United Kingdom: Geography#
Location | Western Europe, islands - including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland - between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea; northwest of France |
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Geographic Coordinates | 54 00 N, 2 00 W 54.0,-2.0 |
Area | total: 243,610 sq km land: 241,930 sq km water: 1,680 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands We are unable to verify those figures from Factbook, since the 6 main sources we used for checking give different figures as follows: Factbook: 243610 DBpedia: 243610 Geoname: 244820 Infoplease: 244820 Britannica: 243073 Wolfram: 243610 Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
Land boundaries | total: 360 km border countries: Ireland 360 km |
Coastline | 12,429 km |
Elevation Extremes | lowest point: The Fens -4 m highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m |
Highest Mountains | Due to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Ben Nevis 1343 m; Ben Macdui 1309 m; Braeriach 1295 m; Cairn Gorm 1234 m; Mount Knockness 1219 m According to Geonames: Ben Nevis 1344 m; Ben Macdui 1309 m; Braeriach 1296 m; Cairn Toul 1291 m; Sgor an Lochain Uaine 1258 m Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org Important Mountains |
Terrain | mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast |
Natural Hazards | winter windstorms; floods |
Natural Resource | coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land |
Land Use | arable land: 24.88% permanent crops: 0.18% other: 74.93% (2011) |
Climate | temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast |
Irrigated Land | 2,280 sq km (2005) |
Renewable Water Resources | 147 cu km (2011) |
Environment_CurrentIssues | continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has met Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and intends to meet the legally binding target and move toward a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010); by 2005 the government reduced the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998 levels and recycled or composted at least 25% of household waste, increasing to 33% by 2015 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Large Cities | Due to difference in city rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: London; Birmingham; Leeds; Glasgow; Sheffield According to Geonames: City of London; London; Birmingham; Glasgow; Liverpool Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org Important Cities |
Geography-note | lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters Important Rivers |