Geography of the United Kingdom
| Continent | Europe |
|---|---|
| Region | Northwestern Europe |
| Coordinates | 54°0′N 2°30′W |
| Area | Ranked 78th |
| • Total | 244,376 km2 (94,354 sq mi) |
| • Land | 99.3% |
| • Water | 0.7% |
| Coastline | 12,429 km (7,723 mi) |
| Borders | 499 km (310 mi) land border with Republic of Ireland |
| Highest point | Ben Nevis 1,345 m (4,413 ft) |
| Lowest point | The Fens −4 m (−13 ft) |
| Longest river | River Severn 354 km (220 mi) |
| Largest lake | Lough Neagh 392 km2 (151 sq mi) |
| Climate | Temperate, with some areas of Scotland being Tundra, and Subarctic |
| Terrain | Mountainous area to the north and west, lowland area to the south and east. |
| Natural resources | Coal, oil (continental shelf of the North Sea), natural gas, tin, limestone, iron, salt, clay, lead |
| Natural hazards | Storms, floods |
| Environmental issues | Biodiversity loss, sulphur dioxide emissions from power plants, some rivers are contaminated by agricultural waste, wastewater into the sea |
| Exclusive economic zone | In Europe: 773,676 km2 (298,718 sq mi) All overseas territories: 6,805,586 km2 (2,627,651 sq mi) |
| References | |
The United Kingdom is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. With a total area of approximately 244,376 square kilometres (94,354 sq mi), the UK occupies the major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and many smaller surrounding islands. It is the world's 7th largest island country. The mainland areas lie between latitudes 49°N and 59°N (the Shetland Islands reach to nearly 61°N), and longitudes 8°W to 2°E. The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in south-east London, is the defining point of the Prime Meridian.
The UK lies between the North Atlantic and the North Sea, and comes within 35 km (22 mi) of the north-west coast of France, from which it is separated by the English Channel. It shares a 499 km (310 mi) international land boundary with the Republic of Ireland. The Channel Tunnel bored beneath the English Channel now links the UK with France.
The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are covered in their own respective articles, see below.