The coastline of the United Kingdom is formed by a variety of natural features including islands, bays, headlands and peninsulas. It consists of the coastline of the island of Great Britain, the north-east coast of the island of Ireland, as well as many much smaller islands. Much of the coastline is accessible and quite varied in geography and habitats. Large stretches have been designated areas of natural beauty, notably the Jurassic Coast and various stretches referred to as heritage coast. They are both very long, spreading through the mainland.
The measurement of any coastline depends upon the scale of map used and the accuracy of the measurement. A larger map scale and smaller unit of measure will result in more detail being revealed and measured and thus a greater length.[1] And because the resultant length increases exponentially faster than the increase of scale of measurement, there is no such thing as "an approximate answer" to this question. This is referred to as the coastline paradox. A coastline is fractal-like — a fractal has self-similar properties, similar at every scale — therefore the closer the observer looks, the more detail is revealed, leading to a greater overall length.[2]
According to the CIA Factbook, the length of the UK coastline is around 12,429 km or 7,723 miles.[3] According to the World Resources Institute, the length is around 19,717 km.[4]
Shapeedit
The United Kingdom's coastline is more broken than coastlines of many other countries. It has a fractal or Hausdorff dimension or 'wiggliness' of 1.25, which is comparatively high; the Australian coastline for example has a fractal dimension of 1.13, and that of South Africa is 1.02.[5]
As a result of this shape and the number of islands, the coastline of the UK is longer than that of similar sized countries. This means the UK has a relatively high coast/area ratio.[6]
Nowhere in the UK is more than 113 kilometres (70 mi) from the coast. It is estimated that around 3 million people (out of 60 million) live on the coast of the UK. The place furthest from the coast is Coton in the Elms in Derbyshire, which is equidistant from Fosdyke Wash in Lincolnshire; White Sands between Neston in Cheshire and Flint, Flintshire in Wales; and Westbury-on-Severn Gloucestershire.[7][8]
There are over 1,000 islands within the UK; about 130 are permanently inhabited according to the 2001 Census. Of the remaining islands, some are used for farming and are occupied occasionally, some are nature reserves with restricted access and some are little more than sea-swept rocks. The main occupied islands and island groups in the UK are as follows:
^. EUCC - Coastal Guide. 2007. Archived from the original on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
^"The farm furthest from the sea". BBC. 23 July 2003. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
^"Ordnance Survey - MapZone". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coasts of the United Kingdom.
Ordnance Survey
BBC Coast programme
UK coast guide
UK beach guide
April 10, 2024
coastline, united, kingdom, problem, fractal, geometry, long, coast, britain, statistical, self, similarity, fractional, dimension, coastline, united, kingdom, formed, variety, natural, features, including, islands, bays, headlands, peninsulas, consists, coast. For the problem in fractal geometry see How Long Is the Coast of Britain Statistical Self Similarity and Fractional Dimension The coastline of the United Kingdom is formed by a variety of natural features including islands bays headlands and peninsulas It consists of the coastline of the island of Great Britain the north east coast of the island of Ireland as well as many much smaller islands Much of the coastline is accessible and quite varied in geography and habitats Large stretches have been designated areas of natural beauty notably the Jurassic Coast and various stretches referred to as heritage coast They are both very long spreading through the mainland Bedruthan Steps North Cornwall a spectacular section of the UK coastline managed by the National Trust Contents 1 Characteristics 1 1 Length 1 2 Shape 2 Features 2 1 Islands 2 2 Peninsulas 2 3 Bays 3 Recreational access 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksCharacteristics editFurther information List of countries by length of coastline source source source source source source source Video of subaqua dive survey of the Welsh seasLength edit The measurement of any coastline depends upon the scale of map used and the accuracy of the measurement A larger map scale and smaller unit of measure will result in more detail being revealed and measured and thus a greater length 1 And because the resultant