| Ireland is small enough to be visited in
its entirety within a couple of weeks, in which time you cannot
see everything worthwhile of course - but you will gather an
impression of something new, strange and beautiful in the make-up
of land and people.
Ireland is an island of 84,288 sq km (32,544 square miles). Its
greatest length is; 485 km (302 miles), its greatest width is 304
km ( 189 miles), and its coastline extends for over 5,631 km
(3,500 miles). 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 which boarders
counties Armagh, Down, Antrim, Derry and Tyrone. The country is
divided into the four historic provinces of Ulster (9 counties) in
the north; Munster (6 counties) in the south; Leinster (12
counties) in the east; and Connacht (5 counties) in the west. The
population of the 32 counties of Ireland is approximately 5
million.
Among Ireland's natural advantages is 3,500 miles of coastline,
so indented that you are never more than 70 miles from the sea.
From most inland towns you can take a day trip to the coast, where
you can enjoy the long, gently sloping beaches of the east and
south-east, or head west to the rugged Atlantic coast, where the
sea has a straight run of over 2,000 miles to America.
Add to this the 800 lakes and rivers that are a delight of
inland Ireland. You might, for instance, travel the 84 miles from
Mullingar in County Westmeath to Sligo Town in County Sligo and
hardly lose sight of them. This alternation of land and water
gives journeys in Ireland a fascinationg variety.
Another Great advantage arises from an aspect of Ireland's
economic history which proved a blessing in disguise, for here is
a country that has not been over-industrialised. The scenery is
never marred by heavy industry and the rivers and lakes still run
mainly pure.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland consists of six counties:
County Antrim
County Armagh
County Down
County Fermanagh
County Londonderry
County Tyrone
These counties are no longer used for local government
purposes; instead there are twenty-six districts of Northern
Ireland which have different geographical extents, even in the
case of those named after the counties from which they derive
their name. Fermanagh District Council most closely follows the
borders of the county from which it takes its name. Coleraine
Borough Council, on the other hand, derives its name from the town
of Coleraine in County Londonderry.
Northern Ireland was covered by an ice sheet for most of the
last ice age and on numerous previous occasions, the legacy of
which can be seen in the extensive coverage of drumlins in
Counties Fermanagh, Armagh, Antrim and particularly Down. The
centrepiece of Northern Ireland's geography is Lough Neagh, at 151
square miles (392 km²) the largest freshwater lake both on the
island of Ireland and in the British Isles, and the third largest
lake in Western Europe. A second extensive lake system is centred
on Lower and Upper Lough Erne in Fermanagh.
There are substantial uplands in the Sperrin Mountains (an
extension of the Caledonian fold mountains) with extensive gold
deposits, granite Mourne Mountains and basalt Antrim Plateau, as
well as smaller ranges in South Armagh and along the
Fermanagh–Tyrone border. None of the hills are especially high,
with Slieve Donard in the dramatic Mournes reaching 848 m (2782
feet), Northern Ireland's highest point. The volcanic activity
which created the Antrim Plateau also formed the eerily geometric
pillars of the Giant's Causeway.
The Lower and Upper River Bann, River Foyle and
River Blackwater form extensive fertile lowlands, with excellent
arable land also found in North and East Down, although much of
the hill country is marginal and suitable largely for animal
husbandry.
The valley of the River Lagan is dominated by
Belfast, whose metropolitan area includes over a third of the
population of Northern Ireland, with heavy urbanisation and
industrialisation along the Lagan Valley and both shores of
Belfast Lough.
The whole of Northern Ireland has a temperate
maritime climate, rather wetter in the west than the east,
although cloud cover is persistent across the region. The weather
is unpredictable at all times of the year, and although the
seasons are distinct, they are considerably less pronounced than
in interior Europe or the eastern seaboard of North America.
Average daytime maximums in Belfast are 6.5°C (43.7°F) in January
and 17.5°C (63.5°F) in July. The damp climate and extensive
deforestation in the 16th and 17th centuries resulted in much of
the region being covered in rich green grassland.
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