Northern Ireland

I

Introduction

Northern Ireland, province, part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, situated in the north-eastern portion of the island of Ireland. Northern Ireland is bounded on the north and north-east by the North Channel, on the south-east by the Irish Sea; on the south and west it has a 488 km (303 mi) border with the Republic of Ireland. It includes Rathlin Island in the North Channel and several smaller offshore islands.

Northern Ireland is also known as Ulster, because it comprises six of the nine counties that constituted the former Irish province of Ulster. The total land area of Northern Ireland is 14,160 sq km (5,467 sq mi). Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland.

II

Land and Resources

Northern Ireland is about 135 km (85 mi) long, north to south, and about 175 km (110 mi) wide, west to east. The shoreline is characterized by numerous irregularities and is about 530 km (330 mi) long. The major indentations are Lough Foyle in the north, and Belfast, Strangford, and Carlingford loughs in the east. The most spectacular feature of the northern coast is the Giant’s Causeway, a volcanic rock formation consisting of thousands of closely packed, polygonal pillars of black basalt.

The country consists mainly of a low, flat plain, at the approximate centre of which lies Lough Neagh (381 sq km/147 sq mi), the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles. Other important lakes are Lower Lough Erne and Upper Lough Erne. Apart from several isolated elevations, three major areas of upland are the Sperrin Mountains in the north-west and the Antrim Mountains along the north-eastern coast, which are extensions of the Scottish Highlands; and the Mourne Mountains in the south-east. The highest point in the province is Slieve Donard (852 m/2,796 ft), a peak in the Mourne Mountains.

A

Rivers and Lakes

The chief rivers of Northern Ireland are the Foyle, which forms part of the western boundary with County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland and flows into Lough Foyle at Londonderry (Derry), and the Upper Bann and Lower Bann rivers. The former rises in the Mourne Mountains and empties into Lough Neagh; the latter flows out of Lough Neagh to the North Channel. Among the many other rivers are the Main, the Blackwater, the Lagan, the Erne, and the Bush. Because of the generally flat terrain, drainage is poor, and there are extensive areas of bog and marshland.

B

Climate

The climate of Northern Ireland is temperate and damp throughout the year. The prevailing westerly winds from the warm Gulf Stream are largely responsible for the lack of extreme summer heat and winter cold, although there are cold winter winds in the east-coast Belfast area. The average annual temperature is approximately 10° C (50° F); temperatures average about 14.4° C (58° F) in July and about 4.4° C (40° F) in January. Rainfall is distributed evenly throughout the year. The annual precipitation frequently exceeds 1,016 mm (40 in) in the north, and is about 760 mm (30 in) in the south. The level of humidity is high.