The UK
I have prepared a presentation about the United Kingdom. I hope you will all enjoy it and won’t be bored as hell.
LOCATION, the CAPITAL and AREA:
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the country but you can also call it just the United Kingdom or Britain and everyone knows what you mean. As you can see in the name the country includes the island of Great Britain and north-eastern part of the island of Ireland plus many small islands. The only land boarder is shared by Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the country is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, Irish Sea and the English Channel. The UK is divided into four countries – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The capital cities are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast.
POPULATION:
The census is made in every ten years and in 2011 the population numbered 63,181,775 people. Another research showed that from 1911 to 2011 the proportion of the population aged 0-14 has almost halved (from 31 to 18%) and the proportion of older people aged 65 has more than tripled (from 5 to 16%). Some estimation says that in 2080 there will be 626,000 people aged 100 or over. Average fertility rate is 1,95 children per woman. The population consists of four main ethnic group – White British, White – other Europeans, Indian and Pakistani. Official language is English of course but there are also official languages of historical minorities, such as Welsh, Gaelic and Scots. The traditional religion is Christianity. There is English and Welsh church. The Church of England was established by the king Henry WIII. Speaking about employment there are only 2% working in agriculture because most people works in services.
GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES and CLIMATE:
The total area of the UK is approximately 240,000 square kilometers. England occupies 130,000 square kilometers which is more than one half of the UK. Most of England is lowland terrain except for the north-western part when we can find mountainous terrain, like the Cambrian Mountains, the Pennines or the limestone hills, Exmoor and Dartmoor. The main rivers are the Thames, Severn and the Humber. England’s highest mountain is the Scafell Pike (978 m) in the Lake District.
Scotland accounts a third of the total area which is 79,000 square kilometers and includes nearly eight hundred islands, notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands. Highland Boundary Fault traverses Scotland from the west to the east and it divides the country into the Highlands and the Lowlands. The north-west Highlands create most of the Scottish mountain terrain including Ben Nevis which is 1343 m high and it is the highest point of British Islands. The south-east Lowlands are flatter and home for most of the population including Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, and Edinburgh, its capital and political centre.
Wales occupies about a tenth of the total area which is 21,000 square kilometers. There are mostly mountains though South Wales isn’t so mountainous. The majority of the population live in South Wales, where are all the big cities like Cardiff or Newport. The highest mountains are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon which is at 1,085 meters the highest peak in Wales. The country also has over 1,200 kilometers of coastline.
Northern Ireland accounts for just 14,160 square kilometers and is mostly hilly. It includes Lough Neagh which at 388 square kilometers is the largest lake in the British Isles by area. The highest peak in Northern Ireland is Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains at 852 metres.
The UK has a temperate and oceanic climate with lots of rain all year round. There are warm summers and mild winters when the temperature seldom drops below zero. It is warmed by the Gulf Stream.
__________________________________________________________________________
Australia
location
Australia is lying southeast of Asia, between the Pacific and Indian oceans, it is bounded by the Timor and Arafura seas in the N , by the Coral Sea in the NE , by the Pacific Ocean in the E , by the Tasman Sea in the SE, and by the Indian Ocean in the S and W. Neighboring areas include Irian Jaya (part of Indonesia) and Papua New Guinea to the N, New Zealand to the SE, and Indonesia to the NW. The capital city, Canberra, is located in the southeastern part of the country.
area
Australia is the world’s smallest continent and sixth largest country by total area. It is slightly smaller than the United States, with a total area of 7,686,850 sq km. Australia consist of six states and two territories. There is Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland. As for the territories, there is Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory.
population
Australia is a very sparsely populated country. With land of twice the area of India it occupies approximately 22 million people. The government plans to increase the population through immigration to 42 million people to 2050. The population density is 2.8 people/km2, most of the population is concentrated at the coast due to the climate. More than 90 percent of Australians are of European ancestry, 6 percent is of Asian origin and about 2 percent of the population is indigenous —Aborigines.
geographical features, climate
Australia’s landmass is on the Indo-Australian Plate. It is the flattest and driest inhabited continent with the oldest and least fertile soils. Australia’s size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, with tropical rainforests in the north-east, mountain ranges in the south-east, south-west and east, and dry desert in the centre.