length increases exponentially faster than the increase of scale of measurement there is no such thing as an approximate answer to this question This is referred to as the coastline paradox A coastline is fractal like a fractal has self similar properties similar at every scale therefore the closer the observer looks the more detail is revealed leading to a greater overall length 2 According to the CIA Factbook the length of the UK coastline is around 12 429 km or 7 723 miles 3 According to the World Resources Institute the length is around 19 717 km 4 Shape edit The United Kingdom s coastline is more broken than coastlines of many other countries It has a fractal or Hausdorff dimension or wiggliness of 1 25 which is comparatively high the Australian coastline for example has a fractal dimension of 1 13 and that of South Africa is 1 02 5 As a result of this shape and the number of islands the coastline of the UK is longer than that of similar sized countries This means the UK has a relatively high coast area ratio 6 Nowhere in the UK is more than 113 kilometres 70 mi from the coast It is estimated that around 3 million people out of 60 million live on the coast of the UK The place furthest from the coast is Coton in the Elms in Derbyshire which is equidistant from Fosdyke Wash in Lincolnshire White Sands between Neston in Cheshire and Flint Flintshire in Wales and Westbury on Severn Gloucestershire 7 8 Features editIslands edit See also List of islands of the British Isles List of islands of the United Kingdom and British Isles There are over 1 000 islands within the UK about 130 are permanently inhabited according to the 2001 Census Of the remaining islands some are used for farming and are occupied occasionally some are nature reserves with restricted access and some are little more than sea swept rocks The main occupied islands and island groups in the UK are as follows Great Britain Ireland Northern Ireland is part of the UK Anglesey Arran Barra Bute Great Bernera Hoy Islay Jura Lewis and Harris Mull Orkney Shetland Skye The Uists Unst Isle of Wight Isle of Sheppey Yell The Channel Islands including Jersey Guernsey Alderney and Sark and the Isle of Man are not part of the UK they are self governing Crown dependencies therefore their coastlines are not coastlines of the United Kingdom Peninsulas edit Peninsulas around the UK coast include Ards Peninsula Dengie Peninsula Furness Fife The Black Isle Easter Ross Gower Peninsula Kintyre Llŷn Peninsula Penwith Pembrokeshire Rhins of Galloway The Wirral Bays edit Bays sea lochs loughs and large estuaries include Loch Fyne Loch Long Loch Linnhe Belfast Lough Bristol Channel Blackwater Estuary Cardigan Bay Dee Estuary Dyfi Estuary Firth of Clyde Firth of Forth Firth of Tay Humber Estuary Lough Foyle Luce Bay Lyme Bay Mersey Estuary Moray Firth Morecambe Bay Poole Harbour Solway Firth Strangford Lough Swansea Bay Thames Estuary The Solent River Tamar The WashRecreational access editFurther information List of seaside resorts in the United Kingdom and List of beaches in the United Kingdom The coastline of the United Kingdom offers extensive recreational opportunities including seaside resorts and coastal paths England Coast Path Scottish Coastal Way Wales Coast PathSee also editCoastline of the North Sea North Sea Trail Coastline of Wales Geography of the United Kingdom Geography of England Coastline Geography of Scotland Coastline Geography of Ireland Coastline Inshore coastal areas of the United Kingdom List of coastal weather stations in the British Isles List of headlands of the United Kingdom List of spits of the United Kingdom Sea wall British politics References edit How Long Is Great Britain s Coastline Well It Depends Brilliant Maps Retrieved 30 December 2020 Weisstein Eric W Coastline Paradox MathWorld Wolfram Research Retrieved 21 March 2015 United Kingdom CIA World Fact Book Retrieved 21 March 2015 Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Marine Jurisdictions Coastline length World Resources Institute Archived from the original on 19 April 2012 Retrieved 30 December 2020 Shelberg Moellering and Lam 1982 Coastal Guide Country File England EUCC Coastal Guide 2007 Archived from the original on 17 March 2015 Retrieved 21 March 2015 The farm furthest from the sea BBC 23 July 2003 Retrieved 21 March 2015 Ordnance Survey MapZone Ordnance Survey Retrieved 21 March 2015 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coasts of the United Kingdom Ordnance Survey BBC Coast programme UK coast guide UK beach guide Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Coastline of the United Kingdom amp oldid 1211079391, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
