GEO SUMMARY

UNIT 1: Physical aspect of the British Isles

Lying off the north-west coast of Europe, there are two large islands and several much smaller ones. Collectively, they are
known as the British Isles. The largest island is called Great Britain. The other large one is called Ireland.
Britain has mountains, but none of them are very high; it also has flat land, but you cannot travel far without encountering hills,
it has no really big rivers; it doesnt get very cold in the winter o very hot in the summer; it has no active volcanoes, and an earth
tremor which does no more than rattle teacups in a few houses is reported in the national news media.
Climate: the climate of Britain is more or less the same as that of the north-western part of the European mainland. The amount
of rain that falls on a town in Britain depends on where it is. The further west you go, the more rain you get.
The reason why Britains climate got such a bad reputation is its changeability. There is a saying that Britain does not have a
climate, it only has weather.
Features:
1) Variability: most striking feature of weather. Daily changes.
2) Temperature: summers are warm and winters are mild. Lack of extremes, climate is equable.
3) North Atlantic Drift: the location of the British isles explains the climate (north west of the European continent, where it
meets the Atlantic Ocean): 1- warm ocean current in winter; 2- keeps the temperatures higher than other places of the
same latitude; 3- away of the current the temperatures are lower.
4) Latitude: warmer in the south, where the sun is hotter in summer. Not important influence in winter.
5) North Atlantic. Major influence on climate. Winds from this ocean bring rain to the whole country. Much of the
precipitation is the result of tropical air moving north.
When the NORTH ATLANTIC meets the POLAR FRONT: 1- polar front rises, 2- it forms a warm front; 3- rising air cools, clouds are
formed and it rains.
Land and settlement: Britain has either towering mountain ranges, nor impressive large rivers, plains or forests. But this does
not mean that its landscape is boring. What it lacks in grandeur it makes up for in variety.
Much of the land is used for human habitation. This is not just because Britain is densely populated. It is partly because of their
desire for privacy and their love of the countryside.
The environment and pollution: it was in Britain that the word SMOG was first used (to describe a mixture of smoke and fog). As
the worlds first industrialized country, its cities were the first to suffer this atmospheric condition.
Water pollution was also a problem. In the 19
th
century it was once suggested that the Houses of Parliament should be wrapped
in enormous wet sheets to protect those inside from the awful smell of the river Thames. Then, during the 1960s and 1970s,
laws were passed which forbade the heating of homes with open coal fires in city areas and which stopped much of the
pollution from factories.
As in the rest of Western Europe, the great increase in the use of the motor car in the last quarter of the 20
th
century caused an
increase in a new kind of air pollution. This problem has become so serious that the TV weather forecast now regularly issues
warnings of poor air quality.
LONDON:
London dominates Britain. It contains the headquarters of all government departments, Parliament, major legal institutions and
the monarch. Its the countrys business and banking centre too.
London is divided into some areas:
a- Square Mile: the home to the countrys main financial organizations.
b- West End: contains theatres, cinemas and expensive shops.
c- East End: is the poorer residential area of London.
Most of the people live in the suburbs of London and travel to the centre to work. London has some variety of culture and racial,
which attracts tourists.
SOUTHERN ENGLAND: its the area surrounding the outer suburbs of London. Some areas in southern England are:
a- The county of Kent; where many kinds of fruit and vegetables are grown
b- The Downs, which hills are used to sheep farming and which ends in the south coast
c- East Anglia is to the north east of London and is mainly flatland where arable crops are cultivated. In this region, the
Fens can be found, which has reclaimed from the sea.
There is little heavy industry in the south east of England.
THE MIDLANDS: Birmingham is placed there, its the second largest city in Britain and Birmingham and the west midlands (also
known as the Black County) developed into the major engineering centre during the Industrial Revolution. Other areas in the
midlands are the Potteries, and other towns such as Nottingham and Derby. Grimsby is a town which has an important fishing
port. Stratford is known as the birthplace of Shakespeare and Nottingham for the legend of Robin Hood.
