United Kingdom

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of the United Kingdom|Fauna of Great Britain|Flora of Great Britain and Ireland}}
[[File:MODIS - Great Britain and Northern Ireland - 2012-06-04 during heat wave (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Satellite image]] of the United Kingdom (excluding [[Shetland]])]]
The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately {{Convert|244376|km2|sqmi|order=flip}},{{efn|name=ONSArea}}<ref name="ONS Standard Area Measurement"/> with a land area of {{convert|242741|km2|sqmi|order=flip}}.<ref name="ONS Standard Area Measurement"/> The country occupies the major part of the [[British Isles]]<ref>Oxford English Dictionary: "British Isles: a geographical term for the islands comprising Great Britain and Ireland with all their offshore islands including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands."</ref> archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the southeast coast coming within {{Convert|35|km|mi|0|order=flip}} of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the [[English Channel]].<ref name="factbook">{{Cite web |title=United Kingdom |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-kingdom |access-date=23 September 2008 |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |archive-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109221834/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-kingdom |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Royal Observatory, Greenwich|Royal Greenwich Observatory]] in London was chosen as the defining point of the [[Prime Meridian]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=ROG Learning Team |date=23 August 2002 |title=The Prime Meridian at Greenwich |url=http://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/astronomy-and-time/astronomy-facts/history/the-prime-meridian-at-greenwich |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107023957/http://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/astronomy-and-time/astronomy-facts/history/the-prime-meridian-at-greenwich |archive-date=7 November 2015 |access-date=11 September 2012 |website=Royal Museums Greenwich }}</ref> at the [[International Meridian Conference]] in 1884.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 August 2015 |title=Greenwich Royal Observatory: How the Prime Meridian line is actually 100 metres away from where it was believed to be |work=Independent |location=London |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/greenwich-royal-observatory-how-the-prime-meridian-line-is-actually-100-metres-away-from-where-it-10452386.html |access-date=13 December 2018 |archive-date=23 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323081414/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/greenwich-royal-observatory-how-the-prime-meridian-line-is-actually-100-metres-away-from-where-it-10452386.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The United Kingdom lies between latitudes [[49th parallel north|49°]] and [[61st parallel north|61° N]], and longitudes [[9th meridian west|9° W]] and [[2nd meridian east|2° E]]. Northern Ireland shares a {{Convert|360|km|mi|0|adj=on|order=flip}} land boundary with the Republic of Ireland.<ref name="factbook" /> The coastline of Great Britain is {{Convert|17820|km|mi|0|order=flip}} long.<ref name="UK coastline">{{Cite web |last=Darkes |first=Giles |date=January 2008 |title=How long is the UK coastline? |url=http://www.cartography.org.uk/default.asp?contentID=749 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522042745/http://www.cartography.org.uk/default.asp?contentID=749 |archive-date=22 May 2012 |access-date=24 January 2015 |publisher=The [[British Cartographic Society]]}}</ref> It is connected to continental Europe by the [[Channel Tunnel]], which at {{Convert|50|km|mi|0|order=flip}} ({{Convert|38|km|mi|0|order=flip}} underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Channel Tunnel |url=http://www.eurotunnel.com/ukcP3Main/ukcCorporate/ukcTunnelInfrastructure/ukcInfrastructure |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218114514/http://www.eurotunnel.com/ukcP3Main/ukcCorporate/ukcTunnelInfrastructure/ukcInfrastructure |archive-date=18 December 2010 |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=Eurotunnel}}</ref>

