Great Britains coastline is highly irregular, with many bays and inlets that provide harbors and shelters for ships and boats. Coastal trade involving ships sailing along the coast has been carried on since ancient times. The coastline is about 8, 000 km(about 5,000 mi) long and affords some of the best scenery in Britain. The western coast is characterized by cliffs and rocky headlands especially where the Highlands meet the sea in northwestern Scotland. On the more gentle southern and eastern coasts there are many sand or pebble beaches as well as tall limestone or chalk cliffs, the most famous of which are the White Cliffs of dover in the southeast A few islands lie just off of Britains coast. The Hebrides, an archipelago of about 500 islands. cover a considerable area along the coast of western Scotland; the isle of Anglesey lies just off the coast of northwestern Wales, and the Isle of wight is off Englands southern coast. northern Ireland has beautiful and rugged coastline and is the location of the famous and unique Giants Causeway, an expansive and curious formation of rocks shaped like giant cylinders E Natural resources El Soils Britains soil quality varies greatly. In northern areas the soils are thin, lying right above rock formations, while the south possesses areas of rich loam and eavy clay soils. When handled carefully the soils of eastern and south central England are very productive. While 77 percent of the land in Britain is used for agriculture, only 26 percent of this land is used to grow crops Almost all of the rest is used as grazing land E2 Forests and woodlands Ancient Oak Tree Sherwood forest in central England was formerly a royal forest. It was cleared in the 18th century. Shown here is an oak tree in the forest with props supporting its heavy branches. Robert Estall/ CORBIS-BETTMANN Trees grow well and quickly in the heavy soils of England, and for a long time prehistoric settlers did not have tools strong enough to cut down the heavy oa forests. Over the centuries the expanding human population cut back the forests so that today only 10.7 percent of the United Kingdom is forested, roughly 3 million hectares(6 million acres). In contrast, 25 percent of Europe is forestedGreat Britain’s coastline is highly irregular, with many bays and inlets that provide harbors and shelters for ships and boats. Coastal trade involving ships sailing along the coast has been carried on since ancient times. The coastline is about 8,000 km (about 5,000 mi) long and affords some of the best scenery in Britain. The western coast is characterized by cliffs and rocky headlands, especially where the Highlands meet the sea in northwestern Scotland. On the more gentle southern and eastern coasts there are many sand or pebble beaches as well as tall limestone or chalk cliffs, the most famous of which are the White Cliffs of Dover in the southeast. A few islands lie just off of Britain’s coast. The Hebrides, an archipelago of about 500 islands, cover a considerable area along the coast of western Scotland; the isle of Anglesey lies just off the coast of northwestern Wales; and the Isle of Wight is off England’s southern coast. Northern Ireland has a beautiful and rugged coastline and is the location of the famous and unique Giant’s Causeway, an expansive and curious formation of rocks shaped like giant cylinders. E Natural Resources E1 Soils Britain’s soil quality varies greatly. In northern areas the soils are thin, lying right above rock formations, while the south possesses areas of rich loam and heavy clay soils. When handled carefully the soils of eastern and south central England are very productive. While 77 percent of the land in Britain is used for agriculture, only 26 percent of this land is used to grow crops. Almost all of the rest is used as grazing land. E2 Forests and Woodlands Ancient Oak Tree Sherwood forest in central England was formerly a royal forest. It was cleared in the 18th century. Shown here is an oak tree in the forest with props supporting its heavy branches.Robert Estall/CORBIS-BETTMANN Trees grow well and quickly in the heavy soils of England, and for a long time prehistoric settlers did not have tools strong enough to cut down the heavy oak forests. Over the centuries the expanding human population cut back the forests, so that today only 10.7 percent of the United Kingdom is forested, roughly 3 million hectares (6 million acres). In contrast, 25 percent of Europe is forested