GREAT BRITAIN

Wher e i s Gr eat Br i t ai n?
Great Britain is an island lying off the western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of
the United Kingdom.

What i s Gr eat Br i t ai n?
Great Britain is the official name given to the two kingdoms of England and Scotland, and the principality
of Wales.

Great Britain is made up of:
England - The capital is London.
Scotland - The capital is Edinburgh.
Wales - The capital is Cardiff.

Great Britain is divided into small regions called counties.
The term Great Britain was first used during the reign of King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) in 1603, to refer to the
separate kingdoms of England and Scotland on the same landmass, that were ruled over by the same monarch. Despite having the same
monarch, both kingdoms kept their own parliaments.
I s Gr eat Br i t ai n t he same as t he UK?
No, Great Britain and the United Kingdom refer to different areas.
Great Britain is very often, but incorrectly, used as a synonym for the sovereign state properly known as the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland or the UK for short.
Great Britain is a political term which describes the combination of England, Scotland, and Wales, the three nations which together
include all the land on the island. It is also a geographical term referring to the island on which the greater parts of Engl and, Wales and
Scotland are situated.
Great Britain has an area of 229,850 km (88,745 sq. mi.) and is the largest island of the British Isles.

Great Britain is the largest Island in the UK.

Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) is surrounded by seas on all sides and is separated from the European continent by the
North Sea and the English Channel. It is just 1,000 kilometres from the south coast to the far north and just under 500 kilometres in the
widest part. No place in Great Britain is more than 120 kilometres from the sea.

Great Britain is one of the most densely populated countries of Europe, with the southern parts of the country reaching the highest
density figures of Europe as a whole.

The main mountain regions are the Cornish Heights, the Cambrian in Wales, the Cambrian Mountains (in Lake District) and the
Pennies. The highest mountain in Great Britain is Ben Nevis in Scotland.

There are many rivers in Great Britain. Among the most important rivers is the Thames, which flows into the North Sea. Its length is
336 km and it is the deepest rive in Britain. It is navigable as far as the capital of Great Britain London. The longest river in Britain is
the Severn. Its length is 354 km (220 miles). Other important rivers include the Trent, the Tay and the Tweed.

The capital and largest city, London, is in the southeast and is situated at both sides of the River Thames. Greater
London has a total land area of 1,580 square kilometres with a population of 6.6 million inhabitants. It is divided in 32
boroughs.
T HE DI F F E R E NC E B E T WE E N B R I T AI N AND GR E AT B R I T AI N

WHAT I S BRI TAI N?
Britain is the official name given to the kingdom of England and the principality of Wales. The name was made popular by the
Romans when they came to the British islands.
Britain is made up of:
England - The capital is London.
Wales - The capital is Cardiff.
I s Gr eat Br i t ai n t he same as Br i t ai n?
Sometimes people use the shorten name Britain instead of Great Britain, to mean the same thing, but really Britain only refers to
England and Wales.
The name Britain goes back to Roman times when they called England and Wales "Britannia" (or "Britannia Major", to
distinguished from "Britannia Minor", ie Brittany in France). The Roman province of Britannia only covered the areas of modern
England and Wales. The area of modern Scotland was never finally conquered.