II.

Land and Resources

One of the principal physiographical features of England, as well as of the entire island of Great Britain, is the deeply indented coastline. This has created an abundance of excellent natural harbours, easily accessible to deep-water shipping, a factor that was decisive in the economic development and imperial expansion of England. The high tides that prevail along the eastern coast mean that a number of rivers and estuaries in this region provide safe anchorages. The most important historically include ports such as Newcastle upon Tyne, on the River Tyne; Middlesbrough, on the River Tees; and Hull and Grimsby, on the Humber Estuary and North Sea respectively, all on the north-east coast; Great Yarmouth, on the estuary of the River Yare and Harwich on the estuary of the rivers Stour and Orwell, both on the East Anglian coast; and London, on the River Thames in the south-east. Historically, the most important ports on the south coast include Dover, Folkestone, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Poole. The western coast, including the south-western peninsula, is considerably more broken than either the eastern or southern coasts, and has numerous anchorages, both large and small. The most important are Plymouth, on the estuary of the River Tamar on the southern coast of the south-western peninsula; Bristol, on the Bristol Channel; and the port of Liverpool, at the mouth of the River Mersey on the north-west coast.

The terrain of England is very diverse relative to the size of the country, and can change quite dramatically within short distances. The main uplands are in the north and west of the country. The principal highland region, the Pennines (or Pennine Hills), forms the backbone of northern England. It is composed of several ranges extending south from the Cheviot Hills to the Peak District, just north of the valley of the River Trent as well as numerous spurs and extensions that radiate in all directions. The highest point in England is Scafell Pike (978 m/3,210 ft above sea level) in the Lake District, in Cumbria, which forms one of the most scenically beautiful regions of England. The land lying between the Welsh border and the southern extremities of the Pennines and Bristol Channel is an extension of the rolling plain that occupies most of the rest of England. The central region of England is known as the Midlands. The flattest part of England lies to the east of the Pennines and the Midlands, running south from the Yorkshire Moors (an upland outlier of the Pennines) through Lincolnshire to the rich farming lands of East Anglia. The lowlands include the Fens, a vast, drained marsh area created over centuries by the silting up of The Wash, the broad estuary of a number of rivers, including the Ouse and the Witham. To the south of the Bristol Channel an elevated plateau slopes upward, culminating in the bleak uplands and moors of Cornwall and Devon on the south-west peninsula. Dartmoor (610 m/2,000 ft above sea level), one of the wildest areas of England, is the largest of the south-western uplands. Successive ranges of hills radiate in all directions from Salisbury Plain in southern England. They include the Mendip Hills, the Cotswold Hills, the Chiltern Hills, and the Downs. The Downs are a series of chalk hills in south-eastern England, running down to the sea. The South Downs reach the coast near Brighton, the North Downs at Dover, where they end in the famous white cliffs, which are the first sight of England for travellers by sea from continental Europe.

A.

Climate

Tempered by the surrounding seas, and especially by the warm Gulf Stream, the climate of England is mild relative to the country’s latitude, which is similar to that of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. It is rarely marked by extremes of heat or cold. The mean annual temperature ranges between 11.1° C (52° F) in the south and 8.9° C (48° F) in the north-east. Seasonal mean temperatures vary between about 16.1° C (61° F) during July, the hottest month of the year, and 4.4° C (40° F) during January, the coldest month. The average January and July temperatures for London, which has its own, warmer, microclimate, are 4.5° C (40° F) and 18° C (64° F), respectively. Mists and overcast skies (and in some areas fog) are frequent, particularly in the Pennines and inland regions. Precipitation, heaviest during October, averages about 760 mm (30 in) annually in most of England, although the west coast tends to be wetter than the east. Snow can fall over any part of England during the winter, but tends to be most common and to lie longest in the north-eastern Pennines.

B.

Natural Resources

The soils of England vary from the thin, often acidic, soils of the highlands, such as in the uplands of the Pennines and the moors of the south-west peninsula, to the rich loams of East Anglia. Most of England is suitable for agriculture, although the largest area is reserved for pasture and grazing land. Sheep and cattle are reared throughout the country, and especially in northern and south-western England. The main area of arable farming is eastern and central-southern England.

England has relatively few mineral resources. Zinc, tin, iron ore, and copper are all produced in small quantities. Non-metallic minerals produced include limestone, slate, talc, kaolin and other clays, fuller’s earth, chalk, sandstone, salt, and gypsum. In contrast, England (with the island of Great Britain as a whole) has the richest energy resources of the EU. England has large deposits of coal, mined for more than 300 years, as well as natural gas found in the British sector of the North Sea, offshore eastern England. Production of natural gas began in 1967; today the United Kingdom is one of the world’s largest gas producers.

