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Geography
==Geography of the British Isles==
==Geography of the British Isles==
Of the six thousand islands in the group, the largest two are [[Great Britain]] and [[Ireland]]. Great Britain alone covers over half the total landmass of the British Isles, some 83,698 square miles. [[Ireland]] is located to the West of [[Great Britain]] and covers some 32,589 square mile. Other islands notable for their size are [[Orkney]] off the [[Scottish]] coast, Anglesey (Ynys Mon) off the [[Welsh]] coast and the [[Isle of Man]] between [[Great Britain]] and [[Ireland]].
The islands are low lying with Southern [[Great Britain]] being at particularly low [[altitude]]. [[Ben Nevis]] in the Scottish [[Highlands]] is the highest [[mountain]] in the British Isles rising to 1,344 metres above [[sea level]]. Although other parts of the isles are mountainous (parts of Wales, Northern [[England]] and parts of [[Ireland]]), few mountains in these areas reach more than 1,000 metres above [[sea level]].
Lakes on the islands are all [[freshwater]], the largest being [[Lough Neagh]] in [[Northern Ireland]]. The largest lake in Great Britain is [[Loch Lomond]] although [[Lake Windermere]] and [[Loch Ness]] are both notable. Rivers are a prominent feature on the landscape and were once an important form of [[transport]]. The river [[Severn]] and the [[Shannon]] are the longest but perhaps the best known waterway is the river [[Thames]]. During the [[Industrial Revolution]], river transport was augmented by the building of many [[canals]] linking trade towns to ports. The best known example is the [[Leeds]] to [[Liverpool]] [[canal]] linking these two important trading cities.
The British Isles have a temperate climate with winters being cool and wet and summers milder and dryer. [[Rain]] is a common weather feature and is responsible for the long history of [[arable]] farming. Southern areas tend to be warmer than the Northern parts of the Isles and are thus more suited for [[arable]] farming. Northern farms are predomenantly [[Hill Farms]] concentrating on livestock.
==History of the British Isles==
==History of the British Isles==