The official name of the country, we usually call England and occasionally Great Britain, is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The U. K. is situated on the group of islands, lying just off the mainland of northwestern Europe. The British Isles include Great Britain proper, Ireland and a number of smaller islands. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales. The southern part of Ireland is occupied by Great Britain and is called by native citizens the Republic of Eire.Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel, the narrower part of which is called the Strait of Dover. The British Isles are surrounded by the shallow waters of the Irish Sea, on the west, the North Sea on the north and northeast, the Norwegian Sea on the east. Britain is comparatively small, but there is hardly a country, in the world where such a variety of scenery can be found.There are wild desolate mountains in the northern Highlands of Scotland — the home of the deer and the eagles. Northern England Mountains and the Cambrian Mountains in Wales are much lower. In the extreme south of England are the famous chalk hills, some of which form the Dover Cliffs. The southern and southeastern parts of the island form lowlands. The rivers of the region are short and of no great importance as waterways. The biggest of them is the Thames, which is a little over 200 miles long. Britain's principal ports are London, Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, and Glasgow. They have splendid harbours. Owing to the shape of the country, any point in Great Britain is no more than 70 miles from the sea. The warm currents in the Atlantic Ocean make the climate of Great Britain mild. The winters are not severely cold, while summers are rarely hot. The British Isles are well — watered throughout the year. The cloudiness is rather dense; fogs along the coast frequently hide the sun. The fogs of London with ci^y smoke have a worldwide reputation. The grass remains green all the year round. Thanks to climatic conditions, Britain looks like one great well-ordered park with its old trees and green meadows.
