Essay/Term paper: Ireland

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Geography

Ireland

Ireland is a country in Europe with a coast on the Atlantic Ocean. It is called the Emerald Isle because of its green color. Its people derived mainly from Great Britain. Most of the population is Roman Catholic. The Climate is much like ours.

The republic of Ireland covers 83% of its stand with the other 17% containing the country of Northern Ireland. There are twenty-six counties in the Republic with the over-all capitol of Dublin. The six northeastern counties form the county of Northern Ireland which is actually connected to the republic. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, where as the republic is not. The whole Island was under British rule before 1922. The island containing the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, is separated by the original ruling country of Great Britain by way of the Irish Sea.

Ireland is actually a detached fragment from the European Mainland. Most of the country is 500 ft. above sea level. The surface of the country is covered by glacial drift from the Pleistocene ice age. This period left eskers, or long gavel ridges, and drumlins or small hills that were left behind by the glaciers. You can find the start of this belt in the west of the country by Clew Bay. It continues across the country.

In the south of Ireland, there is a series of parallel ridges of Devonian sandstone. The ridges rise in elevation westward and lead up to Carrantuohill, the largest mountain in the country. The famous lakes of Killarney are located at that point. The lakes are famous for their scenic beauty.

In the southeast of Ireland, granites from the Devonian age makeup the uplands which travel 80 mi. in a northeasterly direction towards the counties of Wexford and Wicklow, reaching the south shore of Dublin Bay. These uplands are glacier modified valleys.

Most of the soil in Ireland have been formed of Glacial Drift. Limestone, as around here, is the most common bedrock in Ireland, Making it even more like our area. Gleyed soils are commonly found where there is poor drainage, such as in the north-central lowland. Because of past wetness and acidity, peat has accumulated to form bogs that now cover thousands of acres in the midlands. These bogs are useless for agricultural purposes, but very useful in the source of peat fuel. Peat covers much of the higher hills and supports much vegetation making it actually an indirect importance to agriculture. It also makes good grazing for sheep.

The climate of all of Ireland stays mainly as a cool maritime climate. July has average temperatures ranging from 61 degrees in the south, to 57 degrees in the north. Westerly winds that pick up moisture from the warm Atlantic Ocean and drop it first over the western mountains. About 80% of the rest of the country has 30-50 inches of rainfall yearly, although the eastern coast is relatively dry, only picking up 28 inches annually in Dublin.

Most of the central lowland is drained by the Shannon River, which is 230 miles long and is navigable for most of its journey. Through its length, it separates into numerous lakes such as the Allen and the Ree. A few miles from Limerick, the Shannon River's rapid fall to sea level is used to generate much electricity. In the south of Ireland, such as the Blackwater, Lee, and Bandon flow west to east between the sandstone ridges. Their stream patterns are unusual in that their courses actually cut into right angled bends, cutting southward the ridges to form steep-sided valleys. In parts of the country, the limestone bedrock has formed an underground drainage system.

There is limited wildlife in Ireland, including deer, pine marten, fox, badger, squirrel, and hare. There are numerous seabirds on the coast. The only reptiles are small lizards.

The main resource in Ireland is its agricultural land that covers more than 70% of the countryside. Less than 5% of the remaining land under tree cover, it is the least forested country, despite reforestation.

Education in the primary ages is mainly run by the religious groups, being mainly of the Roman Catholic type. Schools past that age group of 6-15, are run by the state and are private. The national universities include Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Maynooth.
The university of Dublin was founded in 1592 and has one college, being Trinity College of Dublin.

Financial assistance for health purposes, is given by the government on the basis of economic need by the patient. There are enough hospitals, but strangely enough, the doctor-patient ratio is 1 to 1,000. The chief cause of death is heart disease.

Ninety-four percent of the religion in Ireland is of the Roman Catholic type. The rest of them are mainly Angelican with a few Methodists mixed in with the rest. In the southeast, Angeligans make up 10% of the population.
The government was self-achieved among the Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy in the late 18th Century. In 1921, the independent state of Ireland was established after a long struggle that created the Irish Free State.
This has summed up most of the things about Ireland and hopefully you know a little more about the country. It is similar to the United States in the fact that it has four season, but it is different in ways such as the country is on an island in Europe and instead of being a nation built up a few states at a time, it once was bigger until a chunk of it, being Northern Ireland, broke free into its own country.
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