Transcript Great Britain

Great Britain
© Lenka Lexová
Introduction
• the official name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland
• it's located on 2 main islands situated northwest of
Europe
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Scotland
Northern Ireland
Wales
England
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Geography
• it's separated from the continent by the North Sea
and by the the English Channel
• the countryside is low in the east and south, while
hills and mountains predominate in the western
and northern regions (Wales, Scotland)
• it is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands
(e.g. the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Orkney
Islands, the Shetlands, the Hebrides)
• it is the third most populated island on Earth with
the population of over 60 million people
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Scottish Highlands
• it's a mountainous region
in Scotland
• the area is not very much
populated
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• many mountain ranges
dominate the region
• there is the highest mountain
of the UK, Ben Nevis
Loch Ness
• is a large, deep,
freshwater loch in the
Scottish Highlands
• best known for the
legendary Loch Ness
Monster, also known as
"Nessie“
• it's the second largest
Scottish loch by surface
area at 56.4 km2 after
Loch Lomond
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The river Thames
• is the second longest river in the UK
• it flows through central
London and several other
towns and cities, including
Oxford, Reading and Windsor
• several watersports are done on the
Thames such as rowing, sailing, skiffing,
canoeing
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Climate
• it´s mild thanks to the Gulf Stream which
brings warmer water to the western coast
• typical spring and autumn weather is very
changeable, often foggy with a lot of rain
• overall temperatures are favourable during
the whole year and it´s rather warm
• in winter it often snows especially in the
northern areas but
temperatures rarely fall
below -10 degrees °C
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History
• first inhabited by people who came from the European
mainland
• Iron Age inhabitants are known as the Britons, a Celtic
tribe speaking a Celtic language
• the Romans conquered most of the island and this
became the Ancient Roman province of Britannia from
43 to 410 AD
• since the 2nd half of the 5th century Germanic tribes of
Angles, Saxons and Jutes ruled England
• in 1066 in the Battle of Hastings, England was
conquered by the Normans (French) led by William the
Conqueror who became the new English king
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• in 1485-1603 the House of Tudor on the throne, the
Renaissance era (king Henry VIII, queen Elizabeth I)
• 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain was created by
the political union of the Kingdom of England (which
included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland
• the late 18th and early 19th century – the Industrial
Revolution, England changed from an agricultural
country to an industrial superpower
• during 1837-1901 under the rule of Victoria I England
owned 1/3 of the world thanks to numerous colonies
• Britain took part in both world wars
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Political system
• it's a constitutional monarchy
• the head of state is the Monarch Queen Elizabeth II
• it's governed by a parliamentary system with its seat
of government in London and national
administrations in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh
• the Parliament has got two sections
– Upper House - House of Lords
– Lower House - House of Commons
• the head of the Government is the Prime
Minister
• the UK has fourteen overseas territories
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Economy
• it´s a developed country, with the world's sixth
largest economy
The Bank of England
• it´s able to supply enough food for the whole country,
the main export products are grain crops, potatoes and
sugar beet, animals raised: cattle, sheep, poultry
• the Industrial Revolution started in the UK with
concentration on heavy industries such as shipbuilding,
coal mining, steel production, textiles, and motor industry
• the service sector is dominated by financial services,
especially banking and insurance, and tourism
• the UK has a small coal reserve,
natural gas and oil reserves
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Transport
• across the UK, there is a good road and rail
network
• London Heathrow Airport, located 24 km west of the
capital is UK's busiest airport and has the most
international passenger traffic of any airport in the
world
• in cities you can travel by bus, trolleybus or the
underground
• between towns you can use coaches
• a ferry goes between
France and the UK
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Sports
• Major sports include rugby, football,
boxing, badminton, cricket, tennis and golf
The Wimbledon Championship,
a Grand Slam tournament, is held in
Wimbledon, London every June/July
England's new Wembley
Stadium, the most expensive
stadium ever built
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Cardiff's Millennium Stadium,
national stadium of Wales
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, generally
regarded as the world's "Home of Golf"
British food
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Stratford upon Avon
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The English countryside
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The University of Oxford
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Oxford city
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Edinburgh
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Source: www.wikipedia.org, www.google.com