NORTHERN ENGLAND: this area led the industrial revolution. The Pennine Mountains can be found here as well as Manchester,
important for the production of cotton goods; and Newcastle, important in shipbuilding. Northern England is thought as dirty,
noisy and polluted but this area induces a feeling of civil pride because of its economic development.
Either sides of the Pennines are not suitable to build and for agriculture because of their steep slopes. The Lake District, which is
a national park, is also situated in Northern England, and its visited by numerous people.
SCOTLAND
Scotland has three fairly clearly-marked regions. Just north of the border of England are the Southern Uplands, an area of small
towns, whose economy depends to a large extent on sheep farming. Further north, there is the central plain. Finally there are
the highlands, consisting of mountains and deep valleys and including numerous small islands off the west coast. This is an area
of spectacular natural beauty. Tourism is important in the local economy, and so is the production of whisky.
It is in the central plain and the strip of east coast extending northwards from it that more than 80% of the population of
Scotland lives. In recent times, this region has had many of the same difficulties as the industrial north of England, although the
North Sea oil industry has helped to keep unemployment down.
Scotlands two major cities have very different reputations. Glasgow is the third largest city in Britain. It is associated with heavy
industry and some of the worst housing conditions in Britain. Glasgow has a strong artistic heritage. It has also received many
immigrants from Ireland and in some ways it reflects the divisions in the community that exist in Northern Ireland.
Edinburgh, which is half the size of Glasgow, has a comparatively middle-class image. It is the capital of Scotland and is
associated with scholarship, the law and administration. This reputation, together with its many fine historic buildings has led to
its being called the Athens of the North.
WALES
As in Scotland, most people in Wales live in one small part of it. In the Welsh case, it is the south-east of the country that is most
heavily populated. Coal has been mined in many parts of Britain, but they would locate its prototype coal mine in south Wales.
Despite its industry, no really large cities have grown up in this area (Cardiff, the capital of Wales, has a population of about
quarter of a million). It is the only part of Britain with a high proportion of industrial villages. Coal mining in south Wales has
now almost entirely ceased and, as elsewhere, the transition to other forms of employment has been slow and painful. Most of
the rest of Wales is mountainous. Because of this, communication between south and north is very difficult. As a result, each
part of Wales has closer contact with its neighbouring part of England than it does with other parts of wales: the north with
Liverpool, and mid-Wales with the English west midlands. The area around Mount Snowdon in the north-west of the country is
very beautiful and is the largest National Park in Britain.
NORTHERN IRELAND
With the exception of Belfast, which is famous for the manufacture of linen (and which is still a shipbuilding city), this region is,
like the rest of Ireland, largely agricultural. It has several areas of spectacular natural beauty. One of these is the Giants
Causeway on its north coast, so-called because the rocks in the area form what look like enormous stepping stones.
RECREATIONAL REGIONS
THE LAKE DISTRICT
The Lake District National Park is the largest of ten national parks in England and Wales.it was established to conserve the
natural beauty of this glaciated highland region for public enjoyment. The national park is administered by the Lake District
Special Planning Board which controls development and maintains the tourist environment. Its a unique upland area. The
economy consists of tourism, hill farming, quarrying, industry, water provision and forestry.
THE PEBROKSHIRE COAST NATIONAL PARK:
Unique three ways: 1- its the only one without a large area of mountainous moorland; 2- its the only one to be divided into
separate areas; 3- its the most densely populated national park.
Its main attraction is 420km of varied coastline of the mainland and offshore islands. Its an area of national importance
environmental quality. The national park authority is in charge of preserving the natural beauty of the park and to promote its
enjoyment by the public.
In the park, 1800people work full-time in farms.
3% of the total area is forested
Mining and quarrying: coal, slate and granite. The main use is roadstone and aggregate.
Manufacturing: 10% of the parks workforce is employed in manufacturing, mainly agricultural processing and craft industries.

Unit 2: Economic Aspect of the British Isles

CHANGING INDUSTRY

By the end of the eighteenth century, Britain changed from a rural society to an urban industrial society due to the Industrial
Revolution. Workers migrated to industrial areas to find a job and there was huge town growth. Less people were employed on
the land, because there were new agricultural methods, more food was produced.
