ENGLAND. The most important. member of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire land (Map: Europe C 3). The name England is commonly applied io the entire southern por tion of the island of Great Britain, but it will be limited here to the ancient historical divi sion, reserving Wales for treatment under a special head. A general discussion of the physical and climatic features, flora, fauna. etc., of England. as well as of Scotland and Wales, will be found under the title GREAT BRITAIN.
The southernmost point of England is in lati tude 49° 57' N., and its northern extremity in latitude 55° 40'. England is roughly triangular in shape, and comprises an area, according to ofll. dal determinations, of 5000 square miles. The southern side of the triangle has a length of 315 miles. while the eastern and western coasts, about 350 miles, and 400 miles long respectively, ex clusive of windings, converge northward, the boundary with Scotland being at Solway Firth, the Cheviot Hills, and the River Tweed. The coast is so broken by headlands. bays, and inlets that England alone has a coast-line nearly 2000 miles in length, and the localities farthest inland are not more than 75 miles from the sea. All important manufacturing centres are within 50 miles of a seaport. The commercial situation IS further improved by numerous navigable rivers, which penetrate deeply into the interior. The
greater number of rivers flow to the east, the inure important of these being the Thames. Humber, and Tyne. They arc longer than the western rivers, \ +Aid' include the Severn and the Wye, arc less liable to floods, and are more useful for navigation. Topographically. England differs from Scotland and Wales in that a large part of its area is low land. With the exception of the Peninsula of Cornwall and Devon, the Lake District, and the Pennine Chain, the country is a low plain, broken by Minor escarpments and gentle downs, but nowhere ex. hibiLing true mountainous forms; none of the elevations present formidable obstacles to communication. The geological structure of Eng land is eharacterized by a variety sue!' as is usually found only in countries of numb greater area. In the western highlands, the basal forum dons comprise Arehamn gneisses and granites and early Paleozoic sediments, while eastward there is a succession of strata in ascending order up to the Quaternary. The Carboniferous rocks are limited to small areas, but they include nu merous coal-seams of almost unparalleled thick ness. Nearly all of the formations yield miner als of economic value, ranging from gold, silver, and tin to the more common metals and non metallic products.