GREAT BRITAIN
1
- POLITICAL STATUS
Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy and a
multi-party democracy. It is a member of the
Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II is the symbolic
head of state.
The Prime Minister has the actual power. He has
sole responsability before the House of Commons.
There are 650 Members of the House who are elected
by general election for a 5 year period. The House
of Lords is composed of 1075 peers, who have seats
for life.
2 - GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION
The total surface is 244 046
kms2, it includes Scotland (78 775
kms2), Wales (20 768 kms2),
England (130 441 kms2) and Northern
Ireland (14 120 kms2).
Other islands are dependent on Britain, the Isle of
Man and the anglo-norman islands, but they are not
part of the country.
The geographical relief is varied, but it is mainly
composed of plains and hills which stretch up to
the Shetland Islands which are situated on the same
latitude as Oslo.
Mountains, marshes, agricultural plains and a very
diversified coast line add to the variety of the
countryside.
In the north and in the west of the country there
are very ancient mountains which are broken up with
the land subsiding.
This mountain chain continues in the archipelago,
made up of the Hebrides, the Orkneys and the
Shetlands.
SCOTLAND :
The Caledonian Canal cuts through the Ross
Mountains and the Grampians.
It is surrounded by glacier lakes or "lochs".
Ben Nevis is the highest peak at 1342 meters above
sea level.
The lowlands separate these mountains from the
Cheviot Mountains (800 m).
ENGLAND AND WALES /
The mountain ranges are quite ancient and not
very high in the northern half of the country, like
the Cumberland Pennines at 975 meters, oriented
north-south, but difficult to cross over 600
meters.
In the south there are two mountain chains, the
Welsh mountains (Mt Snowdon 1085 m) and the
Cornwall peneplain.
In the south east, plains, coast line and the
alignment of the Downs form the sedimentary basin
of London.
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