England
England (in Latin,
Anglia), country and constituent part of the island of Great Britain, comprising, with the principality of Wales, the principal division of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. England occupies all of the island east of Wales and south of
Scotland, another country and
division of the United Kingdom. United as an independent monarchy in the 10th
century, England in time achieved political control over the rest of the
island, all the British
Isles, and
vast sections of the world, becoming the nucleus of one of the largest empires
in history. The capital, largest city, and chief port of England is London, with a population of
6,967,500 (1994 estimate). It is also the capital of the United Kingdom, and
the site of the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations
England is very roughly triangular in shape, with its apex at the mouth of the River Tweed on the north-eastern border with Scotland. The eastern side, bounded by the North Sea, extends generally south-east, via East Anglia, to the North Foreland in Kent, the northern extremity of the chalk uplands in south-eastern England called the Downs. The western side of the triangle extends generally south-west from the mouth of the Tweed along the border with Scotland, via the Irish Sea coast, the border with Wales, and the Atlantic Ocean coast to Land's End, the westernmost extremity of England and of the island of Great Britain. The northern frontier with Scotland extends from the Solway Firth in the west along the Cheviot Hills to the mouth of the Tweed on the east. The base of the triangle fronts the English Channel and the Strait of Dover along the south-western and southern coast of England.
The total area of England is 130,423 sq km (50,356 sq mi), equivalent to 57 per cent of the area of Great Britain and 54 per cent of the area of the United Kingdom. This total includes the region of the Scilly Isles, located south-west of Land's End in the Atlantic Ocean; the Isle of Wight, located off the southern coast; and the Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea between England and Northern Ireland
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Scothland, country, administrative division
of the United
Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, occupying the northern third of the island of
Great Britain. The crowns of Scotland and England were united in 1603, and the
governments of the two countries in 1707; Scotland has retained, however, its
own legal system, its own Church, a substantially different education system,
and the right to issue its own bank notes. Scotland is bounded on the north by
the Atlantic Ocean; on the east by the North Sea; on the south-east by England; on the south by the Solway Firth, which partly separates it
from England, and by the Irish Sea;
and on the west by the North
Channel of the
Irish Sea which separates it from the island of Ireland, and by the Atlantic Ocean. As a geopolitical entity Scotland
includes 186 nearby islands, a majority of which are contained in three
groups-the Hebrides, also known as the Western
Isles, situated off the western coast; the Orkney Islands, situated off the north-eastern coast; and the Shetland Islands, situated north-east of
the Orkney Islands. The largest of the other islands is Arran, located in the Firth of Clyde,
off the west coast. The land area of Scotland, including the islands, is 77,080
sq km (29,750 sq mi). The country also has some 1,700 sq km (660 sq mi) of
inland water. Edinburgh is the capital of
Scotland, and a leading cultural and economic centre.
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Northern Ireland, province, integral part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, situated in the north-eastern portion of the island of Ireland. Northern Ireland is bounded on the north and north-east by the North Channel, on the south-east by the Irish Sea; on the south and west it has a 488 km (303 mi) border with the Republic of Ireland. It includes Rathlin Island in the North Channel and several smaller offshore islands.
Northern Ireland is also known as Ulster, because it comprises six of the nine counties that constituted the former Irish province of Ulster. The total land area of Northern Ireland is 13,483 sq km (5,206 sq mi). Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland.
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Wales, country and
principality, part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, united politically,
legally, and administratively with England, and occupying a broad peninsula on
the western side of the island of Great Britain. Wales also includes the island
of Anglesey, which is separated from
the mainland by the narrow Menai Strait. Wales is bounded on the north by the
Irish Sea; on the east by the English counties of Cheshire Shropshire Hereford and Worcester, and Gloucestershire; on the south by the Bristol Channel; and on the west by the St George's Channel and Cardigan
Bay. The
maximum north-south length of the Welsh mainland is about 220 km (137 mi); in
an east-west direction the width of the country varies between 60 and 155 km
(36 and 96 mi). The total area of Wales is 20,766 sq km (8,018 sq mi). Cardiff is the capital, largest
city, and principal seaport of Wales.