The UK contains four terrestrial ecoregions: [[Celtic broadleaf forests]], [[English Lowlands beech forests]], [[North Atlantic moist mixed forests]], and [[Caledon conifer forests]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |display-authors=1 |year=2017 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=534–545 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |issn=0006-3568 |pmc=5451287 |pmid=28608869 |doi-access=free |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad}}</ref> The area of woodland in the UK in 2023 is estimated to be 3.25&nbsp;million hectares, which represents 13% of the total land area in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/statistics-by-topic/woodland-statistics/|title=Woodland Statistics, Key findings|access-date=8 July 2023|archive-date=2 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802030149/https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/statistics-by-topic/woodland-statistics/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Climate ===
{{Main|Climate of the United Kingdom|Climate change in the United Kingdom}}
[[File:UK Köppen.svg|upright|thumb|[[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]] of the UK]]
Most of the United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with generally cool temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round.<ref name="factbook" /> The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below {{Convert|0|C|lk=on}} or rising above {{Convert|30|C}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hottest day of each year from 1900 |url=https://www.trevorharley.com/hottest-day-of-each-year-from-1900.html |website=www.trevorharley.com |access-date=23 November 2019 |archive-date=16 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616173152/https://www.trevorharley.com/hottest-day-of-each-year-from-1900.html |url-status=live }}; {{Cite web |title=Coldest day of each year from 1900 |url=https://www.trevorharley.com/coldest-days-of-each-year-from-1900.html |website=www.trevorharley.com |access-date=23 November 2019 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709173537/https://www.trevorharley.com/coldest-days-of-each-year-from-1900.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Some parts, away from the coast, of upland England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, experience a [[subpolar oceanic climate]] (''Cfc''). Higher elevations in Scotland experience a [[Subarctic climate|continental subarctic climate]] (''Dfc'') and the mountains experience a [[tundra climate]] (''ET'').<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 August 2016 |title=English: A map of Köppen climate types in the United Kingdom (SVG version) |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UK_K%C3%B6ppen.svg |access-date=23 November 2019 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709202702/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UK_K%C3%B6ppen.svg |url-status=live }}</ref>

The prevailing wind is from the southwest and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean,<ref name="factbook" /> although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind. Since the majority of the rain falls over the western regions, the eastern parts are the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the [[Gulf Stream]], bring mild winters, especially in the west where winters are wet and even more so over high ground. Summers are warmest in the southeast of England and coolest in the north. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter and early spring on high ground, and occasionally settles to great depth away from the hills.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlantic Ocean Circulation (Gulf Stream) |url=http://ukclimateprojections.metoffice.gov.uk/23152 |access-date=8 March 2015 |website=UK Climate Projections |publisher=Met Office |archive-date=17 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017162552/http://ukclimateprojections.metoffice.gov.uk/23152 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The average total annual sunshine in the United Kingdom is 1339.7 hours, which is just under 30% of the maximum possible.<ref name="ukaverages">{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/areal/uk.html |title=UK 1971–2000 averages |access-date=4 August 2007 |publisher=Met Office |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705140124/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/areal/uk.html |archive-date=5 July 2009 }}</ref> The hours of sunshine vary from 1200 to about 1580 hours per year, and since 1996 the UK has been and still is receiving above the 1981 to 2010 average hours of sunshine.<ref name="met off climate series">{{Cite web|url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-temperature-rainfall-and-sunshine-time-series|title=UK temperature, rainfall and sunshine time series|website=Met Office|access-date=31 December 2022|archive-date=17 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017203556/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-temperature-rainfall-and-sunshine-time-series|url-status=live}}</ref>

As of 2022, the United Kingdom is ranked 2nd out of 180 countries in the [[Environmental Performance Index]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 EPI Results |url=https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2022/component/epi |access-date=25 March 2023 |website=Environmental Performance Index |archive-date=10 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610151325/https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2022/component/epi |url-status=live }}</ref> A law has been passed that [[Greenhouse gas emissions by the United Kingdom|UK greenhouse gas emissions]] will be [[net zero]] by 2050.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UK net zero target |url=https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/net-zero-target#:~:text=In%20June%202019%2C%20parliament%20passed,to%201990%20levels%20by%202050.&text=Prior%20to%20this%2C%20the%20UK,1990%20levels%2C%20also%20by%202050. |access-date=20 March 2024 |website=Institute for Government| date=20 April 2020 |archive-date=20 March 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240320042051/https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/explainer/uk-net-zero-target |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Update after|2050|01|01|category|reason=Hello from 2024! By the time you're reading this, that law will be a little older than 30 years old. Could you check if the UK ever ended up hitting that net zero GHG target?}}

=== Topography ===
[[Geography of England|England]] accounts for 53 per cent of the UK, covering {{Convert|130395|km2|sqmi|order=flip|-1}}.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 February 2010 |title=England&nbsp;– Profile |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/7327029.stm |access-date=9 October 2010 |archive-date=15 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415064122/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/7327029.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of the country consists of lowland terrain,<ref name="Atlapedia">{{Cite web |last=Latimer Clarke Corporation Pty Ltd |title=United Kingdom – Atlapedia Online |url=http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/unitedki.htm |access-date=26 October 2010 |website=Atlapedia.com |archive-date=21 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321191308/http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/unitedki.htm |url-status=live }}{{better source needed|date=July 2023}}</ref> with upland and mountainous terrain northwest of the [[Tees–Exe line]] which roughly divides the UK into lowland and upland areas. Lowland areas include [[Cornwall]], the [[New Forest]], the [[South Downs]] and the [[The Broads|Norfolk Broads]]. Upland areas include the [[Lake District]], the [[Pennines]], the [[Yorkshire Dales]], [[Exmoor]], and [[Dartmoor]]. The main rivers and estuaries are the [[River Thames|Thames]], [[River Severn|Severn]], and the [[Humber]]. England's highest mountain is [[Scafell Pike]], at {{Convert|978|m|ft|0}} in the Lake District; its largest island is the [[Isle of Wight]].