There are four types of industry:
Primary Industry: its the production of raw materials, without processing them. Fishing, forestry, and farming are all example of
primary industries.
Secondary industry: its the transformation of raw materials from the primary industry. For example: making wood into
furniture.
Tertiary industry or service sector: it does not produce goods, it does produce wealth. Neither produces a raw material nor
makes a product. Instead they provide services to other people and industries. Tertiary industries can include doctors, dentists,
refuse collection and banks.
Fourth sector: Involve the use of high tech industries. People who work for these companies are often highly qualified within
their field of work. Research and development companies are the most common types of businesses in this sector.
NUCLEAR POWER
There are seventeen power stations in Britain which are built on the coast, except one which is built on a lake. They need a large
amount of cooling water and they are far away from population to avoid risks. There are two types of nuclear power stations in
Britain: Magnox stations and Advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs). There are more Magnox stations than AGRs though AGRs
produce more electricity than Magnox. Due to technical problems and costs there are problems to build AGRs. For that reason,
it was decided to build the American designed pressurised water reactor (PWR), which is cheaper and easier to build than AGRs.
Some people oppose to nuclear power because the radioactive waste is too dangerous and remain for centuries. There have
been researches to find where to discharge these wastes without danger. It was proposed to discharge the waste into space or
to dump it into the deep ocean.
ENERGY ALTERNATIVES
Hydroelectricity: Only 2% per cent of Britains electricity is generated by hydro-electricity stations because there are not suitable
sites for dams (represas). The reason for this is that valleys are too wide and water catchment areas are too small. The largest
hydro-electricity station in Britain is Dinorwick, situated in north Wales.
Alternatives to produce electricity (renewable energy):
1) Wind power: it needs aero-generators to produce energy. Some of them have been installed in Wales and Scotland, but
the first largest wind turbine is in the Orkney Islands. Wind power could only produce 10-20% of Britains electricity.
2) Tidal power: a research has shown that this source of power can be obtained from the Severn estuary, but it would be
expensive and is dangerous to environment.
3) Wave power: It could be obtained from the waves of the Atlantic Ocean and could generate energy on large scale, but it
would be difficult and expensive to build.
4) Geothermal energy: it could be possible to get this energy from areas with hot natural water beneath them such as Bath.
5) Solar power: using solar cells to get electricity would be useless and difficult because Britain is a small country and has
low sunshine amounts.
RAILWAYS
The modern rail network is nowadays less used because road transport is much more used since the building of the motorway
network; air transport is much more used for long distance journeys; less demand for the transport of bulk cargoes (cargas en
grandes cantidades), such as coal; and the lack of investment on the railway system, which is old and slow. The Beeching axe
(carried out by Dr. Beeching) closed hundreds of lines considered unprofitable and destined money to make routes.
British rail:
Passengers: the main passenger service in Britain is called inter-city. Its efficient, comfortable and is computer controlled but
some routes that link provincial towns are slow and uncomfortable. Inter-city also has high-speed trains, which operate on certain
routes.
Freight (transporte de carga):
85% of the freight is transported by road and only 10% by rail. Heavy lorry is dangerous for environments and damages roads;
there are people who support the idea of transferring some cargoes from road to rail again (from lorries to trains).
A rapid transit system:
A new light rapid transit system can be used in cities to reduce pollution from cars and congested roads: its the Metro. It uses
standard railway track but its not a railway. The Metro is controlled by computers and Metro drivers are communicated by radio.
This possible solution will be studied by authorities.

ROADS
Road transport is the main means of travel for passengers and freight in Britain because of its advantages:
Flexibility: Lorries can deliver goods in a faster and more practical way than railways and canals
Road vehicles: they dont need expensive loading and unloading facilities
Short journey: Lorries are cheaper and faster.

Motorways
Motorways were mainly designed for the transport of goods over long distances. They have proved to be safe and factories and
industrial states were placed near motorways to have better access to them. Passenger journeys by road increased but bus and
coach services have declined because people began travelling by car. Some areas where the motorway network hasnt reached
are Highlands in Scotland, the west of Wales and the south west of England.
