England comprises most of the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, in addition to a number of small islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. England is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of mainland Britain, divided from France only by a sea gap, the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, directly links England to mainland Europe. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel.
Most of England consists of low hills and plains, with upland and mountainous terrain in the north and west. Uplands in the north include the Pennines, an upland chain dividing east and west, the Lake District, containing the highest mountains in the country, the Cheviot Hills across the Anglo-Scottish border, and the North York Moors near the North Sea. Uplands in the west include Dartmoor and Exmoor in the south west and the Shropshire Hills near Wales. The approximate dividing line between terrain types is often indicated by the Tees–Exe line. To the south of that line, there are larger areas of flatter land, including East Anglia and the Fens, although hilly areas include the Cotswolds, the Chilterns, and the North and South Downs.
The largest natural harbour in England is at Poole, on the south-central coast. Some regard it as the second largest harbour in the world, after Sydney, Australia, although this fact is disputed (see harbours for a list of other large natural harbours).
Climate
England has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round. It has a milder climate than many places at similar latitudes: for example Newfoundland in Canada, and Sakhalin in Russia. The seasons are quite variable in temperature; however temperatures rarely fall below −5 °C (23 °F) or rise above 30 °C (86 °F). The prevailing wind is from the south-west, frequently bringing mild and wet weather to England from the Atlantic Ocean. It is driest in the east and warmest in the south, which is closest to the European mainland. Snowfall can occur in winter and early spring, although it is not very common away from high ground. England has warmer maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the year than the other countries of the UK, though Wales has milder minima from November to February, and Northern Ireland has warmer maxima from December to February. England is also sunnier throughout the year, but unlike Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, the sunniest month is July, totalling around 192.8 hours on average.
The highest temperature recorded in England is 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) on 19 July 2022 at Coningsby. The lowest temperature recorded in England is −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) on 10 January 1982 at Edgmond, Shropshire. The climate of south-west England is rather distinct and somewhat milder than the rest of England. Crops, flowers and plants can be grown earlier there than in the rest of England and the UK.
England mainly lies within hardiness zone 8, but the Pennines and Cumbrian Mountains lie in the colder zone 7, and south west England, the Irish Sea coast, South coast and London lie in the warmer zone 9. A very small area, the Isles of Scilly, lies in the warmest zone in the British Isles, zone 10 which is close to subtropical.
Geology
The Geology of England is mainly sedimentary. The youngest rocks are in the south east, progressing in age in a north-westerly direction. The Tees–Exe line marks the division between younger, softer and low-lying rocks in the south east and older, harder, and generally a higher relief in the north-west. The geology of England is recognisable in the landscape of its counties, for instance Cumbria, Kent and Norfolk all have very distinct and very different looks from each other. The geology of Northern England and Western England tends to be somewhat closer to that of its near neighbours, Wales and Scotland, with the geology of Southern England and Eastern England being more aligned with that found across the North Sea and English Channel in Northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Geological features Cheddar Gorge – the largest gorge in Great Britain Jurassic Coast – a UNESCO World Heritage Site Salisbury Plain Tees–Exe line Whin Sill London Basin Hampshire Basin London-Brabant Massif Dartmoor – one of a series of moors in the South West of England developing tors on a granitic batholith Lizard Complex – an ancient piece of oceanic crust, onshore (i.e. an Ophiolite).Geological resources Coal North Sea oil Sand and Gravel China Clay Copper and Tin Stone North Sea gas Potash
and less abundantly,
Geothermal energy Onshore oil
Major towns and cities
London is, by far, the largest urban area in England and one of the largest and busiest cities in the world. Other cities, mainly in central and northern England, are of substantial size and influence. The list of England's largest cities or urban areas is open to debate because, although the normal meaning of city is "a continuously built-up urban area", this can be hard to define, particularly because administrative areas in England often do not correspond with the limits of urban development, and many towns and cities have, over the centuries, grown to form complex urban agglomerations."Religious centres recover city status", The Guardian, 8 July 1994.Patrick O'Leary, "Derby's long road to city status", The Times, 29 July 1977, p.14 For the official definition of a UK (and therefore English) city, see City status in the United Kingdom.
