﻿•7 



ORAVINA. 



GREAT BRITAIN. 



litenuTinititution, a (aringi bank, uid Tkriooi baseroleot undationi. 

 From Windmill Hill, clo«e to the totm, ono« » rery fkrourita resort 

 of Tiiitor*, exteniirs prospecta over tha Tbamea, ila shipping and 

 aoenetj, may be obtained. RoahenriUe Oardena, to the weat of the 

 town, whioh hare bean within these few rears laid out in a very 

 piotnreaqaa maniMr, are now the prindpal resort of Tiaiton. The 

 town pier is substantial and well built ; it is supported on oast-iron 

 arobes, and is 127 feet long and 40 feet wide ; at the end is a trans- 

 verae head 76 feet by SO feet. The terrace pier, at the eastern end of 

 the town, is a later structure, 190 feet long, built entirely of iron, 

 and is supported upon massive columns. In the neighbourhood of 

 Orareaend are axtensire market gardens, much of the produce of 

 which finds its way to the London markets. Fishing employs many 

 of the inhabitants. Markets are held on Wedneaday and Saturday, 

 and fairs on May 4th and October 24tii. The Thames and Medway 

 Canal enters the Tbamea at Oraveeend. 



(Cruden, Hiitoty of Graraead ; CommtmicatUm frnm Gravttmd.) 



ORAVINA. fB.vni, Tebr.\ m.] 



GRAYS THURROCK. [Essex.] 



GREAT BELT. [Bei.t.] 



GREAT BRITAIN has been the legal name of the island contain- 

 ing England and Scotland, and of the kingdom, or part of a kingdom, 

 which Oiej compose since the legislative union of these two countries 

 (Ist May, 1707). The first article of the treaty of Union enacts that 

 the two kingdoms of England and Scotland shall, from the above day, 

 and erer after, be united into one Inngdom by the name of Great 

 Britain ; and in subsequent articles the kingdom is called the United 

 Kingdom of Great Britain. 



Great Brit/un, the largest island in Europe, and one of the largest 

 in the world, is divided from the mainland of Europe by a narrow 

 «rra of the sea called the English Channel, which extends along the 

 Douthem ithores of the island and separates it from France [EyoLtSH 

 Ch.vnnkl], and by a portion of the Atlantic, which is separated from 

 the main body of the ocenn by the inland of Orc.it Britain itself. This 

 sea, called the North or German Sea [North Ska], separates Great 

 Britain from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and 

 Norway. The English Channel and the North Sea are united by the 

 Straits of Dover. To the north of Great Britain lies the wide expanse 

 of the Atlantic Ocean. On the west side of the island, and at no great 

 distance from it, are numerous small islands, and a large one, Ireland, 

 which is separated from Great Britain by St. George's Channel 



The Lizard Point, the most southern part of Great Britain, is in 

 49° 58' N. lat ; and Dunnet Head, in Caithness, the most northern 

 point, is in SS" 42' N. lat. The most eastern point is Lowestoft, on 

 the coast of Suffolk, 1° 44' E. long. ; and the most western, Ardna- 

 mnrchan Point, in Argyle, 6° 14' W. long. The distance in a straight 

 line between the Lizard Point and Dtinnet Head is about 608 miles. 

 "The figure of Great Britain has been compared to an irrcgtilar 

 triangle, the apex of which is at Dunnet Head, and the base is the 

 long line of the southern coast from the North Foreland in Kent to 

 the Land's End in ComwalL The direct distance from Dimnet Head 

 to tile North Foreland is about 540 miles, and to the Land's End 

 about 60O miles; the direct distance between the North Foreland 

 ligbthonae and the Land's End is about 320 miles." (' Geography of 

 Great Britain,' published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful 

