UNITED KINGDOM (Europe)

The United Kingdom is formed by England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Although they form one administrative unit (with regional exceptions) they have had separate cultures, languages and political histories.

The British landscape can be divided roughly into two kinds of terrain, highland and lowland. The highland area comprises the mountainous regions of Scotland, Northern Ireland and North Wales. The English Lake District in the northwest contains lakes and fells. The lowland area is broken up by sandstone and limestone hills and long valleys. In the south east, the North and South Downs culminate in the white cliffs of Dover.