Coasts & relief

Coasts

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Relief

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Coasts The length of the UK coastline is around 17,820 km.

Nowhere in the UK is more than 116 km from the coast.

• in the west and north-west the coastline is greatly indented;

• the coasts of Hebrides, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands are cut by numerous fjords;

• in the south and east the coasts are sandy and gentle, interrupted by ends of hill-ranges, which form low cliffs.

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an indented (broken) edge or surface has cuts or marks in it

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Firth – a narrow area of sea between two areas of land, or the place where river flows into the sea – used especially in Scotland.

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Relief• the general slope of land – from

north-west to south-east;

• the mountains cover the greater part of northern, western and middle Great Britain.

nexthomeClick here to see the highest peaks of Great Britain.

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The mountains can be divided into the following groups:

The Highlands of Scotland

The Southern Uplands of Scotland and the Pennines

The Cambrians, which occupy nearly the whole of Wales

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The Highlands of Scotland

• occupy most of the land in the north-west of Scotland;

• two parts of the Highlands - the North-western Highlands and the Grampians, separated by a narrow valley, through which runs the Caledonian Canal.

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• The Grampians are one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland;

• extend southwest to northeast, occupying almost half of the land-area of Scotland;

• form a natural boundary between the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands;

• include Ben Nevis (the highest point in the British Isles at 1,344 m above sea level) and Ben Macdui (the second highest at 1,309 m).

The Grampian Mountains

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The summit of Ben MacduiThe summit of Ben Macdui

The summit indicator erected by the Cairngorm Club in 1925.The summit indicator erected by the Cairngorm Club in 1925.

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Ben Nevis

• the highest mountain in the British Isles;

• located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains;

• the summit at 1,344 metres above sea level.

The summit of Ben NevisThe summit of Ben Nevis

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The Caledonian Canal• The Caledonian Canal in Scotland connects the

Scottish east coast with the west coast.

• It runs some 100 km in a North-east to South-west direction. Only one third of the entire length is man-made, the rest being formed by lochs (a lake in Scotland).

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The Southern Uplands

• The Southern Uplands is the southernmost of Scotland's three major geographic areas;

• it is a range of hills and mountains almost 200 km long;

• Merrick is the highest mountain in the Southern Uplands of southern Scotland.

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The Southern Uplands – smooth, rolling moorland broken with low crags and threaded with rivers and valleys, between the Central plain and English border.

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Merrick

• summit: 843 m• location: Southern Uplands, Scotland

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The Pennines• a low-rising mountain range in England,

often said to be the “backbone of England”;

• stretch in the north-south direction across the northern and middle parts of England, form a practically continuous group.

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Typical Pennine SceneryTypical Pennine Sceneryback

The Cambrian Mountains

a mountain range in Mid Wales, reaching from the South Wales mountains of the Brecon Beacons to Snowdonia in North Wales.

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Snowdon• the highest mountain in Wales; • located in Snowdonia National Park; • the summit lies at an altitude of 1,085 m

above sea level; • the Snowdon range consists of eleven

peaks;• the English name Snowdon comes from the

Saxon “Snow Dun”, meaning “snow hill”.

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Snowdonia National Park

a region of north Wales; established in 1951 as the

third national park in England and Wales;

covers 2,142 km²; has 60 km of coastline.

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‘A region of mountains, lakes, cascades and groves in which nature shows herself in her most grand and beautiful forms.’ – George Borrow, Wild Wales, 1857

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The Snowdon Mountain Railway It is a narrow

mountain tourist railway that travels for 7,524 km to the summit of Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales.

It is the only public rack railway in the British Isles and after more than 100 years of service it remains a highly popular tourist attraction.

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The Brecon Beaconsa mountain range located in the south-east of Wales. It forms the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park - one of Wales's three National Parks and is called a mountaineer's paradise.

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part of the Brecon Beacons

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The National Three Peaks Challenge

• The Three Peaks Challenge is a mountain challenge in Great Britain in which participants attempt to climb the highest peaks of each of the island's three countries.

• The mountains climbed are Ben Nevis in Western Scotland (1344 m), Snowdon in North Wales (1085 m), and Scafell Pike in North-Western England (978 m).

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Scafell Pike At 978 metres, Scafell Pike is the

highest mountain in England. It is located in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria (North West of England).

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