 Knowledge.) "Tbese distances give an outline of 1460 miles ; but as 

 the ooasli especially on the n eat ei n side, is a succession of projecting 

 promontotiM and deeply-penetrating bays, the real coast-line probably 

 exceeds three times that amount. The surface of the island is about 

 89,644 squara miles, of which the northern part, called Scotland, 

 contains 31,824 ; and the southern, or England and Wales, contains 

 58,320, namely — England, 60,922 ; and Wales, 7898. In statute acres 

 the area is given thus :— England, 82,530,940; Wales, 4,798,975; 

 Scotland, 20,047,462; isUnda in the British seas, 252,000: total, 

 67,624,877 acres. The line by which England and Scotland are sepa- 

 rated begins on the west at the north-eastern angle of Solway Frith, 

 and runs along the Esk, Liddel, and Kershopo rivers to a range of 

 mountains which successively bear the names of the Lauriston Hills, 

 Peel Fell, Carter Fell, and the Cheviot Hills. Up to the last-mentione<i 

 mountains the boundary-line runs north-east, but at the Cheviot Hills 

 it turns north-north-west, and continues in that direction to the banks 

 of the Tweed, a few miles above Coldntreom. The remainder of the 

 boondaiy-Hne is formed by the course of the Tweed to its mouth, with 

 tbe exoeption of the town of Berwick, which, though on the northern 

 bank of the river, belongs to England. 



antral Smrrew of ill Surface and Sofl.— Though Great Britain does 

 not contain such elevated mountain ranges as many parts of conti- 

 naotal Eumpe, it probably exhibits a greater variety in surface and 

 ■oil than any^tber Eoropean country of equal extent. We shall 

 sadsBTDor to prsaent a nnersi view of the surface of this island, 

 nitniag tit* reader for hiller details to the headings — ' Surface,' 

 < Hydrography,' ice, in the notices of the sereral counties. 



1. Scetlmd, north and wMl of (Htnmort. — Qlenmore is a long but 

 eompaiK^ively narrow valley, whidk extends south-west and north-east 

 in a straight line across the ishind. On the south-west it begins at 

 Um islaod of Mull, from whoss eastern shores a wide gidf or sea-loch, 

 oallad Loch Linnhe, runs north-east, penetrates deeply into the main- 

 land, and is continued north-eastward in Loeb Eil. At the point 



where Loch Eil makes a sharp turn to the west the valley of Olenmore 

 property begins ; it tenninatM at Inverness, on the Moray Frith. The 

 ooimtry north and west of Glenmore, which includes the counties of 

 Sutherland, CiuthneSB, Ro«, and part of Inverness, is the most sterile 

 portion of the island. Nearly the whole of it consUtntos one enormous 

 mass of rook, whose upper surface frequently extends in plains, but 

 more usually is covered with rooks many hundred feet above the 

 general level of the mountain plain, which varies between 500 and 

 1500 feet above the sea. 



