The British Isles are a group of islands lying off the north-west coast of the continent of Europe. This archipelago includes two major islands - Great Britain and Ireland and about six thousand small islands.
Two independent states - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland - occupy the territory of the main islands: England is situated in the south and the center of Great Britain, Scotland and Wales take up the north and the west of the island, respectively, and both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are located on the island of the same name - Ireland.
The British Isles also include three distant islands: the Isle of Man, The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey.
As for the relief, there are no very high mountains on these islands. The most mountainous part is Scotland where we can find the highest peak of isles - Ben Nevis. Its height is 1,343 meters. Another high mountain is situated in Wales. It’s called Snowdon and rises to the height of 1,085 metres above the level of the sea.
On the islands there are many beautiful lakes. The largest one is Lough Neagh in Ireland with an area of 381 square kilometres. There are also several long rivers among which the lengthy is Shannon. It is 368 kilometres long.