The most famous rock is Uluru in the Northern Territory. Formerly named Ayers Rock, it covers an area of more than 3 square kilometers, rises 345 meters in height and is estimated to have been created around 500 million years ago.
The highest peak on the Australian mainland is Mount Kosciuszko which is 2228 meters above sea level. Kosciuszko is located in the Snowy Mountains region in New South Wales. It is the highest mountain in Australia as for the continent, not for the country. Mawson’s Peak on Heard Island exceeds Mount Kosciuszko over 517 meters and forms the summit of an active volcano called Big Ben.
The largest Australian deserts are the Great Victoria desert and the Great Sandy desert. The total desert area takes 18 % of the total mainland area of Australia.
As a result of Australia’s long period of isolation from other continents there is high level of unique species. The most famous species endemic to Australia are the marsupial fauna – koala, wombat, kangaroo.
The climate of Australia is influenced by ocean currents including the Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. The southwest corner of the country has a subtropical climate. Much of the southeast is temperate.
__________________________________________________________________________
New Zealand
Location
An island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is situated east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. It consists of two main islands – North Island and South Island, separated by the Cook Strait.
Area
New Zealand is long and narrow with approximately 15,000 km of coastline and a total land area of 268,000 square kilometers.
Population
The population of New Zealand is approximately 4.5 million. The original inhabitants were Moriori, but they were exterminated by Maori – 15% of population nowadays. The largest group of the population are New Zealanders of European descent – 75%.
Geographical features, climate
The South Island is the largest landmass of New Zealand, and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps. The highest peak is Aoraki / Mount Cook at 3,754 meters.
The North Island is less mountainous but is covered with volcanoes. Four of them are still active and there are a lot of hot springs and geysers. The highest peak is Mount Ruapehu
New Zealand has a mild and temperate climate with temperatures ranging from 10 °C in the south to 16 °C in the north.
The USA
The United States of America is the official name. Today there are 50 states and a federal district (Washington, D.C.). The US is bordered by Canada (in the north)
and Mexico (in the south). Alaska (the largest state) and Hawaii are separated from the US mainland.
With an area of more than 9 million square kilometers, the US is the third largest country in the world, and the geography is very varied. The east coast has many cities, like New York City, Boston and the capital, Washington, D.C. The middle of the country is quite flat; this is where most of the farming occurs. The southern half is more tropical in the east and more desert-like in the west. The western half also has many mountains (the Rocky Mountains) and national parks. The longest US river is the Missouri River, followed by the Mississippi River. The highest mountain is Mount McKinley in Alaska (6,196 m).
There are about 300 million people in the US. The country is often called a “melting pot” because it is made up of so many different ethnic groups. There are five major ones: White, Black, Hispanic, Asian and Native American.
The American political system is laid out in its Constitution. The government is divided into three branches: the executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is made up of the president and his cabinet, or advisors. The legislative branch is the section that makes the laws. It is made up of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Together they form the Congress. The judicial branch is the federal court system, which enforces and defines the laws made by Congress. The highest court in the country is called the Supreme Court.
There are a lot of natural attractions in the US, such as Yellowstone National Park with its geysers and Yosemite National Park with its rocks and waterfalls. The Grand Canyon is a spectacular canyon on the Colorado River. In Sequoia National Park you can find some of the largest living trees on Earth. Everglades National Park in Florida is a special wetland where you can see many animals including alligators.
Geography
The United States includes fifty semi−autonomous states. It also administers 14 territories, made up mostly of Pacific islands. The United States is the third largest country in the world in both size, and population. It is approximately half the size of Russia.
The central region is dominated by large plains. In the west are mountains and, in the southwest – areas of desert. Alaska features river valleys and rugged mountains, while Hawaii is largely volcanic. The lowest extreme is Death Valley in California (−86 m). Mount McKinley in Alaska (6,194 m), is the highest point in the US.
Climate
Though the climate is mostly temperate, there are extremes in Alaska (arctic), and Florida and Hawaii (tropical). There are also semi−arid areas in the west, and arid conditions in the southwest.