Ireland

 





Geography

Physical characteristics / People / Government / Maps

Physical characteristics

The island of Ireland is situated in the extreme north-west of Europe and is the most westerner of the two principals islands of the British archipelago.The Irish Sea to the east, which separates Ireland from Britain, is from 17.6 to 192 km (11 to 120 miles) wide and has a maximum depth of about 200 metres (650 feet). Around the other coasts the shallow waters of the Continental Shelf are rather narrow and depths increase rapidly into the Atlantic Ocean.

Ireland's greatest length is 485 km (302 miles) and it is 304 km (189 miles) at its widest point.

The Republic of Ireland covers 70,282 sq. km (27,136 sq.mi.) and consists of Munster, Leinster, Connacht and three counties of Ulster, making a total of 26 counties governed by The Republic.

Northern Ireland is only 5,500 square miles in area - about the size of Yorkshire or Connecticut - and is made up of the remaining 6 counties of Ulster.

Among Ireland's natural advantages is 5,631 km (3,500 mi.) of coastline, so indented that you are never more than 70 miles from the sea. Add to this the 800 lakes and rivers of inland Ireland and you can be fairly certain of being in sight of some body of water anywhere in Ireland! .

The island comprises a large central lowland of limestone with a relief of hills surrounded by a discontinuous border of coastal mountains which vary greatly in geological structure.

The highlands of the north, west, and south, which rise to more than 3,000 ft (914 m), are generally barren, but the central plain is extremely fertile and the climate is temperate and moist, warmed by southwesterly winds.

The highest mountain is Carrantuohill (1,040 metres/3'414 feet), near Killarney in County Kerry.

The longest river is the Shannon (370 km/230 miles, including estuary) which opens at the sea in county Limerick.

The largest lake is Lough Neagh (396 ssq km/153 ss.quare miles) in the North and is bordered by counties Armagh, Down, Antrim, Derry and Tyrone.

The climate is temperate maritime and modified by North Atlantic Current. It's why winters are mild and summers are cool. The weather is consistently humid and overcast about half the time.

People ( On 2002)

Back to Top

On july, there was about 3,900,000 people in Ireland and the population growth rate was about 1.07%.

Population is compound of two ethnics group : Celtic and English

The life expectancy at birth is 77.17 years for the total population, 80.12 years for the female and 74.41 years for the male.

English is the language generally used but Irish (Gaelic) is spoken too, mainly in areas located along the western seaboard.

Government Back to Top

Ireland is a republic. Its capital is Dublin (The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast ). Ireland is compound of 4 provinces ( see map ) divised in 26 counties :Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow ( see map ).

Ireland obtains its independence from UK the 6th December 1921 by treaty.

The national holiday is St Patrick's Day, the 17th march.

The constitution was adopted the 1st july 1937 by plebiscite.

The suffrage is universal, from 18 years of age.

The flag is compound of three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange :

 

Back to Top