The United Kingdom, also called the U.K., consists of a group of islands off the northwest coast of Europe. It is a unique country made up of four nations: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. England, Wales, and Scotland also make up Great Britain.

 

Much of the north and west of the U.K. is covered in high ground, knife-edged mountain ridges separated by deep valleys. This terrain was shaped in the last Ice Age, when thick glaciers covered the land.

 

In the south of England, the countryside is mostly rolling hills.
In northwest England and the Scottish Highlands are dozens of lakes, called lochs. These were left behind when the Ice Age glaciers melted. They tend to be long and narrow, and some are very deep. Legends say that a giant monster called Nessie lives in Loch Ness in Scotland.

 

Sports and literature are among the United Kingdom's cultural claims to fame. Soccer, rugby, cricket, boxing, and golf were all invented in Britain. And the U.K. has produced many great writers, including William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Robert Burns. J.K. Rowling, the writer of the Harry Potter books, is British.

About 5,000 years ago, the center of the United Kingdom was covered with thick forests. Thousands of years ago, these woodlands were cleared by ancient farmers, and today only about 10 percent of the land is forest.

 

The United Kingdom's complex geology gives rise to a wide variety of landscapes and a range of habitats for its animal and plant life. But it is a very crowded country, and there are not many truly wild places left. The most successful wildlife species are those that can live alongside people.

 

Great Britain's rugged mountains, like the Scottish Highlands, offer habitat that is relatively untouched by humans. The country's 7,700 miles (12,429 kilometers) of shoreline, ranging from tall cliffs to beaches to marshes, also provide homes for wildlife such as seabirds and seals.