Opposition to motorways
Pollution from exhausts (caos de escape) and road damage have proved that motorways have negative effects on the
environment. In addition, countryside, farmland and building have been destroyed to build motorways.
Juggernauts (camiones pesados)
Although Britain economy depends a lot on the heavy lorry, there are some disadvantages for it: 1- as lorries use more fuel than
trains, rising fuel costs; 2- weight and vibration damage roads and buildings; 3- lorries are noisy and pollute the atmosphere; 4-
lorries can be dangerous to pedestrians (peatones).
SEAPORTS
Two changes have been introduced in shipping in Britain: the increasing size of ships and the introduction of specialized cargo
ships. These changes led to the construction of deep-water terminals have lost trade and declined. For that reason, many ports
were closed and there was a reduction of workforces.
The largest ports in Britain are: Shetland, London, Teesport and Milford Haven.
AIR TRAVEL
3% of passengers travelling on public transport use airlines. The largest airport in the British Isles is Heathrow airport. Its the
leading international airport. It has been situated in a long runway used in the WWII and which is very near from central London. It
has shops, factories, offices, petrol stations and an underground station, for that reason its a large centre of employment.
Gatwick is the second largest airport, where some services from Heathrow have been moved to reduce pressure on Heathrow.
Stansted (in Essex) was chosen as the site of Londons third airport, but there is a strong opposition from local councils from that
area and environmental groups since this airport was built.
Regional airport: every major city has its own airport. The advantages that these airports have are that money can be
concentrated at one place; there are more frequent flights to more destinations; and passengers can transfer from one flight to
another easily.
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created by the North Treaty in April 4
th
, 1949. The purpose of this organization is to
develop stability and freedom of its members by a collective security system. Its composed by 28 countries; the newest ones are
Albania and Croatia, which joined in April 2009.
Background: After the WWII, many western leaders saw a threatening to stability and peace by the peace by the policies of the
USSR (union soviet socialist republics). For that reason, Britain and France signed the Dunkirk Treaty in 1947. Other events led
in 1948 to the sign of the Brussels Treaty by most Western European Countries. The Berlin Blockade led to the negotiations
between Western, Canada and the United States and North Atlantic Treaty was signed.
History: in its first decade of existence, NATO was a military organization dependant on US, because this country had enough
power to provide security to Europe. In 1950, a military command system was created because of a rumour of a Soviet Attack. In
1955, West Germany was accepted as long as it didnt manufacture nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. In 1960, France
withdrew from NATO, but the country still remained as a member of the alliance. After the dissolution of the USSR, the NATO
expanded gradually to eastern European Nations. In 1990, after the German Reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany was
accepted in the organization. In 2009, France returned to the organization.
Treaty provisions: the north Atlantic treaty consists of a preamble which states the purpose of the treaty (which is to promote
common values of its members and defence to each other) and 14 articles.
Structure: the highest authority of NATO is the North Atlantic Council, composed by delegates of all the countries and headed by
a secretary-general, who is in the decision-making body of NATO and who runs the Secretariat.
There are temporary committees which deal with specific assignments.
There is a Military Committee which is composed by the chiefs of armed forces and its purpose is to define military policies.
Below the Military Committee, there are several geographical commands in charge of deploying armed forces in their areas.
Achievements: it is possible that NATO dissuaded the USSR by avoiding its attack to Western Europe. NATO also created the
Partnership for peace, which allows non-members to participate with NATO and provides security and cooperation throughout
Europe. NATO intervened in the Bosnian War, in Afghanistan War and deployed warships in an operation to protect maritime
traffic in the Gulf of Aden, in some of its achievements.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY OR UNION
The European Economic Community was founded on March 25
th
, 1957 by the signing of the treaty of Rome. In 1993, the EC
established common prices for agricultural products as its first achievement. In 1968 internal tariffs were eliminated and an
external tariff was fixed. Its composed by 28 countries.
Organizational structure: the EU has no single seat of government; its most important offices are in Brussels, Belgium. The
governing body is composed by representatives of all EU members and is divided into four branches:
1- The European Commission: it has executive and some legislative functions, and its where various committees of the
European Parliament meet in Strasbourg, France.
