British Isles
Overview
The British Isles is an Archipelago or group of islands off the North West coast of continental Europe. The British Isles are comprised of Great Britain, Ireland and a number of smaller islands including the Scottish Islands in the North and some of the Channel Islands in the South.
It is worth noting that the term "British Isles" is somewhat controversial in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland for historical reasons and Irish nationalists may find it offensive.
Geographically, the islands stretch from the Isles of Scilly in the South, to Shetland in the North and from Tearaght Island in the West, to Lowestoft Ness in the East. There are over than 6,000 islands covering a total land area of 121,674 square miles.
Although the British Isles is comprised of over six thousand individual islands, there are but two sovereign states located on the islands, the United Kingdom of Great Britain (which includes Northern Ireland) and the Republic of Ireland (abbreviated to ROI). Also part of the group is the Isle of Man, a United Kingdom Crown dependency and notable tax haven. With the exception of the Isle of Man, both states are members of the European Union (abbreviated to EU). Prior to 1922 Great Britain and Ireland were part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 (following the Irish War of Independence), twenty six counties of Ireland left the United Kingdom to become the Irish Free State (from 1949 the Republic of Ireland). The remaining six counties remained part of the United Kingdom and became known as Northern Ireland.
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 examples are the Leeds to Liverpool canal linking these two important trading cities, and the Grand Union Canal linking London and the Thames with the canal system of the industrial English Midlands..
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.