian glaciation, which ended a mere 10,000 years ago, the icesheet reached south to Wolverhampton and Cardiff. Among the features left behind by the ice are the fjords of the west coast of Scotland, the U-shaped valleys of the Lake District and erratics (blocks of rock) that have been transported from the Oslo region of Norway and deposited on the coast of Yorkshire.

Amongst the most significant geological features created during the last twelve thousand years are the peat deposits of Scotland, and of coastal and upland areas of England and Wales.


Mountains and hills[edit]



The ranges of mountains and hills in the UK include:


Rivers and lakes[edit]

Main articles

The longest river in the UK is the River Severn (220 mi; 350 km) which flows through both Wales and England.

The longest rivers in the UK contained wholly within each of its constituent nations are:

The largest lakes (by surface area) in the UK by country are:

The deepest lake in the UK is Loch Morar with a maximum depth of 309 metres (Loch Ness is second at 228 metres deep). The deepest lake in England is Wastwater which achieves a depth of 79 metres (259 feet).

Artificial waterways[edit]




United Kingdom maritime claims

The UK has a coastline which measures about 12,429 km. [13] The heavy indentation of the coastline helps to ensure that no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters.




The geology of the United Kingdom is such that there are many headlands along its coast. A list of headlands of the United Kingdom details many of them.


See main list of islands of the United Kingdom

In total, it is estimated that the UK is made up of over one thousand small islands, the majority located off the north and west coasts of Scotland.


The climate of the UK is generally temperate, although significant local variation occurs, particularly as a result of altitude and distance from the coast. In general the south of the country is warmer than the north, and the west wetter than the east. Due to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream, the UK is significantly warmer than some other locations at similar latitude, such as Newfoundland.

The prevailing winds are southwesterly, from the North Atlantic Current. More than 50% of the days are overcast.[citation needed] There are few natural hazards, although there can be strong winds and floods, especially in winter.



Human geography[edit]



Political geography[edit]

National government[edit]

The UK is governed as a whole by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Of the four countries that make the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved administrations and parliaments/assembly:

England has no devolved system of government[clarification needed]that is, the Parliament of the United Kingdom serves as (and historically was) the English Parliament. It is governed by UK government ministers and legislated for by the UK parliament. Within England, London has a devolved assembly but proposals for elected Regional Assemblies in England were rejected in the first referendum covering North East England. See Government of England.

The UK (specifically, Northern Ireland) has an international land boundary with the Republic of Ireland of 360 km. There is also a boundary between the jurisdiction of France and the UK on the Channel Tunnel.

Local government[edit]




In the 1990s further population growth led to more political changes on a local level. Unitary authorities were formed across the entirety of Scotland and Wales, and in larger cities in England. Many unpopular administrative counties were also abolished at this time, leading to a mixture of two-tier and single-purpose authorities. Further reorganisations are planned if and when regional assemblies in England are revisited in the future.

Economic geography[edit]


The UK led the industrial revolution and its highly urban character is a legacy of this, with all its major cities being current or former centres of various forms of manufacturing. However, this in turn was built on its exploitation of natural resources, especially coal and iron ore.

Primary industry[edit]



The UK's heavy manufacturing drove the industrial revolution. A map of the major UK cities gives a good picture of where this activity occurred, in particular Belfast, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. Today there is no heavy manufacturing industry in which UK-based firms can be considered world leaders. However, areas of the UK still have a notable manufacturing base, including the Midlands which remains a strong manufacturing centre, and the North West which accounts for 60% of the United Kingdom's manufacturing output.[14] More recently, high technology firms have concentrated largely along the M4 motorway, partly because of access to Heathrow Airport, but also because of agglomeration economies.

Finance and services[edit]


Regional disparity[edit]

The effect of changing economic fortune has contributed to the creation of the so-called North-South divide, in which decaying industrial and ex-industrial areas of Northern England, Scotland and Wales contrast with the wealthy, finance and technology-led southern economy. This has led successive governments to develop regional policy to try to rectify the imbalance. However, this is not to say that the north-south divide is uniform; some of the worst pockets of deprivation can be found in London, whilst parts of Cheshire and North Yorkshire are very wealthy. Nor is the North-South divide limited to the economic sphere; cultural and political divisions weigh heavily too.

Natural resources[edit]



In 1993, it was estimated that land use was:

The UK has a variety of natural resources including:



Current issues[edit]

England is one of the most densely populated countries/regions in the world, and the most densely populated major nation in Europe.[15] The high population density (especially in the southeast of England) coupled with a changing climate, is likely to put extreme pressure on the United Kingdom's water resources in the future.[16]


International agreements[edit]



Geography of dependent territories[edit]

Crown dependencies[edit]

Overseas territories[edit]

See also[edit]


  2. ^ "Scotland Facts". Retrieved 16 July 2008. 
  3. ^ "The South West – Key Facts". Government Office for the South West. Retrieved 18 April 2007. [dead link]
  4. ^ "Facts and Figures about the South East". Government Office for the South East. Retrieved 18 April 2007. 
  5. ^ "Regional Profile". Government Office for the North West. Retrieved 18 April 2007. 
  6. ^ "Regional Profile". Government Office for the West Midlands. Retrieved 18 April 2007. 
  7. ^ "Regional Profile". Government Office for the North East. Retrieved 18 April 2007. 
  8. ^ "Our Region". Government Office for London. Retrieved 18 April 2007. 
  9. ^ "Scotland Facts". Scotland – The Official Online Gateway. Retrieved 18 April 2007. 
  10. ^ "Wales in Figures – Land". Welsh Assembly Government. Retrieved 18 April 2007. [dead link]
  13. ^ "Factsheet Marine Conservation Zones". 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2014.  |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  14. ^ "1,800 new jobs to be created at Manchester Airport". ITV News. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012. 
  16. ^ McKie, Robin (22 January 2012). "Urgent action needed to prevent England's rivers drying up". The Guardian. 

External links[edit]