The northern part of the plain, extending from a line joining Loch 

 Broom on the west and Domuch Frith on the east to the northern 

 shores and Cape Wrath, is au extensive moor, an open undulating l:uid 

 of rooks and bogs, on which a few hills rise at great distances from 

 one another. The highest summits occur on the western side of the 

 plain, where Ben Mhor attains 3220 feet above the sea. The moun- 

 tain plain and the ridges which constitute its boundary do not extend 

 over the north-eastern part of the island. Nearly four-fifths of the 

 county of Caithness form a plain, with an undulating surface, whioh 

 may vary between 50 and 200 feet above the aea-laveL To the west 

 of this comparatively low and level land rises Ben Wyvis, an extensive 

 mass of lofty irregular rooks, 8720 feet above the sen. The region to 

 the westwaH, extending to the Atlantic shore, is bare of trees, and in 

 some parts, especially almut Loch Torridon, almost destitute of vege- 

 tation. The greater part of this extensive moorland affords pasture 

 for sheep, and contains a few habitations of shepherds. Along tiie 

 western shores, at the innermost recesses of the numerous sea-lochs, 

 are the huts of some fishermen. Towards the western coast are 

 several high summits, as Kea Cloch, 8600 feet, and Ben Lair, 3000 

 feet atrave the sea-leveL 



2. ScoUcmd between Qlenmort and the Orampiam is divided into two 

 different regions by the high ridge of the Cmtb Oonn Mountains, or 

 Northern Onimpians. The country west of that range, lielouging to 

 the counties of Inverness, Nairn, and Elgin, maintains generally the 

 character of a mountain plain, and comprehends the valleys of the 

 Spey, Findhom, Nairn, and Spean. On the plain rise the Monagh 

 Leagh Mountains, which traverse it in its length from south-west to 

 north. They are sterile and of considerable breadth, but none of the 

 summits probably exceed 2000 feet in height The plain itself is 

 partly covered with moor or heath, but extensive tracts produce fine 

 grass, and moke excellent sheep-walks. The comparatively level countiy 

 which divides the mountain plain from the German Ocean contains 

 several extensive moors, of which Culloden Moor is tiic principal. 



The country east of the Northern Grampians, or of the Cairn Uorm 

 range, belonging to the counties of Banff and Abfrdoen, is portly 

 mountainous and partly billy, and contains a considerable extent of 

 arable land. Very few spots in the mountain region are fit for 

 cultivation. The narrow valleys of this region are used as sheep- 

 walks. Towards the sea are plains whioh in some places extend from 

 ten to twelve miles inland. 



3. Scotland betrceen On Central Orampiam tmd the Plain between (ke 

 Forth and the Clyde. — This portion of Scotland is traversed by a 

 mouutain range running south to north. It begins on both sides of 

 Loch Long on the south, and terminates on the north at the western 

 extremity of Loch Rannocb. It includes parts of the counties of 

 Argyle, Dumbarton, and Perth. In the northern district, bordering 

 south on Loch Etive, Awe Water, Loch Awe, and Ulenorohy, a few 

 spots of arable land are found along the shore of the sea and the 

 margins of the sea-lochs. High and rugged mountain masses occupy 

 the country between Loch Leven and Loch Ktive, and farther north ; 

 they extend also along Loch Awe, at the northern extremity of which 

 Ben Cruochan rises 8390 feet above the sea-level. East of this 

 mountain mass, as far as Loch Rannooh, extends tlie barren Moor of 

 Rannoch, which on the south and north respectively reaches to 

 Glenorchy and Loch Leven. Another mountainous desert of about 

 equal extent, bounded by the valley of the Spean on the north, is 

 much grander and mora interesting in its features. The pcninsuU 

 of Cantire extends for nearly SO miles southwar<l to the Mull of 

 Cantire, a cape rising about 1 000 feet above the sea. 



On the eastern side of the district now under review extends a 

 mountain region whioh occupies nearly h.ilf the surface of the entire 

 district Its eastern border runs in an obli<iuc lino over the whole 

 breadth of the island, beginning at Loch Lomond, and jiawing through 

 Aberfoil on the Forth, Callander on the Teith, Crieff on the Eoni, 

 Dunkeld on the Tay, and Blair Gowrie on the Isia, whence it proceeds 

 to the eastern extremity of the Central Orampiaus near Stonehaven. 

 It is chiefly included within the counties of Perth, Forfar, and Kin- 

 cardine. This immense tract of country is covered by ridges of 

 mountains containing several high summits ; yet the valleys between 

 the ridgos are frequently wide, and contain extensive tracts of arable 

 land, eniecially along the Earn and the Tay. East and south of this 

 mountam region extends Strathmore, the Great Vale, which begins 

 on the banks of the river Forth opposite Stirling, and extends to 

 Stonehaven, occupying a space of at least 80 miles in length, and 

 from 16 miles to 1 mile in breadth. This fertile and well-cidtivated 

 plain belongs chiefly to the counties of Perth and Forfar. Between 

 Strathmore and the German Ocean lie the Sidlaw Hills to the north 

 ward, and the Oohill HilU to the southward. The higher portion of 

 the Sidlaw Hills skirts the banks of the Tay, and their l^ghest summit. 



