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Great Britain (often abbreviated as Britain) is an island lying off the western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom. Great Britain is also used as a political term describing the combination of England, Scotland, and Wales, the three nations which together include all the island's territory, although each includes additional islands.
The term Britain is sometimes used to mean Great Britain, and both are often used to refer to the United Kingdom, which also includes Northern Ireland. Great Britain is often used as a convenient abbreviation for the unwieldy "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". While it is inaccurate, the abbreviation Great Britain is still often used by official bodies as a synonym for the UK in some contexts (for example, the UK team which competes in the Olympic Games is often referred to as 'Team GB' and the UK uses the International license plate code of 'GB'). This is discussed further under Britain.
1 Geographical Definition
With an area of 229,850 kmē (88,745 sq. mi.) the island of Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles, an archipelago that also includes IrelandThe island of Ireland ire in Irish, Airlann in Ulster Scots) is the third-largest island in Europe. It lies on the west side of the Irish Sea, close to the island of Great Britain. It is composed of the Republic of Ireland in the south and Northern Irelan and the Isle of ManThe Isle of Man Ellan Vannin in Manx), a British crown dependency, lies in the Irish Sea almost equidistant from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. With an area of 572 kmē (221 square miles) and a population of around 76,315 (2001 Census) it arguably h. It is the largest island in Europe, and its rank among the islands in the world is either eighth or ninth, depending on whether AustraliaAustralia is the sixth-largest country in the world (geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia. Australia includes the island of Tasmania, which is an Australian State. Its neighbouring count is counted as an island.
Great Britain stretches over approximately ten degrees of latitudeLatitude denoted φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. Latitude is an angular measurement ranging from 0° at the Equator to 90° at the poles. Usually, the difference in latitude largely affects the climate and/or wea on its longer, north-south axis. Geographically, the island is marked by low, rolling countryside in the east and south, while hills and mountains predominate in the western and northern regions. Before the end of the last ice ageFor the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie . For the band, see Ice Age (band . An ice age is a period of long-term downturn in the temperature of Earth's climate, resulting in an expansion of the polar ice caps and mountain glaciers (" glaciation"). Glaci, Great Britain was a peninsulaA peninsula is a geographical formation consisting of an extension of land from a larger body that is surrounded by water on three sides. A peninsula can also be a headland, cape, promontory or spit. Peninsulas of the world: Continental Europe Apsheron, A of Europe; the rising sea levels caused by glacial melting at the end of the ice age caused the formation of the English Channel, the body of water whch now divides Great Britain from the European mainland.
The climate of Great Britain is milder than that of other regions of the Northern Hemisphere at the same latitude, because the warm waters of the Gulf Stream pass by the British Isles and exert a moderating influence on the weather. Cool, but not cold, temperatures, clouds more often than sun, and abundant rain are the rule in most years.