Although England’s mineral resources are limited, they have been important historically. The coal deposits of north-central England and the iron ore deposits of the Pennines area played an important role in its very early industrialization. Together with other mineral resources, coal and iron ore also helped determine the location and development of many of England’s towns and its largest cities. During the Middle Ages, Cornwall’s ancient tin mines were so important to the prosperity of England that the miners were granted special legal and other privileges by the Crown. However, since the end of World War II, the iron ore, coal, and tin-mining industries have been hard hit—by the exhaustion of reserves, by competition from cheaper overseas producers, and by changes in government policy. Iron-ore production in the Pennines area has virtually ceased; and the vast majority of coal mines have also closed down. South Crofty, the last surviving Cornish tin mine, was closed in March 1998, but reopened in September 2001; it is hoped that new excavation techniques will make the mine viable again.

C.

Plants and Animals

In the past, England, like most of the island of Great Britain, was heavily forested, chiefly with oak and beech in the lowlands and pine and birch in the mountainous areas. Clearance for agriculture, industry, and settlement over centuries has meant that woodlands now constitute only 7 per cent of the total land area, well below the European average of 25 per cent. Reforestation programmes, undertaken by the Forestry Commission (a government department) and private landowners, have increased the area under forest since World War II. The main species planted, however, have been fast-growing softwoods. In recent years there have been efforts to increase deciduous plantings, and plans have been announced for new forests near London, in the Midlands, and in the North-East. Numerous varieties of fruit trees are cultivated in orchards, including cherry, apple, pear, and plum. A species of furze, known locally as gorse, is common in upland areas. Numerous varieties of wildflowers are found and legislation has been passed to protect them.

The chief surviving indigenous mammals of England include several species of deer, fox, hare, pony, otter, hedgehog, red squirrel, and badger. The most common birds include the starling, the sparrow, and the blackbird. Grouse are found on the moors of the northern uplands. Other familiar species are the crow, pigeon, rook, blue tit, magpie, and several members of the thrush family. England also plays host to many hundreds of species of summer and winter visitors, being on one of the main migration routes. The most familiar summer visitors are the swallow, swift, and cuckoo. In winter, the wetlands, lakes, and reservoirs attract many species of waders, ducks, and geese. Reptiles, of which only four species occur on the entire island of Great Britain, are rare in England; they include the viper, or adder (which is venomous), and the grass snake. The common freshwater fish found in England include roach, chub, perch, trout, and salmon. The last two named have increased significantly in numbers in recent years because of fish farming.

D.

Conservation

The government agencies responsible for conservation in England are The Countryside Agency and English Heritage. In the mid-1990s they were responsible for the 22 per cent of the country designated as National Parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and (in the case of English Heritage) for buildings and monuments of special architectural and historical interest. There are also a number of voluntary bodies concerned with conserving the countryside, including the National Trust, which protects long stretches of the English coast as well as many buildings. Wildlife is protected principally by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; recovery programmes have been set up for threatened species, including the dormouse and the fen raft spider. There are around 200 state-funded nature reserves in England, including the marine reserves of the islands of Lundy, off the Devon coast. Large numbers of reserves have been set up by voluntary bodies such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Europe’s largest voluntary wildlife conservation body.

England’s national parks include the North York Moors National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Exmoor National Park, Dartmoor National Park, the Lake District National Park, the Peak District National Park, the Northumberland National Park, the Norfolk Broads, and the New Forest National Park. The national parks are not, as in many other countries, wilderness areas set aside for the preservation of plant and animal life. Rather they encompass the most scenic areas of the country, with their human settlements, with special controls over development, and provisions to encourage the maintenance of the traditional economies that have helped to create these landscapes, such as sheep-grazing on the moorlands. England is also well represented in the World Heritage list of sites and buildings considered to be of worldwide significance. Of the 27 World Heritage sites in the United Kingdom and its territories, 17 are in England. They are: Canterbury Cathedral, with St Augustine’s Abbey, and St Martin’s Church, Kent; Durham Cathedral and castle; Studley Royal Gardens and Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire; Ironbridge Gorge, with the world’s first iron bridge and other early industrial sites, Shropshire; Stonehenge and Avebury prehistoric stone circles, Wiltshire; Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire; the city of Bath; Frontiers of the Roman Empire (including Hadrian’s Wall); the Tower of London; the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret’s church, Westminster, London; Maritime Greenwich, London; Dorset and East Devon Coast; the industrial age Derwent Valley Mills; the model industrial village at Saltaire, West Yorkshire; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Liverpool—Maritime Mercantile City; and the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape.