LOCATION, CLIMATE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES OF THEUNITED KINGDOM & RUSSIA

UNIT 1 NOTES

UNITED KINGDOM-CAPITAL

LOCATION OF THE UK

Island country located off the coast in north-western Europe

• Made up of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Scotland, & Wales

Location makes it a HUB for trade because it is surround by water

Across the English Channel is France, west is the Republic of

Ireland, east is the Scandinavian Peninsula

10 major ports along UK’s coast!

LOCATION OF UK

• Location has helped the UK become an international

banking & insurance center

• Has more foreign bank branches than any country in the world

• Location on the Atlantic Ocean helps it trade with the US

• US is the UK’s #1 trading partner!

UNITED KINGDOM-PHYSICAL/ WATER FEATURES

1. Island on the Atlantic ocean

2. English Channel

3. River Thames

UNITED KINGDOM-CLIMATE

All of the UK has the: marine/maritime climate – Overall Mild

* In a Marine Climate – Oceanic climate, generally

features warm (but not hot) summers and cool (but not.

cold) winters

*In a Maritime Climate, summers can be cool, and the

winters are not very cold. The reason for this is that

maritime climates are located near the coast of water

*Rainfall through the year – LOTS OF RAIN!!!

• No section goes without rain for more than 2 weeks!

The Gulf Stream crosses the Atlantic Ocean & warms the country, making

the winters milder than other European countries

UNITED KINGDOM-CLIMATE

: Climate Map

UNITED KINGDOM-LAND USE

• Commercial farming, urban (cities)

NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE UK

• Has deposits of coal, petroleum, natural gas, & iron ore

• Form the backbone of the country’s industry: auto production,

steel manufacturing, & shipbuilding

• Other resources include: zinc, lead, gold, tin, limestone,

salt, clay, gypsum, potash, sand, & slate

NATURAL RESOURCES & INDUSTRY IN UK

• Manufacturing is declining…

• Natural resources are being used up and industry is changing to cleaner

forms of energy

• Many people who once had jobs in mining and manufacturing

are being retrained for jobs in service industries

• 80% of the people work in service industries (tourism, health

care, education, banking, & insurance)

NATURAL RESOURCES AND INDUSTRY IN UK

• Fishing is profitable along the shores of the UK

• Nearly 25% of the country has arable land (fertile; good

for farming)

• Over half of the land is used for farms

UNITED KINGDOM-POPULATION DENSITY

• Most people live in the southern, central, and eastern part

of the United Kingdom (around London)

• London has over 7 million people!

• Around 90% of the UK’s people live in cities (urban)

• Least number of people live in the north.

WHERE PEOPLE LIVE…

TOWER BRIDGE IN LONDON

RUSSIA

RUSSIA-CAPITAL

•Moscow

RUSSIA-LOCATION

Located in

Eastern and

Northern Europe

Largest country

in Europe

LOCATION OF RUSSIA

• Spans 2 continents: Europe & Asia!

• So wide that a train trip across takes a week!

• Shares a border with 15 countries

• Eastern side is bound by Pacific Ocean

• Northern side is bounded by Arctic Ocean

• At its closest point, Russia & US are only 3 miles

apart across Bering Strait!

LOCATION OF RUSSIA

• European Russia is mostly landlocked (difficult for trading

via ship)

• 2 exceptions: Murmansk & St. Petersburg

CLIMATE OF RUSSIA

•Only has 2 seasons—winter and summer

• Average yearly temperature is below

freezing

•Asian Russia (Siberia) has the most extreme

climate

• lows -40 degrees & highs over 90 degrees

CLIMATE OF RUSSIA

• Tundra: frozen land all

year round

• Sub-Artic: cold and

snowy all year round

• Continental: cool

summers and cold

winters

• Semi Arid (dry): desert

like

• Highlands: mountains

RUSSIA-LAND USE

• Land use- commercial farming (farming to

make money), forestry, few urban (city)

areas.

NATURAL RESOURCES

• Vast forest for lumber are found here, but

many have been cleared away for cities on the

European side

• Deposits of gold, aluminum ore, coal, & iron

are found in the Ural Mountains

• Volga River (largest river in Europe) is a major

source of hydroelectric power

NATURAL RESOURCES

• Russia’s large size, rugged terrain, and cold climate make

it difficult for Russians to use their resources

• 7% arable land (fertile for farming)

WHERE PEOPLE LIVE…

• Russia is one of the most populous countries in the world, with

145.5 million people.

• Most people live in urban areas, around Moscow, in the

southwestern/central part

• of European Russia 73% of population lives in European

Russia (warmer)

ST. BASIL’S CATHEDRAL

COMPARING UK & RUSSIAGEOGRAPHICALLY VERY DIFFERENT

• Russia is larger – Largest country

• Coastline bordering the Arctic – so 0cean ports are frozen

much of the year

• Sub-Arctic, Tundra, Continental climate and many ports

accessible all year round

AND

• UK is a small island country

• Coastline bordering Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, English

Channel –

• Mild climate – so many ports are accessible all year around

COMPARING UK & RUSSIA

Natural Resources:

•Both have fossil fuels, like coal & oil

•UK’s are dwindling, but much of Russia’s

coal and oil is untouchable because of the

climate & size of the country