The Physical Face of Great Britain Mountains

CLIMATE AND WEATHER. Weather is not the same as climate. The weather of the British Isles is greatly variable. The geographical position of the British Isles is a basic factor in determining the main characteristics of the climate. Britain`s climate is dominated by the influence of the sea. It is much milder than that in any other country in the same latitudes. This is due partly to the presence of the North Atlantic Drift, or the Gulf Stream, and partly to the presence of the north-west Europe lies in a predominantly westerly wind-belt. This means that marine influences warm the land in winter and cool in summer.
The prevailing winds in the British Isles are westerlies. North and north-west winds often bring heavy falls OF SNOW TO NORTH Britain during late October and November, but they are usually short-lived. Relief is the most important factor controlling the distribution of temperatures and precipitation in Britain. The average annual rainfall in Britain is about 1,100 mm. Rainfall is fairly well distributed throughout the year, although March to June are the driest months and October to January are the wettest. July and August are the warmest months of the year, and January and February the coldest.
Although the English weather is most unreliable, the climate of the country – the average weather – is generally good. The winters are seldom very cold and the summers are seldom very hot.
MINERAL WEALTH. The rise of Britain as an industrial nation in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was partly due to the presence of considerable mineral resources. Such resources as oil, gas, uranium ores have become essentially important in the modern world. Today the economy of the country continues to import rare metals such as manganese, chrome, nickel and others which are necessary for the industries which play a major role in the life of the country. Most coal comes today from Yorkshire and the Midlands. Oil fields are located off the eastern and northern coasts of Scotland and north-east England. Today Britain is completely self-sufficient in oil, and also to a great degree in gas. Great Britain has no large-scale resources of non-ferrous metals. Nearly all of them are imported. However, the country has a great variety of non-metallic minerals such as granites, clay, chalk, sand and gravel, different kinds of salt, kaolin and paper. Moreover, it is most positive that long-term considerations are not discarded concerning the usage of non-conventional sources of energy such as the power of the wind and the tides. Today Britain is no longer the leading industrial nation in the world. She is the fifth in terms of the size of the GDP (gross domestic product), and she is also the 5th largest trading nation in the world.