{{Multiple image|direction = vertical|image1 = Keswick Panorama - Oct 2009.jpg|width1 = 225|caption1 = The [[Skiddaw|Skiddaw massif]], [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]] and [[Derwent Water]] in the [[Lake District]]|alt1 =|image2 = Quiraing Isle of Skye Pano.jpg|width2 = 225|caption2 = [[Isle of Skye|Skye]] is one of the major islands in the [[Inner Hebrides]] and part of the [[Scottish Highlands]]. }}

[[Geography of Scotland|Scotland]] accounts for 32 per cent of the UK, covering {{Convert|78772|km2|sqmi|order=flip|-1}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scotland Facts |url=http://www.scotland.org/about/fact-file/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621045248/http://www.scotland.org/about/fact-file/index.html |archive-date=21 June 2008 |access-date=16 July 2008 |publisher=Scotland Online Gateway}}</ref> This includes nearly 800 [[List of islands of Scotland|islands]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Winter |first=Jon |date=1 June 2000 |title=The complete guide to the ... Scottish Islands |work=Independent |location=London |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/the-complete-guide-to-the--scottish-islands-633851.html |access-date=8 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402164423/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/the-complete-guide-to-the--scottish-islands-633851.html |url-status=live }}</ref> notably the [[Hebrides]], [[Orkney]] Islands and [[Shetland]] Islands. Scotland is the most mountainous constituent country of the UK, the [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands]] to the north and west are the more rugged region containing the majority of Scotland's mountainous land, including the [[Cairngorms]], [[Loch Lomond and The Trossachs]] and [[Ben Nevis]] which at {{Convert|1345|m|ft|0}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 March 2016 |title=Great Britain's tallest mountain is taller |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/2016/03/britains-tallest-mountain-is-taller |access-date=9 September 2018 |publisher=Ordnance Survey |archive-date=9 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909000504/https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/2016/03/britains-tallest-mountain-is-taller/ |url-status=live }}</ref> is the highest point in the British Isles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ben Nevis Weather |url=http://www.bennevisweather.co.uk/index.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510193022/http://www.bennevisweather.co.uk/index.asp |archive-date=10 May 2012 |access-date=26 October 2008 |publisher=Ben Nevis Weather}}</ref>

[[Geography of Wales|Wales]] accounts for less than 9 per cent of the UK, covering {{Convert|20779|km2|sqmi|order=flip|-1}}.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 June 2010 |title=Profile: Wales |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/6233450.stm |access-date=7 November 2010 |archive-date=26 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826085704/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/6233450.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Wales is mostly mountainous, though [[South Wales]] is less mountainous than [[North Wales|North]] and [[mid Wales]]. The highest mountains in Wales are in [[Snowdonia]] and include [[Snowdon]] ({{Lang-cy|Yr Wyddfa}}) which, at {{Convert|1085|m|ft|0}}, is the highest peak in Wales.<ref name="Atlapedia" /> Wales has over {{Convert|1680|mi|0|abbr=off}} of coastline including the [[Pembrokeshire Coast]].<ref name="UK coastline" /> Several islands lie off the Welsh mainland, the largest of which is [[Anglesey]] (''Ynys Môn'').

[[Geography of Ireland|Northern Ireland]], separated from Great Britain by the [[Irish Sea]] and [[North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)|North Channel]], has an area of {{Convert|14160|km2|sqmi|order=flip|-1}} and is mostly hilly. It includes [[Lough Neagh]] which, at {{Convert|388|km2|sqmi|order=flip|0}}, is the largest lake in the British Isles by area,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Geography of Northern Ireland |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/ni/geog.htm |access-date=22 May 2006 |publisher=University of Ulster |archive-date=18 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118133131/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/ni/geog.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Lough Erne]] which has over 150 islands and the [[Giant's Causeway]] which is a World Heritage Site. The highest peak in Northern Ireland is [[Slieve Donard]] in the [[Mourne Mountains]] at {{Convert|852|m|ft|0}}.<ref name="Atlapedia" />