Where In the World is ...England?

It's time to get out your globe! You need to know about the imaginary lines on globes and maps. These lines are called lines of latitude and longitude, and they tell a pilot or ship's captain exactly where in the world a certain place is located. Basically, latitude lines (also called parallels) are the horizontal lines on your map.

Lines of longitude (also called meridians) are the vertical lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole. This mapping system is written in degrees and uses the symbol °. Get ready to travel the world!

If you take out your globe and locate longitude 2° W, latitude 54º N, you will find the United Kingdom. Within this country, also known as the UK or Britain, is another country called England. Many people think England and the United Kingdom are synonymous, but actually Great Britain is made up of four countries — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. countries within a country. (Originally, America was also a British colony. But we gained our independence in 1776, which we celebrate as Independence Day.) It's a little complicated. For this article, we will focus on England.

England is located in the United Kingdom — a group of islands in Western Europe, off the western coast of France.

England takes up two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and even includes other offshore islands, like the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Sicily. It borders two other countries of the UK, Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. It is separated from France only by 21 miles of sea. The two countries are connected by the Channel Tunnel, which goes under the sea. The seas surrounding England are the Irish Sea, North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

England has mountains, green rolling hills, fertile valleys and many lakes. The oldest mountain range in the country, the Pennines, is thought to have originated at the end of the Paleozoic Era 300 million years ago! The climate in England is called a temperate maritime climate. This means that temperatures are mild (not lower than 32ºF in winter and not hotter than 90ºF in summer), but it is damp, with rain occurring throughout the year.

As part of the United Kingdom, the political system in England is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system. The Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, celebrated her 60th year as Queen last month. There are nine regions and 48 counties in England. London is the largest city in England and one of the busiest in the world. There are more than 8 million people in the Greater London Urban Area. There are 51 million people in all of England.

The Romans founded the first cities in England, and many examples of Roman architecture are still there. Ancient standing stone monuments from the prehistoric period, such as Stonehenge are also there.

The English people have contributed many inventions and discoveries to the world. Just a few of these include the jet engine, the first computer, the vacuum cleaner and lawn mower, steam engines, the electric motor and the first successful blood transfusion. Newton mechanics, Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccine and Darwin's theories of evolution and atomic theory are also products of Englishmen.