According to the ONS urban area populations for continuous built-up areas, these are the 15 largest conurbations (population figures from the 2001 census):
RankUrban areaPopulation(2001 Census)LocalitiesMajor localities1Greater London Urban Area8,278,25167Croydon, Barnet, Ealing, Bromley2West Midlands Urban Area2,440,98622Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall3Greater Manchester Urban Area2,240,23057Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Stockport, Oldham4West Yorkshire Urban Area1,499,46526Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield5Tyneside774,89125Newcastle upon Tyne, North Shields, South Shields, Gateshead, Jarrow6Liverpool Urban Area816,2168Liverpool, St Helens, Bootle, Huyton-with-Roby7Nottingham Urban Area666,35815Nottingham, Beeston and Stapleford, Carlton, Long Eaton8Sheffield Urban Area640,7207Sheffield, Rotherham, Chapeltown, Mosborough/Highlane9Bristol Urban Area551,0667Bristol, Kingswood, Mangotsfield, Stoke Gifford10Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton461,18110Brighton, Worthing, Hove, Littlehampton, Shoreham, Lancing11Portsmouth Urban Area442,2527Portsmouth, Gosport, Waterlooville, Fareham12Leicester Urban Area441,21312Leicester, Wigston, Oadby, Birstall13Bournemouth Urban Area383,7135Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, New Milton14Reading/Wokingham Urban Area369,8045Reading, Bracknell, Wokingham, Crowthorne15Teesside365,3237Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar, Billingham
The largest cities in England are as follows (in alphabetical order):
Birmingham Bradford Brighton & Hove Bristol Coventry Derby Kingston upon Hull Leeds Leicester Liverpool London Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne Norwich Nottingham Oxford Peterborough Plymouth Portsmouth Sheffield Southampton Stoke-on-Trent Sunderlandwikipedia Wolverhampton York
Physical geography
Extreme points
The extreme points of England are: LocationMainland onlyIncluding islandsNorthernmost point Northernmost settlement Southernmost point Southernmost settlement Westernmost point Westernmost settlement Easternmost point Easternmost settlementMarshall Meadows Bay, Northumberland at Marshall Meadows, Northumberland at Lizard Point, Cornwall at Lizard, Cornwall at Land's End, Cornwall at Sennen Cove, Cornwall at Lowestoft Ness, Suffolk at Lowestoft, Suffolk at Marshall Meadows Bay, Northumberland at Marshall Meadows, Northumberland at Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly at St Agnes, Isles of Scilly at Crim Rocks, Isles of Scilly at St Agnes, Isles of Scilly at Lowestoft Ness, Suffolk at Lowestoft, Suffolk at
Topography, mountains and hills
England is generally lower and flatter than the rest of the UK, but has two main divisions in its form – the lowland areas of the south, east, and midlands and the more rugged and upland areas of the north and west. East Anglia is the lowest area of England, having no high hills or mountains and hosting an area of the Fens, the lowest area of England. The highest area of England is the North West, which contains England's highest hills and mountains, including its highest – Scafell Pike.
In England, a mountain is officially defined as land over 600 metres, so most fall in Northern England. Some hill and mountain chains in England are:
Lake District (Cumbrian Mountains) – the highest mountains in England, containing Scafell Pike. Cheviot Hills – sometimes considered as an extension of either the Southern Uplands in Scotland or the Pennines. Border Moors and Forests – uplands to the south of the Cheviot Hills. The Pennines which characterise much of Northern England and are often dubbed "the backbone of England". The Peak District – uplands forming the southern end of the Pennines in central and northern England. South Pennines - area of the southern Pennines between the Peak District, Forest of Bowland and Yorkshire Dales. Forest of Bowland - a western spur of the Pennines in Lancashire. Yorkshire Dales – an upland area of the northern Pennines. North Pennines - uplands forming the northern end of the Pennines. Howgill Fells - uplands in Cumbria between the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. Orton Fells - uplands in Cumbria between the Lake District and Eden Valley. North York Moors – an area of hills and moorlands beside the North Sea. Exmoor – uplands beside the Bristol Channel. Dartmoor – an area of uplands in the heart of Devon. The Cotswolds – a quintessentially and stereotypical English rural area. Chilterns – a collection of low hills. South Downs – low hills close to the English Channel which form the white cliffs of the English South Coast. Shropshire Hills – uplands near Wales.
Cities Cities with the highest urban elevation include Sheffield, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham. Low-lying cities near sea level include London, Liverpool, Norwich and York.
Islands
The main English islands by area and population are:
RankIslandArea (sq mi)Area (km2)1Isle of Wight147.09380.992Isle of Sheppey36.3194.043Hayling Island10.3626.844Foulness Island10.0926.845Portsea Island9.3624.256Canvey Island7.1218.457Mersea Island6.9618.048Walney Island5.0112.999Portland4.4411.510Wallasea Island4.1110.65
English islands by population RankIslandPopulation (2001 UK census)1Portsea Island147,0882Isle of Wight132,7313Isle of Sheppey37,8524Canvey Island37,4735Hayling Island16,8876Portland12,8007Walney Island11,3918Mersea Islandabout 7,2009Barrow Island2,60610St Mary's1,66811Thorney Island1,07912Foulness21213Tresco18014Lindisfarne16215St Martins14216Roa Islandabout 10017Bryher9218St Agnes7319Lundyabout 35
Rivers
The longest river in England is the River Severn which has its source in Wales, enters England at its confluence with the River Vyrnwy and flows into the Bristol Channel. The longest river entirely within England is the River Thames which flows through the English and British capital, London. The Vale of York and The Fens host many of England's larger rivers.
Coastline England has of coastline, much less than the deeply indented Scottish coastline. The English coastline varies a great deal by the seas and regions it borders. The North Sea coast of England is mainly flat and sandy with many dunes and is similar to coastlines across the sea in the Netherlands. The English North Sea coast is an important area of bird life and is a habitat for many shore and wading birds. Along the English Channel, the South Coast builds up into steep, white cliffs at Dover, which are often seen as an iconic symbol of England and Britain.