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England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. It is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of Britain, divided from France only by a 38 km (24 statute mile or 21 nautical mile) sea gap. Most of England consists of rolling hills, but it is more mountainous in the north with a chain of low mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. The dividing line between terrain types is usually indicated by the Tees-Exe line. There is also an area of flat, low-lying marshland in the east, much of which has been drained for agricultural use. The list of England's largest cities is much debated because in English the normal meaning of city is "a continuously built-up urban area"; these are hard to define and various other definitions are preferred by some people to boost the ranking of their own city. However, by any definition London is by far the largest English city. Manchester and Birmingham now vie for second place. A number of other cities, mainly in the central and northern of England, are of substantial size and influence. These include: Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Bristol, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and Hull. The Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, directly links England to the European mainland. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel. The largest natural harbor in England is at Poole, on the south-central coast. Some regard it as the second largest harbor in the world, although this fact is disputed (see harbors for a list of other large natural harbors). |
England has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round, though the seasons are quite variable in temperature. However, temperatures rarely fall below -5°C (23°F) or rise above 30°C (86°F). The prevailing wind is from the southwest, bringing mild and wet weather to England regularly, from the Atlantic Ocean. It is driest in the east and warmest in the southeast, which is closest to the European continent. Snowfall can occur in Winter and early Spring, though it is not that common away from high ground. The highest temperature ever recorded in England is 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on August 10, 2003 at Brogdale, near Faversham, in Kent. [1]. The lowest temperature ever recorded in England is -26.1 °C (-15.0 °F) on January 10, 1982 at Edgmond, near Newport, in Shropshire. England Information: Inside
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Severn (the longest river in Great Britain) Thames Trent Humber Tyne Tees Ribble Ouse Mersey Dee Avon |
The largest cities in England are much debated but according to the urban area populations (continuous built up areas) these would be the 15 largest conurbations. (Population figures taken from 2001 census) 1. Greater London (8,278,251) |