2- The Council of European Commission: its in Brussels, Belgium.
3- The European Parliament: meet in Strasbourg, France.
4- The European Court of Justice; meet in Luxembourg.
Evolution: The EU was created to give strength and security to Europe and to prevent a European War. In 1973, Great Britain,
Ireland and Denmark joined the EU. In 1981 Greece joins. In 1986 Spain and Portugal join the EU. The Treaty of European
Union, signed in Maastricht, The Netherlands, in 1992, formally established the EU and provided for a central banking system and
a common currency (EURO) was adopted, replacing national currencies.18 out of the 28 members have the Euro as a currency.
In 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU. In 1998, as a prelude to the 1999 adoption of the Euro, 11 nations established
the European central Bank. In 2000 Austria joins. The Euro was introduced into circulation in 2002. In 2003 EU and 10 non-EU
European nations signed treaties that resulted in the largest expansion at the EU. These newer member are significantly poorer
than older members. In 2007 Bulgaria and Romania join the EU. In 2013 Croatia joins the EU.
The current president of the EU is Herman Van Rompuy and the president of the European commission is Jose Manuel Barroso.
FARMING
The two most important types of farming are ARABLE, including the ploughing of land to grow crops, and PASTORAL, where the
land is grazed by stock.
The most important factors that influence farming are:
1) Climate: theres more arable farming in the drier parts of the country, especially where the annual rainfall is below
750mm. conversely in the wetter parts there is more grassland. Temperatures can be particularly important for the
production of early crops. The amount of sunshine and prevailing winds can also be very significant.
2) Soil: heavy clayey soil is more different to cultivate than lighter types such as silts and sands; consequently the former
normally have a greater proportion of grassland.
3) Relief: generally arable forming is restricted to level land or gentle slopes; steep slopes can only provide pasture land.
4) Markets: proximity to markets or alternatively good communication links with them is important when marketing takes
place frequently as for vegetables and dairy produce.
Arable farming: the main groups of crops are in this country re cereals, root crops and rotation grasses. The most important
arable areas are on light or medium soils where a relatively low rainfall is experienced.
Cereals: the leading cereals are wheat, barley and oats.
Root crops: sugar beet. The crop is of value not only for the sugar, but also because its pulp and green tops are used for
fodder.
Potatoes: these require a deep, rich loam for optimum growth.
Rotation Grasses (leys): the grass is grazed by livestock, whose manure enriches the soil. Normally the grass is left for one to
three years. This is known as a short ley. Where livestock are the main objective of the farmer, long leys are often employed
whereby grass is left down for four years or longer.
Market gardening: the production of vegetables, glasshouse crops and flowers are all aspects of market gardening, which is
the most intensive type of arable farming. Some areas take advantages of climatic conditions; they specialize in producing
early crops. Other market garden areas have sprung up near large centres of population to cut transport costs.
Fruit farming: the cultivation of three fruits such as apples, plums and pears benefits from a moderate rainfall, above average
sunshine and rich but well drained soil. They should be some protection from wind and the orchards often lie on gently
sloping land above the lowlands where pockets of frosty air may accumulate. Many of the smaller fruits including the various
types of berries and currants are grown in the sunnier, drier parts of the country where conditions are more suitable for the
ripening of those crops.
Pastoral farming: cattle and sheep are kept on mixed farms but are most concentrated on heavy clay soils and in the cooler,
moister parts of the country. They may graze temporary pastures (leys) which are a prominent feature of many mixed farms,
or permanent pastures.
Beef raising and Fattening: beef cattle are often raised in highland areas and brought down as store cattle for fattening on the
rich lowland, grasslands.
Dairying: this has become very widespread throughout the lowlands and especially on the clay valleys. It is not only
concentrated near to the markets, as around London, but also in more isolated areas.
Sheep: sheep do well where it is dry underfoot, but also are found in regions of heavy rainfall that the drainage is good.
Pigs and poultry: these are very widespread both on specialist holdings and on mixed farms. Pigs are most numerous in
lowland farming. Poultry farming is found mainly near to centres of population especially in Lancashire y Northern Ireland.